Anibal Machado's story the "The Piano" was a delightful story that I enjoyed reading unlike the previous two stories we read. The author chose to begin with the setting of the story, which he did as medias res. We are immediately thrown into the story as the point Joao was trying to sell the piano, and it ends with an ironic twist.
The story is written in third person omniscient and the reader gets an understanding of the story through Joao and Rosalia. Joao though as the greater connection to the piano, it was like the piano was an old dear treasured relative. When he tried to give it to a relative while initially agreeing even they did not want to take this aging member of the family. Rosalia was in the position of giving Joao comfort for having to losing a cherished member of this family, but also being practical that they needed the space and the money for their daughter Sara's impending wedding.
The author has given the piano a life like existence in this story, the piano is the holder of joyful family memories throughout time, from when he was young and it belonged to his parents/grandparents, when his daughter was first learning to play a musical instrument. The piano's place in the family has caused some conflict as well "you're always against it, Rosalia".
As the story continues the author shows us Joao's despair when no one wants to purchase his cherished piano, and his family doesn't want it. Joao decides to give the piano a burial at sea. He gets help to move the piano to the ocean, and along the way his neighbors will ask where he was going with the piano. When he offers them the piano they are first say yes until they realize they must find an immediate home for the piano.
The piano has been tossed in the ocean and destroyed, which brings about another set of problems because the police believe he has thrown away more than the piano. His troubles don't end when he gets rid of the piano, now he has more questions to answer to. For Jaoa tossing the piano in the ocean was the same as having a burial at sea of dear family member. As the story comes twisting to an end the redheaded man who inquired many times about the piano had come to make an offer. Only adding to Joao's despair.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
"In the Penal Colony" and "The Thirst"
Our stories for this selection are "The Penal Colony" by Franz Kafka and "The Thirst" by Ivo Andric both of these stories have similarities in the characters and the development of the characters themselves. The point of view in both stories is third party omniscient, where the reader is allowed to see the story through more than one character in the story. In both stories there is one character who is witness to an injustice being done to another, what the character does or does not do tells the story. When we see an injustice being done do we step in, or do we look the other way?
What I felt after reading both of these stories is that two of characters in the story had a total lack of respect for the life of another human being. The commander in "The Thirst" was only concerned that he would be seen as a hero for capturing Lazar, it did not matter to him that Lazar was dying from the wound in his chest he still ordered Lazar to not be given any water or food. Lazar was a non person. The commander slept soundly in his bed while the prisoner, Lazar laid dying in the commander's basement crying out from delirium. While we get a small picture that Lazar was not a nice man, we also know that they had been at war. In "The Penal Colony", the officer was so fascinated by the machine that he disconnects with what is happening to the condemned man. The fact that the condemned man did not know that he was being sentenced to death, or that he been sentenced shocks the explorer but to the officer he is only upset that explorer might delay the execution by asking too many questions.
While the point of view of the explorer and the wife show a different side of the events. Both characters question whether they should get involved with the grievous injustices being done to the two prisoners. If they were to get involved, what exactly could they do? The explorer , in "The Penal Colony" points out he is not part of the penal colony or even the county it belongs to, so who would listen to him. While the wife, in "The Thirst" feels she doesn't have the right to wake her husband to tell him to stop the torment of the prisoner.
In the "The Penal Colony", we know very little about the explorer, and that is by design because the focus is the officer. The officer is unraveling as his place at the penal colony is changing, it drives him to take his own life in the machine. While the wife in "The Thirst" who we first see as this young woman that her only concern is how her bedroom looks at the beginning of the story, becomes a woman struggling to understand what is right and just in a world that is not always just.
Of all the stories we have read thus far I think these two are my least favorite, at the end of each story I felt sickened by the human depravity. I had the same feeling with the "The Shawl", it left this emptiness.
What I felt after reading both of these stories is that two of characters in the story had a total lack of respect for the life of another human being. The commander in "The Thirst" was only concerned that he would be seen as a hero for capturing Lazar, it did not matter to him that Lazar was dying from the wound in his chest he still ordered Lazar to not be given any water or food. Lazar was a non person. The commander slept soundly in his bed while the prisoner, Lazar laid dying in the commander's basement crying out from delirium. While we get a small picture that Lazar was not a nice man, we also know that they had been at war. In "The Penal Colony", the officer was so fascinated by the machine that he disconnects with what is happening to the condemned man. The fact that the condemned man did not know that he was being sentenced to death, or that he been sentenced shocks the explorer but to the officer he is only upset that explorer might delay the execution by asking too many questions.
