Power and loyalty are some of the best traits a person can have in this world but they can also be the most dangerous. In the story, The Hundredth Dove by Jane Yolen, the King forces the fowler, Hugh, to kill one hundred doves for the king and his fiancé’s wedding party. The Queen said that she did not want that but the King made the fowler swear he would capture one hundred doves. This greed that the King has for the perfect wedding feast will not only destroy him but it will destroy people around him. Sometimes, even if people don’t mean to, they can destroy the beauty, love and freedom in their lives with their own power, their own loyalty and their greed.
Hugh’s known loyalty is one of the reasons the King called upon him to capture the doves for the royal wedding but little did he know that Hugh’s loyalty had gotten to his mind. The word Servo, which means to serve, was embroidered on his chest and this word wasn’t just a word anymore, it had become a way of life. It had gone from his occupation to his mission in life and he had lost himself and what he truly wanted in his life because he had served people for such a long time. Not even the option of lifetime love could break this curse that entangled Hugh. People can get so brainwashed to believe that they’re content with their life but then when the moment arises that they are challenged, they start to think what else they could have; how much more they could receive out of life. Hugh no longer had his individuality and was controlled by the people he served not by himself and this is what got him to snap that exquisite doves neck in the end. No matter what thoughts went to his head at the time, the word servo was the only one he acted on, not the words of his conscience which knew that this bird wasn’t just any bird.
Humans are people of regrets and grief; we can never get past our mistakes but we know that no matter what we can never go back and erase it all. Hugh’s mistake was something beyond what he could bare; he caught enough birds but there was never a wedding nor will there ever be because the queen was gone. Hugh regretted that he didn’t listen to his conscience and not let the beautiful dove live but he couldn’t take back what he had done. He stopped being a fowler and secluded himself even more and visited that same clearing – waiting – waiting for the doves to come back. They will never come back and Hugh can’t let go of the fact that they will never land in that clearing and peck at the seed he’s thrown out for them just like the King will never marry Lady Columbia because of what Hugh had done.
Greed is what controls our world and everyone in it. Greed is what will destroy us and make us turn against even ourselves. People - they have their regrets, their loses and their grief trapped inside of them but what they don’t realize that greed is what makes us have those regrets and grief. We always have greed of a better life and we don’t see that our lives are just as bad as or even better than most of the people around us. Greed can also make us lose sight of the reality going on around us. We focus so much on having something that we miss every other extraordinary thing going on in our lives. Hugh does this by focusing on catching this last dove and not even taking a second glance at the wonders he sees before him. He misses out on so much more wonderful things than that white dove that his life will only know the beauty of that dove and not the beauty of everything else. Greed is an evil thing and, even though, it can’t be stopped we still lose so much of our lives to it.
We all have our ghosts that follow us day by day but we all must find a way to get past them. Our pasts don’t define who we are as people; we define ourselves. In the story, Hugh never gets past his ghosts and probably never will because he holds onto his past and lets it define him; he lets it become part of him, creating a weight on his shoulders. He only wishes to take back what he’s done but he never can. We all have our regrets but what is done is done and the only way of getting that ghost away is by forgetting and accepting what and who you are now and not dwelling on what you had done. These regrets, greed and grief will never disappear permanently but by forgiving yourself, that can help.
