12 responses to “Week 6—Fiction Reading Response (Tues)”
In “Sticks,” George Saunders’ tells a story about a character’s childhood and the significance of a pole which represents family dynamics and the complex concept of human emotion. This pole is simply a structure in which the father dresses up in different costumes on different holidays and occasions. Saunders’ says “On the Fourth of July the pole was Uncle Sam, on Veteran’s Day a soldier, on Halloween a ghost.”
At first, the pole is dressed up in more light hearted costumes, like a ghost and Santa. However as time passes and the kids begin their own lives by marrying people and starting to have kids of their own, the dressing up of the pole becomes more obscure as well as bleak and grim. For instance, the mother dies and the father dresses the pole up as Death. He then put pictures of the mother as well as possessions of hers under the pole. In this version of the pole, it shows the father mourning loss in his own way. Through the changing decorations on the pole, Saunders masterfully illustrates the father’s inner turmoil and his attempts to cope with life’s challenges.
Overall, Saunders’ in his story “Sticks” shows how certain important objects in one’s life can represent complex human emotions and inadvertently become a coping mechanism. George Saunders does this with the pole and shows how the protagonists’ father’s relationship with decorating the pole grew and changed as time passed and he lost people important to him. In the end, Saunders knows the neighbors just threw out the sticks that were so important to the protagonists’ father, showing that we individually assign importance to certain objects.
The reading that stood out to me the most was Mary When You Follow Her. I was reading it in the dining hall, and at first, I got a little overwhelmed because I was surrounded by noise, and on top of that was reading this never-ending sentence. At first, I was worried that it would make it hard for me to follow, but I feel like I got into a reading rhythm, and the style grew on me. This kind of inner monologue or stream of consciousness is something we’ve talked about a lot in class, but I have never seen it in this style and I think it works really well. I think something that grounds that stream is the repetition of location, specifically that unlit parking lot that is returned to throughout the piece. There is so much description that stems from that parking lot about the environment in which the story takes place, Maria’s relationship with her mom, Maria’s character, etc. I also think this piece felt very raw in a similar way to the Stephen Elliot piece “Where I Sleep”. There were very dark themes, but they were presented in a way that didn’t really make me pity the characters because it was stated in such a matter-of-fact way.
“‘I wish I had a steak,’ says Eliott, his voice strained and high.” Dog Days by Judy Budnitz
By this line, I knew what was going to happen. I anticipated it but it still shocked me. In the last few lines of this story, I felt this deep dread and this uncomfortable feeling that stayed with me even after I finished reading. This made me think about the merits of giving the reader what they expect. As unexpected as the moment when Lisa’s dad shot the man in the dog suit may have been, it was set up predictably at the end. Budnitz set up the situation and followed through. I think that so frequently when I write I try to circumvent expectations or change a common trope or result. I am so used to being concentrated on trying to throw readers off the trail that, at the end of Budnitz piece, I thought about what the story would have been like if the ending had been unpredictable — if the dad had missed, if someone else had been shot, or if they turned on the mother or Lisa instead. But then I thought about the dread I felt at knowing what was going to happen. This showed me that sometimes giving the reader exactly what they expect — and probably what they don’t want — can be just as powerful as a plot twist. Sometimes, like in Dog Days, this means you can create a tense atmosphere in the lead-up to something, that wouldn’t be possible if everything was unpredictable. I am a big fan of foreshadowing, but I am reconsidering if I am too vague with this now. Maybe a balance of unpredictable and predictable is best for a story.
“Mary When You Follow Her by Carmen” Maria Machado
I loved that when reading this piece it was a train of thought coming out with only commas to slow us down as the reader. This train of thought was a very familiar one to the stories of the people that I have known around me. The fates that many have seem to become complacent with because it’s always “that’s how it is” or “what could be done” since the systems put in place to provide security and peace don’t fit in their world. As I read I found myself shaking my head, agreeing with what was written because it was just line after line that I have seen all before. On the news, from my family and friends, and the news articles/posts that we all dreaded seeing every week with a different name plastered on top. Reading the ending made me really remember to appreciate those who have struggled and sacrificed to get themselves or their families out of these situations for a better life. Then the consistency that never dies of fighting to keep this better life. Such a beautiful piece.
In “Dog Days” I found the act of the man pretending to be a dog, and the conflict between the family as they argue over whether not to humor him, very interesting. Over the course of the story, they slowly lose everything they have, from their dwindling food and supplies to their neighbors and friends. They have nothing to look forward to, and seem to be gradually losing themselves in a world where they’re firmly clinging on to what little hope they have left.