While the point of view of the explorer and the wife show a different side of the events. Both characters question whether they should get involved with the grievous injustices being done to the two prisoners. If they were to get involved, what exactly could they do? The explorer , in "The Penal Colony" points out he is not part of the penal colony or even the county it belongs to, so who would listen to him. While the wife, in "The Thirst" feels she doesn't have the right to wake her husband to tell him to stop the torment of the prisoner.
In the "The Penal Colony", we know very little about the explorer, and that is by design because the focus is the officer. The officer is unraveling as his place at the penal colony is changing, it drives him to take his own life in the machine. While the wife in "The Thirst" who we first see as this young woman that her only concern is how her bedroom looks at the beginning of the story, becomes a woman struggling to understand what is right and just in a world that is not always just.
Of all the stories we have read thus far I think these two are my least favorite, at the end of each story I felt sickened by the human depravity. I had the same feeling with the "The Shawl", it left this emptiness.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant is a incredible story about the negative impact of one's pride and selfishness. The story is written in third person omniscient point of view, as the narrator gives us a glimpse into Monsieur Loisel's thoughts not just Mathilde's. For me Monsieur Loisel is the hero in the this story because he tries so hard to make his wife happy within his means. He is excited to show Mathilde the invitation to the Minister of Education's ball, but he is puzzled when she is angry with him for getting the invitation. He is heartbroken when Mathilde cries because she doesn't have a dress for the party, so he gives up the money he has been saving for a gun. A gun that he probably would have used long after the party had come and gone. He continually tries to make Mathilde happy. When Mathilde loses the necklace she borrowed from Jeanne, Loisel looks for the necklace for hours while Mathilde stays at home. He replaces the necklace, but in order to do that he must use all of his money (18000 francs) and borrow the rest (another 18000 francs), some of the money he had to borrowed was from people who charged extremely high interest rates. He has to work very hard to pay off the necklace that Mathilde had to have for one night.
Mathilde on the other hand, is a self centered woman who lets her pride not only ruin her but her husband as well. When Mathilde "from the very first she played her part heroically" and she works along side her husband to pay the debt, you get the impression that she has grown as a person. That is until she encounters her friend Jeanne in the park, she tells Jeanne "Yes, I've had some hard times since I saw you last; and many sorrows...and all on your account". Just when you think the character has grown she turns around and blames her friend for her misfortune. What if her pride hadn't gotten in the way and she wore flowers that night like her husband suggested? Or if she waited for him to hail a cab, instead of hurrying him out into the street because she did not want to be seen in her usual outer garments? Or lastly, if she had just gone to Jeanne and explain the clasp on the necklace broke, and she lost the necklace. If she had simply gone to Jeanne she would have been able to replace the necklace for five hundred francs not 36,000 francs, she would have saved her husband and herself so much anguish.
The irony of this story is that Mathilde wanted so much more, and because she did not want to appear poor for one night she pushed them into further poverty for the next ten years.
Mathilde on the other hand, is a self centered woman who lets her pride not only ruin her but her husband as well. When Mathilde "from the very first she played her part heroically" and she works along side her husband to pay the debt, you get the impression that she has grown as a person. That is until she encounters her friend Jeanne in the park, she tells Jeanne "Yes, I've had some hard times since I saw you last; and many sorrows...and all on your account". Just when you think the character has grown she turns around and blames her friend for her misfortune. What if her pride hadn't gotten in the way and she wore flowers that night like her husband suggested? Or if she waited for him to hail a cab, instead of hurrying him out into the street because she did not want to be seen in her usual outer garments? Or lastly, if she had just gone to Jeanne and explain the clasp on the necklace broke, and she lost the necklace. If she had simply gone to Jeanne she would have been able to replace the necklace for five hundred francs not 36,000 francs, she would have saved her husband and herself so much anguish.
The irony of this story is that Mathilde wanted so much more, and because she did not want to appear poor for one night she pushed them into further poverty for the next ten years.
