This week I read one contemporary short story, but I did not like it. It’s called Today I’m Yours by Mary Gaitskill. From the title I was expecting a romantic love story or quite possibly a sad love story because “today” makes the relationship sound temporary which suggests a breakup or separation. Regardless, I thought it would be a charming little story about a man and woman. It ended up because a story about lesbian lovers who saw each other on and off for a long period of time, but in the end they realize that they can never be together. One of the women is married and she cheats on her husband and the other has a girlfriend who she cheats on throughout the story. It was somewhat interesting, although I wish the lovers did not simply walk away from one another in the end like they mean nothing to one another.
I really liked the Shiloh short story because it reminded me of what could have happened with Grandparents’ marriage, had my Grandfather not required my Grandmother to follow him as he grew internationally aware and educated. Although the stories are a bit different, Shiloh is a key example of what my grandfather feared could happen to his relationship if they did not grow together.
Shiloh is a story about the realization of a woman, Norma Jean, that she has changed and her makeshift marriage is holding her back from her dreams. The short story is told through the eyes of her husband. Her husband, Leroy, notices her changing and is aware that his wife may leave him. Leroy tries to connect with his wife, but it is too late and Norma Jean is already out of reach. Like the characters in Shiloh, my Grandparents also got married because my grandmother was pregnant with my mother when they were both eighteen. Even though their baby did not die, their marriage could have taken the same path as Norma Jean’s and Leroy’s because they started out the same initially. As time passed, both my grandfather and Leroy got jobs that required them to often be away from home. The difference was that when Leroy was away he lost touch with his wife, but when my grandfather was away he would often bring my grandmother. My grandfather considered the possibility that he would change and grow as he traveled and if left behind, my grandmother would not. Even when my grandmother would not want to go to the places that my grandfather planned to travel to, my grandfather would encourage her and she would always be glad she went. They have now been married for fifty-five years and in my opinion they have been so happy together because they have grown and changed together. I think that it is not uncommon, unfortunately, for big businessmen to travel and lose interest in their wives at home who are not exposed to the same situations as them. Businessmen then may meet other women while working who intrigue them. In Shiloh the scenario is reversed, Norma Jean is left home and she explores new areas of interest, while Leroy remains the same as he was in high school. Both the scenario of the businessman and the scenario in Shiloh develop due to the same circumstance: separation and different experiences.
556
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Role of Drugs and Alcohol in Cathedral
As the analyst this week for Cathedral by Raymond Carver, I spent some extra time investigating the characters personalities and the events within the story. Although this story concerns real people from Carver’s past as its characters, it is fascinating to infer the purpose/meaning of each incident in the story. In particular, I found it very surprising when the narrator asks the blind man if he wants to smoke some dope. I became curious about why this is part of the story. As soon as the blind man and the narrator’s wife arrive, drinks are served. The characters all rely on alcohol and marijuana to enjoy themselves and relieve their anxiety. Both elements are vital to the short story because they lead to the successive actions and are the driving force to the events that characterize the narrator, his wife, and the blind man. Marijuana and alcohol affect the minds of the smokers and facilitate their loosening up and understanding of one another.
When the characters sit down for small talk, drinks directly follow. The narrator asks the blind man what kind of drink he would like as a gage of his personality. He chooses whiskey and the narrator says “I knew it” as if he had been able to read the blind man’s mind, when in fact the narrator has a warped perception of the blind man’s actual personality. The characters continue chatting and new rounds of drinks are served as needed. The atmosphere is comfortable between the narrator’s wife and the blind man, but the conversation still seems unnatural and the narrator feels left out. The narrator’s wife is trying too hard to assist the blind man because of his handicap and her hospitality is overbearing.
Later, drugs are introduced to the story and the characters finally open up to one another and connect. Prior to their smoking, we do not witness any eased tensions, rather the characters have awkward conversation. In fact, the narrator says that he wishes him wife would come back downstairs because he does not want to be left alone with a blind man. He then offers the blind man another drink and marijuana. The blind man agrees to try some for his first time. They smoke the joint together and the narrator is impressed because the blind man smokes “like he’d been doing it since he was nine years old.” The narrator finally realizes that the blind man is more like him than he had recognized. Soon after the narrator notices that his wife’s robe has slipped away, but then another turning point occurs when he thinks “What the hell” because the blind man can not see anyway.
