Now that you’ve listed some important elements in the story, pick a topic from Ethan Frome. Write an essay of approximately four or five paragraphs detailing how the topic relates to your understanding of the novel as a whole. Here are some suggested topics, but you may choose your own: Explore the idea of communication among the characters in the novel. What theme does Wharton attempt to convey through their communication?
What does the pickle dish seem to symbolize in the novel?
What type of tragic hero does Ethan Frome represent? Explore the differences between a classic tragic hero and a more modern tragic hero.

1. find at least 9 adjectives from this opening passage used to describe the setting of the story- "to build a fire" setting: day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland. it was a steep bank, and he paused for breath at the top, excusing the act to himself by looking at his watch. it was nine o'clock. there was no sun nor hint of sun, through there was not a cloud in the sky. it was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun. this fact did not worry the man. he was used to the lack of sun. it had been days since he had seen the sun, and he knew that a few more days must pass before that cheerful orb, due south, would just peep above the sky-line and dip immediately from view.