I was initially attracted to this short story because of the way it looks on the page--the paragraphs are short and choppy, with double line breaks in between them. Many of the paragraphs are not indented. It didn't look like a typical short story, so I was curious to see what it was about.
Once I started to read the story, I understood why it looked so strange. Each paragraph was something new, a description of a different boy that the narrator had slept with. The narrator would point things out about each boy, about how he was in bed or the innocent activities they would partake in together right before things got steamy. It was almost sad how the narrator described all these boys. There were so many of them, but only one girl who experienced and was hurt by almost all of them. I like the way she compares them to songs in one part; she connects each boy with a line from a song. The boys really are like songs to her because each one meant something, but they were all fleeting.
This short story was driven by many small, brief stories of all the boys. It definitely was not typical in that there really seemed to be no definitive start, middle, and end. There was no real plot line. But in reading it, I got to know the narrator and how desperately she just wants to be loved. The real development in this story is in the character of the narrator. When she first begins describing each boy in the beginning of the story, she comes across as a callous and almost heartless girl who is only in it for the thrills of sex and lust. As the narrative continues, it becomes clear that she is deeply sad and lonely. The last part basically broke my heart because she talks about how before sex, the boys would look into her eyes as though she meant something to them. After sex, they didn't care anymore. And although it was an overall sad story that didn't contain a true plot, I was somehow satisfied by this tale. I suppose that's really what makes a complete short story--whether or not it leaves the reader satisfied.
Friday, May 6, 2016
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Columns Hotel: 1718 May 3rd
This month's 1718 reading was interesting to say the least. To start the evening, I dressed up a little bit, dressing myself in a black polo, dad jeans, brown chukka boots, and a dash of cologne, seeing how I would be attending with two fellow students, my friend and co-worker Louisa and a classmate from my Reading Poetry class, Anahi. Upon stepping out of the Uber, our eyes were immediately greeted with the hotel's lavish Iambic columns and pristine vegetation. As we proceeded to enter the palace, one thing that struck me were the smiling patrons. Everyone seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, which was nice because it added to the environment's pleasant atmosphere, but I digress. The student readers, one from each of the major New Orleans universities (Loyola, Tulane, and UNO), began the hour and twenty minute event by reading either a short story or some of their verse. Surprisingly, my favorite was the UNO student's poem, "Astroid," which was a touching but scornful piece that seemed to draw from the young woman's tumultuous journey with romance. And then Carolyn Hembree took the mic.
With short cut hair, a youthful gown, and a Blue Moon in hand, she began to read from her book Rigging a Time Machine Into a Chevy and Other Ways to Escape a Plague. Her odd reading voice, and even more strange poetry, quickly enchanted the room with vivid images of lagoon-side rape, back-wood murders, and weeds. Her borderline nonsensical poems read as if they were of a trailer-park-born Lewis Carol who somehow managed to find enough time to delve into academia. The merging of Appalachian vernacular and commonplace with the scientific jargon of Stephen Hawking's lifeworks creates a truly encapsulating narrative that perplexes yet satisfies readers and listeners alike. When she had finished speaking, and had asked for questions, most people in the audience were capable of only two things: shifting in their seats and exhaling short breaths. It was evident that everyone was attempting to wrap their minds around what they had just witnessed, and as such, had trouble finding their words on the subject. However, when a few minutes had gone by, and the material had been kneaded a bit, the questions that arose were all very intelligent, well thought out and intricate, which reflected on the level stimulation that Ms. Hembree's work elicited.
With short cut hair, a youthful gown, and a Blue Moon in hand, she began to read from her book Rigging a Time Machine Into a Chevy and Other Ways to Escape a Plague. Her odd reading voice, and even more strange poetry, quickly enchanted the room with vivid images of lagoon-side rape, back-wood murders, and weeds. Her borderline nonsensical poems read as if they were of a trailer-park-born Lewis Carol who somehow managed to find enough time to delve into academia. The merging of Appalachian vernacular and commonplace with the scientific jargon of Stephen Hawking's lifeworks creates a truly encapsulating narrative that perplexes yet satisfies readers and listeners alike. When she had finished speaking, and had asked for questions, most people in the audience were capable of only two things: shifting in their seats and exhaling short breaths. It was evident that everyone was attempting to wrap their minds around what they had just witnessed, and as such, had trouble finding their words on the subject. However, when a few minutes had gone by, and the material had been kneaded a bit, the questions that arose were all very intelligent, well thought out and intricate, which reflected on the level stimulation that Ms. Hembree's work elicited.