Friday, October 8, 2010
"The Best Girlfriend You Never Had", "You're Ugly Too", and "Proper Library"
This group of stories brings to mind that country song "Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places"; the song could summarize the theme of this group of stories. In the "Proper Library" by Carolyn Farrell the main character in this story is a young gay black man living in a the inner cities, he is torn by his love for Rakeem and his mother's desire for him to "be someone". This story is written first person point of view, so we only know what Lorrie is telling us. The second story "You're Ugly Too" by Lorrie Moore, is the story of Zoe, a college professor, that has difficulties with relationships, she is more at ease communicating with her mailman and cab driver than her students or men. This story is written in third person limited point of view. The last story, my favorite of this group, was "The Best Girlfriend You Never Had" by Pam Houston, the main character of this story is Lucille who is looking for approval from her father and dating men that are not good for her. This story is written in the first person point of view, with the information we have about our author it is art imitating life.
Our first story "Proper Library" our main character Lorrie was trying to deal with his own sexuality while being tormented by the community around him His story is still relevant today to many young men who could relate to Lorrie. All one has to do is turn on the tv or computer to hear about the young men who ended their lives because they could no longer handle the torment. Lorrie is trying to be the good son to his mother by going to school everyday even though he was abused by the other students even one of the teachers. For his mother it was important that her son gets an education and passes the city wide tests, but she also saw the outside forces pulling at him. The children are the positive love that Lorrie feels because they love Lorrie for who he is, it is an unconditional love. He is someone who loves and pays attention to them when they otherwise might be neglected by the adults in their world. Rakeem was the bad boy in this story who keeps pulling Lorrie away from school and his family. He understood Lorrie's sexual orientation because of his own, but he was not strong enough to endure what Lorrie was at school so he kept trying to pull Lorrie away from school.
The second story "You're Ugly Too" is an awkward story about a college professor, Zoe, who was so out of sync with the rest of the world. She was bright enough to be a college professor but she lacked the social skills needed to relate to her students, colleagues, and others. The story spoke of awkward moments between her and her students, where one moment she was singing and offering her beverage to another where she was ridiculing a student. Her closest friends were the mailman and the cab driver, because they expected nothing from her whereas others thought she should conform to a "normal" set of standards. Her sister tried to set her up with someone she knew, and the encounter is awkward and painful. All I could say was OMG when Zoe gave this poor man a shove almost catapulting him over the balcony. The story reminds me of the current tv show "Big Bang Theory", the four nerdy guys who are extremely intelligent but have trouble relating to simple everyday relationships. I feel sad for Zoe because of her inability to socialize in a manner that is considered the norm for her colleagues and others, because of her problem she was unable to develop relationships. She becomes so paralyzed that she was unable to even decide on furniture for her home, she would pick pieces and then return them because they did not feel right.
The last story "The Best Girlfriend You Never Had" is the story of two friends, Lucille and Lee, who should be together but they are each in love with someone else. Lucille tells us she loves Lee, everyone loves Lee but he loves Quinevere, and Quinevere loves someone else who doesn't return her love in the same way either. Gordon loves Lucille, in an obssesive way that becomes oppressive to Lucille. Both Gordon and Lucille have issues with their parents, Gordon having run away from home at young age with the desire to be more than his immigrant parents this has caused a rift between him and his family. His mother came when he won his first teaching award, she was in the audience but did not stay to see him face to face. Lucille's issues with her family are not of her doing, but those of her alcoholic parents. They were so dysfunctional when on a family trip, Lucille was stopped by a cop for numerous traffic violations. The cop felt so sorry for Lucille he let her off with a warning because he could not punish her anymore that she was already being punished.
Lucille was so desperate for the acceptance she was not getting from her father, because of those emotion she allowed Gordon to become very controlling in her life. They had been asked to leave places because of his behaviour and jealousy. What I thought was incredible was that Lucille had been in some real dangerous positions but she was more afraid of not being loved than being mugged. My favorite part of the story was the homeless man that she stepped over while fighting with Gordon, he told her he did not want her money he only wanted to see her smile. She gave him all the money in her wallet. The irony of all the misplaced love in this story is Lee's mugger who makes Lee swear to God that he will call his girlfriend and tell her he is ok.
