Class Notes: Who Suffers?

Is there anyone in the world who never suffers? Why does Latimer feel that his brother has never witnessed lows? It is possible that Latimer dislikes his brother because he his jealous of him. If he were truly able to read his brother's mind, he would most likely see that he is not as confident as he seems. There must be some doubt felt by his brother. Because of his negative feelings towards him, Latimer does not really know his brother as a person; his jealousy comes between him and their relationship.

Latimer claims there is no evil in store for his brother but oddly enough, Alfred dies the same day. This shows how untrue Latimer's feelings towards him really are - once again his jelousy gets the best of him!

Later in the story it becomes known that Bertha does not feel she needs to love the man she marries. Latimer paints a different picture of her in his own mind and doesn't really want to believe what she says to him. Latimer thinks that he and Bertha would be perfect together but she tries to communicate to him that she is being honest, and truly does not care about Alfred. Throughout the story, Latimer continuously projects his emotions onto others in his life. He bases what he feels about these people on the images he paints of them. Even though Bertha is honest and open with him, he chooses to ignore her and creates an altered personality for her which he 'loves'. Is it possible he loves her because she is the prize his brother gets for being successful? I think there is a great chance that the only reason he loves Bertha is because of what she symboloizes - the success of his brother. Latimer judges Bertha based on the projection of her he has created and judging someone is not a way to get to know them. By judging others you put yourself above all of the rest; in this case Latimer really believes he is superior to everyone with the possible exception of his brother...