Bloom uses a calm tone throughout this short story. This voice lulls the reader into calmness, so when something unexpected happens, like Rose's first psychotic attack or her suicide, the impact of such events is much more jarring. Bloom's short paragraphs make the story move along quickly but create enough space for important events, so she is able to digest years and years of the family's history , which could be excruciating in the hands of the wrong author, into a very well-paced and readable story. Bloom's realistic diction is very akin to how a normal person would explain the events and makes this story seem like it could happen to anyone, anywhere. I loved the moments of humor in this story. They made the story so much more than a typical depressing stock narrative of a family attempting to deal with a mentally ill member and enhanced the realism of the story. The reader is also better able to relate to the story, since everyone knows that even in the midst of deeply unfortunate circumstances, funny stuff still happens.
I really see your point about the calming language. Despite everything that led up to Rose's death, I was at peace with the story's ending. I wish I could write a story in the way Bloom did here. I hate getting caught in the trap of dark language seeming more powerful.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you about the calm tone of the story. There was never a point where I felt overly uneasy or anxious about where the story was going. There were parts that definitely upset me and where I felt tension, but it was an easy story to digest.
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