It seems to be a part of why the family begins to see this dog man as an actual dog, albeit reluctantly at first. It becomes easier for the POV character to pretend, since this “dog” gives him something in return: a small but meaningful joy to look forward to. The dog guy gets whatever scraps they can manage to part with, and he acts as a friend during a dreadful time when they don’t have many friends left. They play together and relax together, and the family even gives him a name. While the father still doesn’t play along, he doesn’t bother the dog man.
It is only at the very end of the story when the dad finally plays along for the same reasons the family did: benefit. By joining the act and pretending the man is a dog, he’s giving himself an excuse to commit manslaughter so he and the boys have something to eat. It is here when the dog man finally drops the act and attempts to escape on his two legs, but at this point it’s too late. The family, at this point, is willing to play along with anything if it will benefit them, even in the short run.
I thought that the idea of someone reverse evolving was really interesting, and surprisingly sad. What drew me most to the writing style was the fact that the narrator never seemed surprised by her lovers transformation. She does not panic, or call 911, but wants to meet her lover where he’s at. To take care of him in his ape form. She doesn’t blame him for his transformation, and she isn’t scared by it. His human form was described as sad and worried, thinking about thinking.
The story doesn’t say whether he becomes less sad or less worried in his ape or turtle or salamander form, but he transforms after the narrator wishes for good. Is the good for him or for her? She says early on in the story that she loves him because of his sadness. She tries to connect with him, by thinking similar thoughts, and matching his level of dreaming. But as he transforms, there are no more thoughts to share, and she becomes his caretaker, until she has to let him go. Is that the good she wished for? Or was the wish irony for the loss she was about to experience?
I found the microfictions so interesting and inspiring. To me, writing fiction is so daunting— I think of these big, grand novels, and I never know how people develop those stories nor especially where to start. So the microfiction showed me how much of a story can be developed in such a short space. They also showed me that a lot of the writing is similar in style to nonfiction. Some of these pieces, such as “Mary When You Follow Her”, read almost as a real story, the lines felt a little blurred. For fiction, I can take on a persona, I can write from “me”, but “me” can do whatever I want, all these crazy and weird things can happen.
Specific moments that stood out to me in the microfictions were the specifically fantastical moments. I really enjoyed “The Rememberer”, and the idea of your human lover turning into an ape, and then a salamander. The story seemed so normal at first, that I did not expect that twist at all, and I really liked that absurdism but realistic style of fiction writing. I also thought this with “Reading the Paper” though I also felt confused by that one… like it was almost too fantastical and all over the place, but it also showed me there is no bounds and things don’t full have to make sense. I also like the more realistic ones, and I think I have more of a starting point if I shape and write my fiction in the style of a narrative.
I really enjoyed reading the short story. The ending was really interesting. “‘Stop abusing that woman,’ I shouted from the crowd.” This change in perspective is interesting. Wasn’t the narrator right next to the person? Didn’t they know the person? This story left me with many questions.
I loved reading “Mary When You Follow Her.” After I read a few lines I had to stop and realize that there were no periods and that everything was only connected by other punctuation making it one big sentence. As I read it in my mind it was like I was trying to read it in one breath, which was very hard but I think that added to the point of the story. The fact that there was no punctuation placed us in the life of Maria and how overwhelming things were for her. It also took some shock away from really terrible events since there were no line breaks or punctuation to emphasize them, which kinda showed how these events were desensitized in a way because they were so common.
This story was an interesting take on a post apocalyptic world. It both played with the realistic possibilities of a war torn America and the exploration of the animalistic. The man dressed as a dog, at first, is the more animalistic; yet, by the end, the family turns into the animals. This explores what could happen to even the most rational of humans when placed in an irrational situation.
The story from a writing perspective was beautifully written. The author built up the desperation of the situation between all the family members and interspersed it with the speaker’s need to speak to the dog. This slowly shifted the reader’s opinions of the dog and the family. This, by the end, functioned to portray the animalistic qualities of the family.
In the microfiction piece “Billy’s Girl”, the author chooses not to use quotation marks for dialogue. To me, this complicated the “ownership” of the lines that were spoken. The dialogue is being filtered through the narrator’s mind – we are not reading it as it was spoken by the other characters, rather, we are reading it as he remembers/imagines it being spoken. This makes us feel like we are listening to his internal monologue.