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
A Real Doll by A.M. Homes
This story right from the start, was messed up. The story follows a boy that falls in love with Barbie without the love part. Homes is obviously using a play on words to express her feelings towards abusive men and women to other women. Not only is the narrator hanging around her all the time out of boredom, but for sex. Yes, he wants to have sex with Barbie. He fantasizes about it.
Homes creates this relationship that brings out the values of teenage boys and men through a doll that she describes as any other woman, but made of plastic. The first scene that made me realize what the story was trying to convey was when the narrator literally put Barbie's head into his mouth. She tries to fight back by biting, but nothing works. This was the pivotal point where the readers realize that man is bigger and have more power than women. Barbie is described as almost fragile because the narrator feels guilty afterwards and will not put her down until she forgives him. Barbie confronts him multiple times and the narrator responds to himself by saying things like, "For a moment, I was proud." And the first time they "made love," there is a moment where he thinks, "I was on top of her, not caring if I kill her." He also fantasizes about "tying her up, but more than arms and legs, but tying the belt around her face." Homes is commenting on the way men treat women sexually and this is very impactful.
Not only is the narrator abusive, but the sister of the narrator is too. She chews on Barbie's toes, switches the heads of Barbie and Ken, change her from the ceiling fan, cutting off her breasts with a knife, and burning Barbie's entire body. After her body is burned and caving in, Barbie still responds with a smile by saying, "Aren't we going to play?" This haunts me because of how willing women are to feel needed and to feel special.
There is also a scene where the narrator actually gets turned on by Ken, but only because when his head is ripped off, there is a hole for him to use, unlike Barbie has between her legs. He uses the male doll for his own pleasure only because Barbie didn't have what he desired the most. He started thinking about Ken more than Barbie.
The title is definitely a play on words. It has a double meaning. The first meaning is in the sweet way, the way you would describe a child, "What a doll." The second meaning relies on the actual character, Barbie being a doll and how she is described and used like a doll, like a thing to play with. This is a metaphor for how women and men are treated by men and other women alike.
This story is a wild ride. It never dies down or cools off and that is what I like about it. It stands for something important and she never backs down from her view on sexism. It was definitely unexpected, but weird and those are the best kinds of stories.
Homes creates this relationship that brings out the values of teenage boys and men through a doll that she describes as any other woman, but made of plastic. The first scene that made me realize what the story was trying to convey was when the narrator literally put Barbie's head into his mouth. She tries to fight back by biting, but nothing works. This was the pivotal point where the readers realize that man is bigger and have more power than women. Barbie is described as almost fragile because the narrator feels guilty afterwards and will not put her down until she forgives him. Barbie confronts him multiple times and the narrator responds to himself by saying things like, "For a moment, I was proud." And the first time they "made love," there is a moment where he thinks, "I was on top of her, not caring if I kill her." He also fantasizes about "tying her up, but more than arms and legs, but tying the belt around her face." Homes is commenting on the way men treat women sexually and this is very impactful.
Not only is the narrator abusive, but the sister of the narrator is too. She chews on Barbie's toes, switches the heads of Barbie and Ken, change her from the ceiling fan, cutting off her breasts with a knife, and burning Barbie's entire body. After her body is burned and caving in, Barbie still responds with a smile by saying, "Aren't we going to play?" This haunts me because of how willing women are to feel needed and to feel special.
There is also a scene where the narrator actually gets turned on by Ken, but only because when his head is ripped off, there is a hole for him to use, unlike Barbie has between her legs. He uses the male doll for his own pleasure only because Barbie didn't have what he desired the most. He started thinking about Ken more than Barbie.
The title is definitely a play on words. It has a double meaning. The first meaning is in the sweet way, the way you would describe a child, "What a doll." The second meaning relies on the actual character, Barbie being a doll and how she is described and used like a doll, like a thing to play with. This is a metaphor for how women and men are treated by men and other women alike.
This story is a wild ride. It never dies down or cools off and that is what I like about it. It stands for something important and she never backs down from her view on sexism. It was definitely unexpected, but weird and those are the best kinds of stories.
Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot
As the title implies...a jealous husband comes back in the form of a parrot. It's not entirely clear on how this happens, although there is mention of a tricky fall that he took when he fell out of a tree. Why was he in the tree? Well, he was spying on his wife's supposed other lover, of course. Hence, jealous husband.
We are then taken through a series of scenes where he runs into his wife in the pet shop he is being sold in and, after buying him, she puts him in a cage in her den where he spends his days witnessing his wife having relations with various other men.
As absolutely wild as this story sounds, it was an incredibly fun read. The husband-now-parrot is fully aware of his situation, and most of the story takes place as an inner monologue where he is reflecting on the life he had with his wife, and wishing he had the words to communicate with her. Unfortunately, all he can muster is "hello" and, "pretty bird." As amusing as this sounds on the surface, there really is a heartbreaking quality to this story which, upon reading the first few scenes, I would have never imagined. The story ultimately comes to a tragic end that was so incredibly effective, I had to read the last few lines out loud to a nearby friend.
As comical as this story can be, it is also a very strong narrative. I highly recommend giving it a read if you haven't!
We are then taken through a series of scenes where he runs into his wife in the pet shop he is being sold in and, after buying him, she puts him in a cage in her den where he spends his days witnessing his wife having relations with various other men.
As absolutely wild as this story sounds, it was an incredibly fun read. The husband-now-parrot is fully aware of his situation, and most of the story takes place as an inner monologue where he is reflecting on the life he had with his wife, and wishing he had the words to communicate with her. Unfortunately, all he can muster is "hello" and, "pretty bird." As amusing as this sounds on the surface, there really is a heartbreaking quality to this story which, upon reading the first few scenes, I would have never imagined. The story ultimately comes to a tragic end that was so incredibly effective, I had to read the last few lines out loud to a nearby friend.
As comical as this story can be, it is also a very strong narrative. I highly recommend giving it a read if you haven't!
1718 Reading, May 3rd
This was the first reading that I went to and I hope it won't be my last. Every reader that I saw go up there read their piece with a nervous passion. I could definitely tell that they cared about what they made.
My favorite reading there was definitely the asteroid. The reader spoke with an intensity as if she came there prepared to win an award for best reading. The poem itself seemed to ask so much from this passing asteroid. It was ridiculous. My favorite line from that poem was, "Come burn the toupee off of Donald Trump."
This event inspired me to start writing some more. So now, if I'm ever feeling down, I have something to go to in order to get my creative juices flowing again.
My favorite reading there was definitely the asteroid. The reader spoke with an intensity as if she came there prepared to win an award for best reading. The poem itself seemed to ask so much from this passing asteroid. It was ridiculous. My favorite line from that poem was, "Come burn the toupee off of Donald Trump."
This event inspired me to start writing some more. So now, if I'm ever feeling down, I have something to go to in order to get my creative juices flowing again.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Silver Water- Kind of late but I wanted to write about it...
Blog 6: What writing techniques does Bloom use to create and maintain tension in her story? How does she pull you into the narrative?
Amy Bloom uses several techniques to create and maintain tension in her story including her use of dialogue, tense, syntax/diction, and foreshadowing. Her use of imagery also creates such a concise image of setting in our head, that as readers we are more emotionally invested in the story because it is as though we are there and are witnessing the plot unfold ourselves, or at least that is how I read it. Right from the start, Bloom uses beautiful detail about Violet's sister that is almost enchanting.
"My sister’s voice was like mountain water in a silver pitcher; the clear blue beauty of it cools you and lifts you up beyond your heat, beyond your body." This is by far one of my favorite lines in the whole story; it creates an image that no one would think to imagine and right off the bat that Violet thinks very highly of her sister. But then as we read further, the dreamy, idealistic "fantasy" that the speaker spoke of completely changes. This shift in tone/drama creates tension and made me anxious to see what happens next. In addition, Violet started speaking of her sister in the past tense, which led me to believe that Rose dies, so I was waiting for it. I began to feel really bad for Rose as the story progressed and it seemed like her conditions were gradually worsening, the whole time I remained on the edge of my seat waiting for something really bad to happen and finish Rose off. It was as though Roses' condition was deteriorating right before my eyes. There was this constant build up of tension, stress and unfortunate events, tied together with superb detail and imagery, that made me emotional, which is silly because this is a fictional story (I think)
We started to get to a more calm place when Rose speaks of driving to the zoo and recalls Violet being scared but would then pick up the pace right as things began to relax and finally we see Rose die. I was anticipated her death obviously right off the bat, but because Bloom made Rose seem so real and described her/spoke of her through Violet, her beloved sister, I grew attached and her death hurt a little. So thanks for the heart break Amy.