The subsequent experiences between the blind man and narrator are possible because of the narrator’s realization that the blind man is a ordinary man who is not a threat to the narrator’s relationship with his wife and because they are high. We discover that the narrator often has terrible dreams, so he stays up late to avoid them. He may disclose this information because he is relaxed from smoking. The biggest event is the conversation that gave the story its name. The narrator and blind man discuss a cathedral. As depicted in many movies, people often find television more entertaining when they are high. Because the narrator is high, he becomes enchanted by a cathedral. The two men discuss it and the blind man wants the narrator to draw it out while holding the blind man’s hands to the pen. As their hands draw out the cathedral, the narrator is totally connected with the blind man and his preconceived notions are destroyed. This activity could also be an effect of the marijuana because feelings are enhanced when people get high. Therefore they may have been able to feel a deeper connection by physically touching. The activity is also influential because the narrator literally sees the world in a new way after experiencing it as a blind man. Throughout the story, the narrator undergoes a transformation from prejudiced and negative to experience and understanding.
678
When the characters sit down for small talk, drinks directly follow. The narrator asks the blind man what kind of drink he would like as a gage of his personality. He chooses whiskey and the narrator says “I knew it” as if he had been able to read the blind man’s mind, when in fact the narrator has a warped perception of the blind man’s actual personality. The characters continue chatting and new rounds of drinks are served as needed. The atmosphere is comfortable between the narrator’s wife and the blind man, but the conversation still seems unnatural and the narrator feels left out. The narrator’s wife is trying too hard to assist the blind man because of his handicap and her hospitality is overbearing.
Later, drugs are introduced to the story and the characters finally open up to one another and connect. Prior to their smoking, we do not witness any eased tensions, rather the characters have awkward conversation. In fact, the narrator says that he wishes him wife would come back downstairs because he does not want to be left alone with a blind man. He then offers the blind man another drink and marijuana. The blind man agrees to try some for his first time. They smoke the joint together and the narrator is impressed because the blind man smokes “like he’d been doing it since he was nine years old.” The narrator finally realizes that the blind man is more like him than he had recognized. Soon after the narrator notices that his wife’s robe has slipped away, but then another turning point occurs when he thinks “What the hell” because the blind man can not see anyway.
The subsequent experiences between the blind man and narrator are possible because of the narrator’s realization that the blind man is a ordinary man who is not a threat to the narrator’s relationship with his wife and because they are high. We discover that the narrator often has terrible dreams, so he stays up late to avoid them. He may disclose this information because he is relaxed from smoking. The biggest event is the conversation that gave the story its name. The narrator and blind man discuss a cathedral. As depicted in many movies, people often find television more entertaining when they are high. Because the narrator is high, he becomes enchanted by a cathedral. The two men discuss it and the blind man wants the narrator to draw it out while holding the blind man’s hands to the pen. As their hands draw out the cathedral, the narrator is totally connected with the blind man and his preconceived notions are destroyed. This activity could also be an effect of the marijuana because feelings are enhanced when people get high. Therefore they may have been able to feel a deeper connection by physically touching. The activity is also influential because the narrator literally sees the world in a new way after experiencing it as a blind man. Throughout the story, the narrator undergoes a transformation from prejudiced and negative to experience and understanding.
678
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Daisy's Parenting Struggle
Teenage Wasteland was the most impressive of the week’s short stories because it addressed bad human behavior and made me think about its cause. Depending on what the reader believes is the cause of Donny’s bad actions, he or she forms an opinion about Donny’s family life, in particular his mother Daisy.
In the past I have heard different ideas about why people act the way they do, such as the “nature vs. nurture” argument. “Nature” is the hereditary force upon a person and “nurture” is how that individual has been raised. I believe that the two are both important in the make-up of someone’s personality, but that the combination of the two influences differs depending upon the particular person. In Donny’s case I think that “nature” is the main problem. The narrator gives no evidence of anything that the parents did wrong to provoke Donny’s rebellious behavior. Therefore, his parents were not to blame for the start of the problems and their extreme struggle to help Donny should not be criticized.