Our first story "Proper Library" our main character Lorrie was trying to deal with his own sexuality while being tormented by the community around him His story is still relevant today to many young men who could relate to Lorrie. All one has to do is turn on the tv or computer to hear about the young men who ended their lives because they could no longer handle the torment. Lorrie is trying to be the good son to his mother by going to school everyday even though he was abused by the other students even one of the teachers. For his mother it was important that her son gets an education and passes the city wide tests, but she also saw the outside forces pulling at him. The children are the positive love that Lorrie feels because they love Lorrie for who he is, it is an unconditional love. He is someone who loves and pays attention to them when they otherwise might be neglected by the adults in their world. Rakeem was the bad boy in this story who keeps pulling Lorrie away from school and his family. He understood Lorrie's sexual orientation because of his own, but he was not strong enough to endure what Lorrie was at school so he kept trying to pull Lorrie away from school.
The second story "You're Ugly Too" is an awkward story about a college professor, Zoe, who was so out of sync with the rest of the world. She was bright enough to be a college professor but she lacked the social skills needed to relate to her students, colleagues, and others. The story spoke of awkward moments between her and her students, where one moment she was singing and offering her beverage to another where she was ridiculing a student. Her closest friends were the mailman and the cab driver, because they expected nothing from her whereas others thought she should conform to a "normal" set of standards. Her sister tried to set her up with someone she knew, and the encounter is awkward and painful. All I could say was OMG when Zoe gave this poor man a shove almost catapulting him over the balcony. The story reminds me of the current tv show "Big Bang Theory", the four nerdy guys who are extremely intelligent but have trouble relating to simple everyday relationships. I feel sad for Zoe because of her inability to socialize in a manner that is considered the norm for her colleagues and others, because of her problem she was unable to develop relationships. She becomes so paralyzed that she was unable to even decide on furniture for her home, she would pick pieces and then return them because they did not feel right.
The last story "The Best Girlfriend You Never Had" is the story of two friends, Lucille and Lee, who should be together but they are each in love with someone else. Lucille tells us she loves Lee, everyone loves Lee but he loves Quinevere, and Quinevere loves someone else who doesn't return her love in the same way either. Gordon loves Lucille, in an obssesive way that becomes oppressive to Lucille. Both Gordon and Lucille have issues with their parents, Gordon having run away from home at young age with the desire to be more than his immigrant parents this has caused a rift between him and his family. His mother came when he won his first teaching award, she was in the audience but did not stay to see him face to face. Lucille's issues with her family are not of her doing, but those of her alcoholic parents. They were so dysfunctional when on a family trip, Lucille was stopped by a cop for numerous traffic violations. The cop felt so sorry for Lucille he let her off with a warning because he could not punish her anymore that she was already being punished.
Lucille was so desperate for the acceptance she was not getting from her father, because of those emotion she allowed Gordon to become very controlling in her life. They had been asked to leave places because of his behaviour and jealousy. What I thought was incredible was that Lucille had been in some real dangerous positions but she was more afraid of not being loved than being mugged. My favorite part of the story was the homeless man that she stepped over while fighting with Gordon, he told her he did not want her money he only wanted to see her smile. She gave him all the money in her wallet. The irony of all the misplaced love in this story is Lee's mugger who makes Lee swear to God that he will call his girlfriend and tell her he is ok.
"The Way We Live Now" and "Janus"
In the 80's the disease AIDS and HIV the virus that caused AIDS captured headlines everyone's attention. The lack of knowledge regarding how it was spread caused panic everywhere. The original belief was that it was spread through homosexual behavior, that was soon to change when more than just the gay community were HIV positive. Ryan White, a 13 year boy, becomes the face of AIDS, when in 1984 Ryan contradicted AIDS through a blood transfusion. He will be one of the driving forces for people to realized that not just gay men were at risk. Ryan White's case will change the laws regarding donated blood, in 1985 a law was passed that required all blood to be tested for HIV. New laws will also be enacted to ensure equal rights for people with AIDS, they could no longer be evicted or fired because they have AIDS. The 80's was also a time where women are showing up more in the workplace and commanding better pay than they had in previous decades. We were coming into our own, but sometimes money, prestige and a successful husband were not enough to fill our lives. We were looking for more, just have material possessions was not enough.
"Janus" by Ann Beattie is a woman who has everything but still feels empty, she obsesses over a bowl that is somehow the symbol of her life. This story is written in third person limited point of view. "The Way We Live Now" by Susan Sontag is the story of man dying of AIDS, the story behind the story is the gathering of his friends and how they feel about their friend, his illness, and their own fears about the disease. This story is written in third person omniscient, we get the insight from numerous friends, even some through here say.
