In the first essay that I read "Westbury Court" by Edwidge Danticate is the story of the author's childhood realization of her surroundings. The author tells about how when she (I think the speaker is female) was about 14 she would watch a soap opera called General Hospital. That everyday she would pick up her younger brother and then rush home to watch that day’s episode. One day though while when she was doing her daily routine a fire occurred and the only way she found out was when the firemen came to her door. She then tells about the two children that died in the fire and how she remembers their mother's face. After that she goes into telling about all these other deaths that surround her. So to me the point of the story is that we can become so involved in fiction that we start to not pay attention to the world that surrounds us. The story is written in chronological order and the way she describes the fire and the deaths surrounding her ads to the feeling you get from reading it.
The next reading “Alive” by: Laurie Lynn Drummond is about a former female police officer. She is now a civilian and in Baton Rouge there is a serial killer on the loose. She tells how she is on high alert and always ready to go in to hyper alert. She then tells about how while she was buying a newspaper she sees this guy who seems to be suspicious. Hoe every time she does something or goes somewhere the same guy is there. How while driving this guy is behind her for five intersections, and how she is noting his description. While reading this I could feel what she was, her nervousness and her fear. The man goes away and she starts to relax and continues her trip home. The story is written in paragraph segment form and this added to the feeling of the story.
Both essays I enjoyed greatly and am looking forward to discussing them. They both kept me hooked and wanting more. I too am really into television shows and some days I get so fixed on the show that my world around me fades to a distant second and I miss things.
1 comment:
You know, a lot of people I’ve played comment fairy with so far have really pounced on that detail about General Hospital – it’s a good symbol for daily mindlessness or escapism, given Danticat’s later analysis of it (“mommies and nannies…freshly-baked cookies” on page 173).
Drummond’s “funnel” structure (bear with me here) really packs the emotion in with those frequent little segment breaks, as you point out – really pierces the reader. I thought she did a somewhat better (or at least more accessible) job at manipulating the reader into mirroring the emotion.
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