12 responses to “Week 6—Fiction Reading Response (Tues)”
In “Sticks,” George Saunders’ tells a story about a character’s childhood and the significance of a pole which represents family dynamics and the complex concept of human emotion. This pole is simply a structure in which the father dresses up in different costumes on different holidays and occasions. Saunders’ says “On the Fourth of July the pole was Uncle Sam, on Veteran’s Day a soldier, on Halloween a ghost.”
At first, the pole is dressed up in more light hearted costumes, like a ghost and Santa. However as time passes and the kids begin their own lives by marrying people and starting to have kids of their own, the dressing up of the pole becomes more obscure as well as bleak and grim. For instance, the mother dies and the father dresses the pole up as Death. He then put pictures of the mother as well as possessions of hers under the pole. In this version of the pole, it shows the father mourning loss in his own way. Through the changing decorations on the pole, Saunders masterfully illustrates the father’s inner turmoil and his attempts to cope with life’s challenges.
Overall, Saunders’ in his story “Sticks” shows how certain important objects in one’s life can represent complex human emotions and inadvertently become a coping mechanism. George Saunders does this with the pole and shows how the protagonists’ father’s relationship with decorating the pole grew and changed as time passed and he lost people important to him. In the end, Saunders knows the neighbors just threw out the sticks that were so important to the protagonists’ father, showing that we individually assign importance to certain objects.
The reading that stood out to me the most was Mary When You Follow Her. I was reading it in the dining hall, and at first, I got a little overwhelmed because I was surrounded by noise, and on top of that was reading this never-ending sentence. At first, I was worried that it would make it hard for me to follow, but I feel like I got into a reading rhythm, and the style grew on me. This kind of inner monologue or stream of consciousness is something we’ve talked about a lot in class, but I have never seen it in this style and I think it works really well. I think something that grounds that stream is the repetition of location, specifically that unlit parking lot that is returned to throughout the piece. There is so much description that stems from that parking lot about the environment in which the story takes place, Maria’s relationship with her mom, Maria’s character, etc. I also think this piece felt very raw in a similar way to the Stephen Elliot piece “Where I Sleep”. There were very dark themes, but they were presented in a way that didn’t really make me pity the characters because it was stated in such a matter-of-fact way.
“‘I wish I had a steak,’ says Eliott, his voice strained and high.” Dog Days by Judy Budnitz
By this line, I knew what was going to happen. I anticipated it but it still shocked me. In the last few lines of this story, I felt this deep dread and this uncomfortable feeling that stayed with me even after I finished reading. This made me think about the merits of giving the reader what they expect. As unexpected as the moment when Lisa’s dad shot the man in the dog suit may have been, it was set up predictably at the end. Budnitz set up the situation and followed through. I think that so frequently when I write I try to circumvent expectations or change a common trope or result. I am so used to being concentrated on trying to throw readers off the trail that, at the end of Budnitz piece, I thought about what the story would have been like if the ending had been unpredictable — if the dad had missed, if someone else had been shot, or if they turned on the mother or Lisa instead. But then I thought about the dread I felt at knowing what was going to happen. This showed me that sometimes giving the reader exactly what they expect — and probably what they don’t want — can be just as powerful as a plot twist. Sometimes, like in Dog Days, this means you can create a tense atmosphere in the lead-up to something, that wouldn’t be possible if everything was unpredictable. I am a big fan of foreshadowing, but I am reconsidering if I am too vague with this now. Maybe a balance of unpredictable and predictable is best for a story.
Such good questions, Addison — I hope we get to talk about some of the ideas you raise here in class.
“Mary When You Follow Her by Carmen” Maria Machado
I loved that when reading this piece it was a train of thought coming out with only commas to slow us down as the reader. This train of thought was a very familiar one to the stories of the people that I have known around me. The fates that many have seem to become complacent with because it’s always “that’s how it is” or “what could be done” since the systems put in place to provide security and peace don’t fit in their world. As I read I found myself shaking my head, agreeing with what was written because it was just line after line that I have seen all before. On the news, from my family and friends, and the news articles/posts that we all dreaded seeing every week with a different name plastered on top. Reading the ending made me really remember to appreciate those who have struggled and sacrificed to get themselves or their families out of these situations for a better life. Then the consistency that never dies of fighting to keep this better life. Such a beautiful piece.
In “Dog Days” I found the act of the man pretending to be a dog, and the conflict between the family as they argue over whether not to humor him, very interesting. Over the course of the story, they slowly lose everything they have, from their dwindling food and supplies to their neighbors and friends. They have nothing to look forward to, and seem to be gradually losing themselves in a world where they’re firmly clinging on to what little hope they have left.