The main character in "Janus" is Andrea, she is a successful realtor who is married to a successful stockbroker. They had been together since graduate school where times were tough, and as they both become successful they gathered many things to make up for when they couldn't. But the pleasure of owning new things was no longer there. The bowl was something the husband barely noticed and he was instructed to keep his keys out of it. She on the other hand is obsessed with the bowl, she brings it into her clients' homes when she is showing their houses. One time she forgot to take the bowl out of the house with her, she drove back to the house upset about leaving it behind. She compared it to someone leaving their child behind in a strange city.
She becomes so obsessed with the bowl she feels the only reason that she is so successful is because of the bowl. This bowl is always empty and I can't help feeling that Andrea is too, she has everything but has nothing. Where she once confided in her husband she now excludes him, she had a lover but he left her when he realized she was incapable of deciding what or who she loved. This story left me feeling empty, but I also pitied the main character because even though she had collected possessions and was successful her life didn't make her happy.
"The Way We Live Now" is the story of a group of friends gathering around their mutual friend who is dying from AIDS. While in the beginning they were able to put aside their differences in order to give a united front for their friend, soon old issues of jealousy come out. They are concerned about their friend's health but there is also concern about their own health. Stephen is obsessed with whether or not he had a good doctor, and if he was taking care of himself. Max ends up in the hospital with a complication from the virus, and the friends are concerned about telling their friend about Max's declining health. Quentin becomes the gate keeper telling people when they can come visit, even controlling when the man's mother can be there. The interesting twist to this story is how they all compete to be the better friend, like somehow it will make a difference.
The end of story brings us to the man's diary. Ellen picked up his diary to take a peek, she was alarmed not by what she read but how it was written. The diary starts with a strong pen but towards the end was less legible and drifted along the page. His life was fading like the strokes of the pen in this diary. Ursula and Stephen were only concerned with his being alive, if he was still writing in the book he was still alive.
"Janus" by Ann Beattie is a woman who has everything but still feels empty, she obsesses over a bowl that is somehow the symbol of her life. This story is written in third person limited point of view. "The Way We Live Now" by Susan Sontag is the story of man dying of AIDS, the story behind the story is the gathering of his friends and how they feel about their friend, his illness, and their own fears about the disease. This story is written in third person omniscient, we get the insight from numerous friends, even some through here say.
The main character in "Janus" is Andrea, she is a successful realtor who is married to a successful stockbroker. They had been together since graduate school where times were tough, and as they both become successful they gathered many things to make up for when they couldn't. But the pleasure of owning new things was no longer there. The bowl was something the husband barely noticed and he was instructed to keep his keys out of it. She on the other hand is obsessed with the bowl, she brings it into her clients' homes when she is showing their houses. One time she forgot to take the bowl out of the house with her, she drove back to the house upset about leaving it behind. She compared it to someone leaving their child behind in a strange city.
She becomes so obsessed with the bowl she feels the only reason that she is so successful is because of the bowl. This bowl is always empty and I can't help feeling that Andrea is too, she has everything but has nothing. Where she once confided in her husband she now excludes him, she had a lover but he left her when he realized she was incapable of deciding what or who she loved. This story left me feeling empty, but I also pitied the main character because even though she had collected possessions and was successful her life didn't make her happy.
"The Way We Live Now" is the story of a group of friends gathering around their mutual friend who is dying from AIDS. While in the beginning they were able to put aside their differences in order to give a united front for their friend, soon old issues of jealousy come out. They are concerned about their friend's health but there is also concern about their own health. Stephen is obsessed with whether or not he had a good doctor, and if he was taking care of himself. Max ends up in the hospital with a complication from the virus, and the friends are concerned about telling their friend about Max's declining health. Quentin becomes the gate keeper telling people when they can come visit, even controlling when the man's mother can be there. The interesting twist to this story is how they all compete to be the better friend, like somehow it will make a difference.