Although Daisy is not the perfect mother by any means, she tried her very best to help her son. The story portrays her as a loving mom who dearly wants to help her son, but her personality thwarts her noble effort. Daisy’s insecurity and gullibility make it harder for her to choose the best oath to Donny’s recovery. When Daisy is called into the principal’s office, she is “shamed” and feels like a “delinquent parent” because her son is causing disruption in the school. Then, when she leaves the office, she “held her stomach in” because she is worried about looking like an overweight housewife. Her behavior during this scene reveals her insecurity as a woman, but not her inability to be a good mother. After the conference, she takes action by checking Donny’s homework daily. Daisy exhausts herself by all of the attention that she gives Donny. Unfortunately, the school calls again and Daisy has to try a new strategy. Daisy is willing to do whatever it takes to help Donny. Her next attempt is scheduling a visit for him with a psychologist who then refers Donny to a tutor named Cal. Cal takes advantage of Daisy’s gullibility by demanding full control of communication with Donny’s school regarding Donny’s progress. Daisy feels completing defeated by her failed attempts to help Donny and agrees to handover all power to Cal. Daisy is scared and unsure about how to handle her son’s growing problems. She feels that she has done everything she can do to help her son and that Cal is Donny’s last hope. It is easy to criticize her for allowing Cal to take such authority, but she is desperate and Cal appears to be the only remaining answer. Also, Cal is not a random man; he is referred to her by a certified psychologist. Daisy is susceptible to the audience’s judgment because she could have intervened sooner or done something different; but, I still believe that it is not fully in her power to save someone who does not want to be saved. Even if she had the opportunity to try again, I do not know what she would have had to do to save Donny.
540 words
In the past I have heard different ideas about why people act the way they do, such as the “nature vs. nurture” argument. “Nature” is the hereditary force upon a person and “nurture” is how that individual has been raised. I believe that the two are both important in the make-up of someone’s personality, but that the combination of the two influences differs depending upon the particular person. In Donny’s case I think that “nature” is the main problem. The narrator gives no evidence of anything that the parents did wrong to provoke Donny’s rebellious behavior. Therefore, his parents were not to blame for the start of the problems and their extreme struggle to help Donny should not be criticized.
Although Daisy is not the perfect mother by any means, she tried her very best to help her son. The story portrays her as a loving mom who dearly wants to help her son, but her personality thwarts her noble effort. Daisy’s insecurity and gullibility make it harder for her to choose the best oath to Donny’s recovery. When Daisy is called into the principal’s office, she is “shamed” and feels like a “delinquent parent” because her son is causing disruption in the school. Then, when she leaves the office, she “held her stomach in” because she is worried about looking like an overweight housewife. Her behavior during this scene reveals her insecurity as a woman, but not her inability to be a good mother. After the conference, she takes action by checking Donny’s homework daily. Daisy exhausts herself by all of the attention that she gives Donny. Unfortunately, the school calls again and Daisy has to try a new strategy. Daisy is willing to do whatever it takes to help Donny. Her next attempt is scheduling a visit for him with a psychologist who then refers Donny to a tutor named Cal. Cal takes advantage of Daisy’s gullibility by demanding full control of communication with Donny’s school regarding Donny’s progress. Daisy feels completing defeated by her failed attempts to help Donny and agrees to handover all power to Cal. Daisy is scared and unsure about how to handle her son’s growing problems. She feels that she has done everything she can do to help her son and that Cal is Donny’s last hope. It is easy to criticize her for allowing Cal to take such authority, but she is desperate and Cal appears to be the only remaining answer. Also, Cal is not a random man; he is referred to her by a certified psychologist. Daisy is susceptible to the audience’s judgment because she could have intervened sooner or done something different; but, I still believe that it is not fully in her power to save someone who does not want to be saved. Even if she had the opportunity to try again, I do not know what she would have had to do to save Donny.
540 words
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