- XOXOXOXO
Gossip Girl
Just Kidding
Amy Bloom uses several techniques to create and maintain tension in her story including her use of dialogue, tense, syntax/diction, and foreshadowing. Her use of imagery also creates such a concise image of setting in our head, that as readers we are more emotionally invested in the story because it is as though we are there and are witnessing the plot unfold ourselves, or at least that is how I read it. Right from the start, Bloom uses beautiful detail about Violet's sister that is almost enchanting.
"My sister’s voice was like mountain water in a silver pitcher; the clear blue beauty of it cools you and lifts you up beyond your heat, beyond your body." This is by far one of my favorite lines in the whole story; it creates an image that no one would think to imagine and right off the bat that Violet thinks very highly of her sister. But then as we read further, the dreamy, idealistic "fantasy" that the speaker spoke of completely changes. This shift in tone/drama creates tension and made me anxious to see what happens next. In addition, Violet started speaking of her sister in the past tense, which led me to believe that Rose dies, so I was waiting for it. I began to feel really bad for Rose as the story progressed and it seemed like her conditions were gradually worsening, the whole time I remained on the edge of my seat waiting for something really bad to happen and finish Rose off. It was as though Roses' condition was deteriorating right before my eyes. There was this constant build up of tension, stress and unfortunate events, tied together with superb detail and imagery, that made me emotional, which is silly because this is a fictional story (I think)
We started to get to a more calm place when Rose speaks of driving to the zoo and recalls Violet being scared but would then pick up the pace right as things began to relax and finally we see Rose die. I was anticipated her death obviously right off the bat, but because Bloom made Rose seem so real and described her/spoke of her through Violet, her beloved sister, I grew attached and her death hurt a little. So thanks for the heart break Amy.
- XOXOXOXO
Gossip Girl
Just Kidding
Friday, April 22, 2016
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
This story was so much fun to read, besides the fact that I have an overreacting imagination and I live in a big creepy house all by myself. The tension in the story is something that I wanna copy in my own work because why I was reading that story I kept looking outside my windows to make sure there wasn't a creep parked outside my house.
After doing the dialogue assignment and then going to read this story, I felt like my dialogue was too dry. All of Oates' dialogue added all the right elements. Oates was able to add the right amount of rising action not just through her characters speech, but with their actions and facial expressions. It helped make the story feel more real to read and kept me wanting to read more. That is how i want my dialogue to be as interesting as Oates because at this point mine sounds monotone.
Just the all over creep factor in this story had my skin crawling. Especially when Arnold starts to call Connie "honey". Then as he gets more aggressive with her I could feel my anxiety boiling and I was hoping that Connie would run, grab a knife, and kill him. And I was so angry that she left with him! It was like she wasn't even trying that hard to fight back from his mortifying advances.
Excusing my rant and getting to the main point of this blog, Oates ultimately creates an ongoing tension throughout the story using scene and dialogue. Oates's dialogue carries the drama by lowering the tension to a snails' pace and then slapping it in our face exactly when the reader needed it. All of this was found through the body language of the characters and how they addressed one another from the beginning to the end of the story.
After doing the dialogue assignment and then going to read this story, I felt like my dialogue was too dry. All of Oates' dialogue added all the right elements. Oates was able to add the right amount of rising action not just through her characters speech, but with their actions and facial expressions. It helped make the story feel more real to read and kept me wanting to read more. That is how i want my dialogue to be as interesting as Oates because at this point mine sounds monotone.
Just the all over creep factor in this story had my skin crawling. Especially when Arnold starts to call Connie "honey". Then as he gets more aggressive with her I could feel my anxiety boiling and I was hoping that Connie would run, grab a knife, and kill him. And I was so angry that she left with him! It was like she wasn't even trying that hard to fight back from his mortifying advances.
Excusing my rant and getting to the main point of this blog, Oates ultimately creates an ongoing tension throughout the story using scene and dialogue. Oates's dialogue carries the drama by lowering the tension to a snails' pace and then slapping it in our face exactly when the reader needed it. All of this was found through the body language of the characters and how they addressed one another from the beginning to the end of the story.
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