It seems to be a part of why the family begins to see this dog man as an actual dog, albeit reluctantly at first. It becomes easier for the POV character to pretend, since this “dog” gives him something in return: a small but meaningful joy to look forward to. The dog guy gets whatever scraps they can manage to part with, and he acts as a friend during a dreadful time when they don’t have many friends left. They play together and relax together, and the family even gives him a name. While the father still doesn’t play along, he doesn’t bother the dog man.
It is only at the very end of the story when the dad finally plays along for the same reasons the family did: benefit. By joining the act and pretending the man is a dog, he’s giving himself an excuse to commit manslaughter so he and the boys have something to eat. It is here when the dog man finally drops the act and attempts to escape on his two legs, but at this point it’s too late. The family, at this point, is willing to play along with anything if it will benefit them, even in the short run.
The Rememberer – Aimee Bender
I thought that the idea of someone reverse evolving was really interesting, and surprisingly sad. What drew me most to the writing style was the fact that the narrator never seemed surprised by her lovers transformation. She does not panic, or call 911, but wants to meet her lover where he’s at. To take care of him in his ape form. She doesn’t blame him for his transformation, and she isn’t scared by it. His human form was described as sad and worried, thinking about thinking.
The story doesn’t say whether he becomes less sad or less worried in his ape or turtle or salamander form, but he transforms after the narrator wishes for good. Is the good for him or for her? She says early on in the story that she loves him because of his sadness. She tries to connect with him, by thinking similar thoughts, and matching his level of dreaming. But as he transforms, there are no more thoughts to share, and she becomes his caretaker, until she has to let him go. Is that the good she wished for? Or was the wish irony for the loss she was about to experience?
I found the microfictions so interesting and inspiring. To me, writing fiction is so daunting— I think of these big, grand novels, and I never know how people develop those stories nor especially where to start. So the microfiction showed me how much of a story can be developed in such a short space. They also showed me that a lot of the writing is similar in style to nonfiction. Some of these pieces, such as “Mary When You Follow Her”, read almost as a real story, the lines felt a little blurred. For fiction, I can take on a persona, I can write from “me”, but “me” can do whatever I want, all these crazy and weird things can happen.
Specific moments that stood out to me in the microfictions were the specifically fantastical moments. I really enjoyed “The Rememberer”, and the idea of your human lover turning into an ape, and then a salamander. The story seemed so normal at first, that I did not expect that twist at all, and I really liked that absurdism but realistic style of fiction writing. I also thought this with “Reading the Paper” though I also felt confused by that one… like it was almost too fantastical and all over the place, but it also showed me there is no bounds and things don’t full have to make sense. I also like the more realistic ones, and I think I have more of a starting point if I shape and write my fiction in the style of a narrative.
I really enjoyed reading the short story. The ending was really interesting. “‘Stop abusing that woman,’ I shouted from the crowd.” This change in perspective is interesting. Wasn’t the narrator right next to the person? Didn’t they know the person? This story left me with many questions.
I loved reading “Mary When You Follow Her.” After I read a few lines I had to stop and realize that there were no periods and that everything was only connected by other punctuation making it one big sentence. As I read it in my mind it was like I was trying to read it in one breath, which was very hard but I think that added to the point of the story. The fact that there was no punctuation placed us in the life of Maria and how overwhelming things were for her. It also took some shock away from really terrible events since there were no line breaks or punctuation to emphasize them, which kinda showed how these events were desensitized in a way because they were so common.
“Dog Days”
This story was an interesting take on a post apocalyptic world. It both played with the realistic possibilities of a war torn America and the exploration of the animalistic. The man dressed as a dog, at first, is the more animalistic; yet, by the end, the family turns into the animals. This explores what could happen to even the most rational of humans when placed in an irrational situation.
The story from a writing perspective was beautifully written. The author built up the desperation of the situation between all the family members and interspersed it with the speaker’s need to speak to the dog. This slowly shifted the reader’s opinions of the dog and the family. This, by the end, functioned to portray the animalistic qualities of the family.
In the microfiction piece “Billy’s Girl”, the author chooses not to use quotation marks for dialogue. To me, this complicated the “ownership” of the lines that were spoken. The dialogue is being filtered through the narrator’s mind – we are not reading it as it was spoken by the other characters, rather, we are reading it as he remembers/imagines it being spoken. This makes us feel like we are listening to his internal monologue.