“The Moment of Decision”: Morality vs. The Dane House

The narrator of the story, Hugh’s brother-in-law, describes Hugh as an amiable man who is liked and respected by all. One significant trait that Hugh possesses is that he is very self-assured. “Nothing could dent his cast-iron assurance” (407). Although a very generous man, he is arrogant. Hugh always knows what he wants and always gets it.

Hugh values his home, Hilltop, which is a replica of the Dane House. The Dane house is Hugh’s dream home. “The Dane house was almost sacr

Ellin shows enough evidence to prove that Hugh’s obsessive desire for the Dane house surpasses any moral judgment. Hugh is a determined man who knows what he wants and always gets it. He has never been put in a dilemma where he had to make a decision. Raymond challenges him saying, “And of all things men should have learned since that time, the biggest is that there are no easy answers, no solutions one can give with a snap of the finger. I can only hope for you that someday may be faced with the perfect dilemma, the unanswerable question. You would find that a revelation. You would learn more in that minute that you dreamed possible” (411). Ironically it is Raymond who puts Hugh in this position. Hugh must choose between the Dane House or Raymond’s life. Which one? Killing Raymond would grant him the Dane house, his only desire, yet saving Raymond would grant him morality. Hugh’s obsessive desire for the Dane house proves that it is much more important to him than his moral. Ellin does not mention Hugh’s concern for his moral, yet Hugh is aggressively determined to own the Dane house. The one insecurity that Hugh possesses is that he does not own the Dane house. It is seen in the story that the jealously which Hugh has towards Raymond changes him abruptly. “…It was clear that a change was being worked on Hugh.

Some topics in this essay:
Raymond Hugh, Hugh Lozier, House Dane, Killing Raymond, Hilltop Raymond, House Hugh, Apparently Hugh, Elizabeth Hugh’s, dane house, Stanley Ellin, Hugh Dane, house hugh, hugh’s character, story hugh’s, dane house hugh’s, dane house hugh, house hugh’s, obsessive desire dane, raymond hugh, desire dane, remodel dane, towards raymond, hugh’s obsessive desire, hugh dane, own dane house,