As Gertrude Stein states in her lecture “Composition as Explanation,” “Beauty is beauty even when it is irritating and stimulating, not only when it is it is accepted and classic. » This quote, particularly the part referring to the element of irritation present in much of Stein's work, applies directly to his novel Three Lives. Deviating from a narrative-driven plot, the author's focus on every minute detail can lead to reader exhaustion and frustration. This reaction could be elicited through one of the stories included in the novel The Good Anna. Although the predominance of details in some seemingly trivial cases and their omission in others may seem illogically repetitive on first reading, it is later established that these details instead interact to characterize the main character, Anna. In contrast to a normative literary style, Stein consistently places less importance on events that are commonly considered central in life while emphasizing those considered ordinary. This tendency toward an overabundance of detail about some life events and ignorance about others throughout The Good Anna's superficially simple and sterile structure illustrates the sense of power the main character believes she has, although This is often a false or exaggerated conception. One important area in which this significant incident approach is most effective is in the detailed description of Anna's potential involvement in resolving conflicts with those around her. This prominence or lack of detail is directly related to the degree of control the main character is perceived to possess over both their environment and their relationships. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay As part of the interaction between the characters, the text regularly explores multiple situations, one of which is the association between servant and supervisor. Despite the fact that Anna is meant to embody the role of a loyal and undemanding servant, Stein regularly suggests that the desire for power and a sense of importance are relentless motivating forces for this subordinate figure. This dynamic is illustrated early in the novel when the detached narrator describes that "this little house was always full of Miss Mathilda, a servant, of stray dogs and cats, and of Anna's voice that growled, snarled, growled all day long." » (Stein 3). This quote suggests that, despite the fact that Miss Mathilda's name appears first in the sentence and Anna's last, it appears that Anna has the majority of power to act in regulating the household. This notion of the main character's potential control over her environment is undermined, however, by the reader's later understanding that only relatively insignificant tasks are left entirely within Anna's jurisdiction. The only things she has control over are the animals, as Stein describes: “Anna would leave the room for a while and leave them together, and then she would suddenly come back. Back all the naughty dogs would scurry away at the sound of his hand on the button, and then they would sit desolate in their corners like many disappointed children whose sugar had been stolen” (Stein 4-5). The amount of detail in this passage, instead of conveying the influence Anna possesses over the lives of those for whom she is employed, contributes to displaying less significant authority over her dogs. When Anna enters the room, her animals retreat to the corners asof punishment and feel emotions associated with human disappointments. Comparing the dogs to young children, Stein argues that the main character has little to no meaningful, influential interaction with people and must instead rely on manipulating the moral fabric of his dogs. The strategy of employing an abundance of detail in this situation satirizes the influence Anna believes she has and illustrates the misconceptions she has about the indispensability of her position in Miss Mathilda's household. This same high level of detail and importance is given to the events dictated in the passage above. corresponds to the later contrast between the main character's almost non-existent power and that of those in more important social positions. One of these authority figures, Miss Jane, the daughter of Miss Mary Wadsmith, elicits an explosive reaction from Anna, even as a child. The girl asks, on her mother's supposed instructions, that Anna bring blue bandages to their country house. But, as Miss Mary Wadsmith and Miss Jane departed, “Anna stood motionless on the steps, her eyes hard, piercing, and bright, and her body and face stiff with resentment… On the third day Anna and Edgar went to the land of Wadsmith. House. The blue clothes of both rooms remained behind” (Stein 15). As the quote above makes clear, Stein once again employs descriptive, albeit simplistic, diction to describe the frustration the main character experiences when the control he had conceived of over Miss Mary Wadsmith has been encroached upon. Stein generally seems to resort more to details whenever an important emotional episode occurs, and this tendency also correlates with the triviality of that event. Although it is clear that Anna displays a tendency toward increased feelings when she feels that her position of influence in her environment is being coerced or manipulated, the events that bring about this shift in power are determined by an object apparently also unimportant as the blue bandages. . This element, however, embodies a broader concept that is emphasized in the main character's psyche: the idea that effort put into a relationship should have a greater influence on the superior. Since Anna's interaction with Miss Mary Wadsmith is closely tied to her power to manipulate and advise her mistress, a great deal of detail and emotion is associated with any loss of influence. There are, however, specific cases that include a minimal amount of detail, but at the same time are considered relatively important or in some ways life-altering. One such event in the text of The Good Anna could be seen as the preparation for Miss Jane's wedding, in which Anna seems to be unusually involved, since Stein writes that "The preparations for the wedding took place day and night. Anna worked and served hard to make everything go well. The text states two paragraphs later that “Marriage was drawing ever closer. Eventually it came and passed” (Stein 20). In the pages preceding these overly simplistic statements, Anna laments her impending separation from Miss Mary Wadsmith because, once her two mistresses moved into the house of Miss Jane's new husband, Anna "[could never be] a girl in a home where Miss Jane would be the head” (Stein 19). Viewing these quotes as a continuous entity, it is evident that while this marriage between Miss Jane and her fiancé will have significant consequences for Anna's well-being, the wedding day itself receives no further concession in the text only one sentence. in its own independent paragraph. The lack of emphasis on a.