The end of story brings us to the man's diary. Ellen picked up his diary to take a peek, she was alarmed not by what she read but how it was written. The diary starts with a strong pen but towards the end was less legible and drifted along the page. His life was fading like the strokes of the pen in this diary. Ursula and Stephen were only concerned with his being alive, if he was still writing in the book he was still alive.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
"Gesturing", "Where I'm Calling From","The Shawl"
For all that the 70's was a magical time of being a young child, the 80's was that that time I grew up and realized freedom of choices often come with consequences and life is not always fair. I started the decade at 14 and finished at 24, with a lifetime of growing in between. I spent the early part of the 80's in high school and a good part of the rest of that time in the Navy. I was stationed in Washington, DC when they first opened the Vietnam Memorial Wall, and all I can say about the experience of walking the wall was heart wrenching sadness. It is a feeling I will never forget. In October 1983, one of the first terrorist attacks - the bombing of a Marine barracks in Beruit killing 241 Marines. 1986 I watched in horror with my shipmates the Space Shuttle Challenger exploding right after take off, at the very moment it was happening. Many years later I will be watching tv and will witness the Space Shuttle Columbia explode as it reenters the earth's atmosphere, they were broadcasting reentry when they realized something had gone terribly wrong. I remember watching the Iran-Contra affairs senate hearings with many of my other shipmates. We all cheered when Oliver North told them "I must have shredded my memory banks", in sarcastic reference to the shredding of confidential documents. In 1989 while watching World Series we got "snow" on the screen, and moments later they broadcast that San Francisco was hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake. The earthquake destroyed parts of the San Francisco bay bridge and killed 63 people. The magnitude of what we saw on television while it was happening was incredible in this decade.
Our stories for this decade "Gesturing" and "Where I'm Calling From" shows the changing of relationships and the consequences of our choices. While "The Shawl" was about the choices that Rosa was forced to make due to situations beyond her control with consequences of life and death. In John Updike's "Gesturing", the husband is faced with his wife's decision to end their marriage. This story was written in third person with a limited point of view, so we only know his view of their marriage. The second story, is Raymond Carver's "Where I'm Calling From", the narrator in this story must face the consequences of his alcoholism while watching two other men face their consequences. This story was written in the first person point of view. The last story "The Shawl" by Cynthia Ozick is a sad and painful story about two women and a baby during the Holocaust. This story was written in the third person omniscient point of view, we get Stella's point of view in the first paragraph only, the rest of the story is Rosa's.
"Gesturing" shows the changing dynamics of family, where once the wife would have stood idly by while her husband had an affair this wife finds a lover of her own. Additionally, she has decided to go it alone and sends her husband away because she can. He is faced with finding an apartment in Boston, and starting his life again. He is caught between his lover and his wife that I feel he still loves. A carving in his window "with this ring I thee wed" from previous tenants irritated him, not so much as it marred his view as it was a reminder of who he had been. While he settled in to that everyday routine of his life there was still that connection to his wife. "The motion was eager, shy, exquisite, diffident, trusting: he saw all its meanings and knew that would never stop gesturing to him, never; though a decree come between them, even death, her gesture would endure, cut into glass". They have simply falling out of line with each, it was easier to quit than work at what they had once had.
"Where I'm Calling From", the main character in this story is a divorced alcoholic quite like the author himself. This is his second stay at Frank Martin's rehabilitation house, the first time when his wife brought him to help get back on track. This time around his current girlfriend drops him off after they have drank themselves into a stupor. He meets Tiny and JP while he is there. Tiny has recently suffered from a serious seizure that was caused by withdrawals from alcohol and JP was brought by his wife's family when he could no longer work or drive, a non functioning alcoholic. JP's story is filtered through our narrator who tells about his great love for his wife and job, and the deterioration of his relationship with both his wife and his job. What is lost when alcoholism takes over their lives is the underlying theme here. JP loses the woman he loved from first sight, as well as the job he loved because of his drinking. Our narrator has destroyed his marriage, and his new relationship was on the rocks as well because of his drinking. Frank talks to the men about "if", "we can help you. IF you want help and want to listen to what we say". To me this story talks about choices and the choices we make, and the consequences we must accept because of those choices. Also, while there is help out there for addicts they must decide they want the help, you can not help someone who doesn't want your help. How far down is rock bottom?
