The novel “Ethan Frome” by Edith Wharton, expresses that the influence of circumstances can affect aspects of a person's life, just as it did with the character Ethan Frome. For example, Ethan inherited the family farm and sawmill, facing the adversities of maintaining farming but remaining true to family traditions. Second, Ethan will experience his parents' misfortune, self-sacrifice, an unpleasant marriage, and the emotions of human desire; furthermore, testing his character. The novel will have symbolic meanings throughout the story to symbolize the events of American society shared throughout its history and based on the life experiences of individuals. For these reasons, Ethan's life is unique, resembling the different types of experiences that America and its society face. The Frome family farm did not have the reputation of a rich plantation thriving with many fields of crops, nor did it have a wealth of animals grazing the property. For example, Starkfield's neighbors regarded the farm "always as a milk-pot when the cat has been about" (Walton, par. 19) and that analogy provided the history of the Fromes' farmland. The farmland of a family with a reputation of this magnitude is extremely negative, because the American farmers' expression “of an agrarian-capitalist ideology” (Sweet, par. 3) corresponded to their market relations for social stability and politics. Ethan would work hard and struggle being so poor; however, his work at the sawmill would “barely yield enough to support his family through the winter” (Walton, par. 18). Despite the hardships, Ethan would face what he inherited and be humble with his work. The Fromes family was dysfunctional; he...... middle of paper......to make it happen. In conclusion, Ethan Frome's unique life resembles several eventful experiences shared between America and its society. Works Cited Jacobby, Dan. "Looking Back at Work in the United States." Working USA 3.5 (2000): 27. ProQuest. Network. April 9, 2014. http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/docview/236486399?accountid=8289Dolce, Timothy. "American Pastoralism and the Market: Eighteenth-Century Ideologies of Agriculture." Early American Literature 29.1 (1994): 59. ProQuest. Network. April 24, 2014. Thumé, Elaine, MSc, et al. “The use of home care by older adults in Brazil's primary healthcare system.” American Journal of Public Health 101.5 (2011): 868-74. ProQuest. Network. April 26, 2014.Wharton, Edith. Ethan Frome. Project Gutenberg by Ethan Frome. January 8, 2013. Web April 9, 2014. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4517/4517-h/4517-hh