The last story in this group tears at my heart, and I find it hard to go back and read again. "The Shawl" is the story of two woman and a baby that are being marched to a concentration camp and what happens to them while they are there. The baby, Magda, is hidden by the 14 year old mother, Rosa, under a shawl through out the story, both woman and the baby are starving to death. On this fateful day Stella steals the shawl from the baby. It leaves you wondering if Stella stole the shawl because it was previously told she was jealous of Magda or because the cold had become unbearable to her. Or in the end did her own self preservation become more important. Magda wanders out into the courtyard looking for her shawl and is found by the soldiers moments after Rosa sights her. They grab this small child and toss it into the electric fence killing her. Rosa is faced with hollering out to Magda to come back to her before the soldiers get her, but it would call attention to both of them and they would both be shot. After the baby has been murdered, she wants to scream out but again she risks being killed herself. The choices she must make at this point are life and death, does she try to rescue Magda and sacrifice both their lives or does she just watch in horror her death. This story truly saddens my heart.
Our stories for this decade "Gesturing" and "Where I'm Calling From" shows the changing of relationships and the consequences of our choices. While "The Shawl" was about the choices that Rosa was forced to make due to situations beyond her control with consequences of life and death. In John Updike's "Gesturing", the husband is faced with his wife's decision to end their marriage. This story was written in third person with a limited point of view, so we only know his view of their marriage. The second story, is Raymond Carver's "Where I'm Calling From", the narrator in this story must face the consequences of his alcoholism while watching two other men face their consequences. This story was written in the first person point of view. The last story "The Shawl" by Cynthia Ozick is a sad and painful story about two women and a baby during the Holocaust. This story was written in the third person omniscient point of view, we get Stella's point of view in the first paragraph only, the rest of the story is Rosa's.
"Gesturing" shows the changing dynamics of family, where once the wife would have stood idly by while her husband had an affair this wife finds a lover of her own. Additionally, she has decided to go it alone and sends her husband away because she can. He is faced with finding an apartment in Boston, and starting his life again. He is caught between his lover and his wife that I feel he still loves. A carving in his window "with this ring I thee wed" from previous tenants irritated him, not so much as it marred his view as it was a reminder of who he had been. While he settled in to that everyday routine of his life there was still that connection to his wife. "The motion was eager, shy, exquisite, diffident, trusting: he saw all its meanings and knew that would never stop gesturing to him, never; though a decree come between them, even death, her gesture would endure, cut into glass". They have simply falling out of line with each, it was easier to quit than work at what they had once had.
"Where I'm Calling From", the main character in this story is a divorced alcoholic quite like the author himself. This is his second stay at Frank Martin's rehabilitation house, the first time when his wife brought him to help get back on track. This time around his current girlfriend drops him off after they have drank themselves into a stupor. He meets Tiny and JP while he is there. Tiny has recently suffered from a serious seizure that was caused by withdrawals from alcohol and JP was brought by his wife's family when he could no longer work or drive, a non functioning alcoholic. JP's story is filtered through our narrator who tells about his great love for his wife and job, and the deterioration of his relationship with both his wife and his job. What is lost when alcoholism takes over their lives is the underlying theme here. JP loses the woman he loved from first sight, as well as the job he loved because of his drinking. Our narrator has destroyed his marriage, and his new relationship was on the rocks as well because of his drinking. Frank talks to the men about "if", "we can help you. IF you want help and want to listen to what we say". To me this story talks about choices and the choices we make, and the consequences we must accept because of those choices. Also, while there is help out there for addicts they must decide they want the help, you can not help someone who doesn't want your help. How far down is rock bottom?
The last story in this group tears at my heart, and I find it hard to go back and read again. "The Shawl" is the story of two woman and a baby that are being marched to a concentration camp and what happens to them while they are there. The baby, Magda, is hidden by the 14 year old mother, Rosa, under a shawl through out the story, both woman and the baby are starving to death. On this fateful day Stella steals the shawl from the baby. It leaves you wondering if Stella stole the shawl because it was previously told she was jealous of Magda or because the cold had become unbearable to her. Or in the end did her own self preservation become more important. Magda wanders out into the courtyard looking for her shawl and is found by the soldiers moments after Rosa sights her. They grab this small child and toss it into the electric fence killing her. Rosa is faced with hollering out to Magda to come back to her before the soldiers get her, but it would call attention to both of them and they would both be shot. After the baby has been murdered, she wants to scream out but again she risks being killed herself. The choices she must make at this point are life and death, does she try to rescue Magda and sacrifice both their lives or does she just watch in horror her death. This story truly saddens my heart.
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