Blog Post #8: Night Women

This short story invites readers into a world of a woman who sells her body in order to provide for her son. Despite the harsh lifestyle that she lives she is characterized as a loving mother that only wants her son to live a happy life. The author makes this apparent through the details that she uses to not only describe her career, but the love she has for her little boy. 

We can see that she hates the life that she lives with quotes such as,

 "Tonight I am much older than the twenty-five years that I have lived. The night is the time I dread most in my life." 

She is depicted as a victim of this lifestyle instead of one who takes pride in it. This quote also gives readers a sense of sympathy for the woman; we no longer look down on her but now wish to help her.

We are told that the father of the child has disappeared a long time ago but we aren't exactly told how. From what I've read and the context clues that I picked up on I came to the conclusion that he may have been a client who up and left her, or possibly a loving husband who died and her only way of supporting her family was by selling herself.  

This woman is the epitome of a strong and loving mother. We are brought to this conclusion with the help of the author. The vast amount of diction and detail put into every moment of the story makes it so easy to fall into. For example, when she talks of the day that her son will soon find out what she does to put food on the table, 

"I have prepared my fabrication. One day, he will grow too old to be told that a wandering man is a mirage and that naked flesh is a dream." 

This was my favorite line from the entire passage. The sad reality that one day her sons innocence will fade and he will see his mother as nothing more than a prostitute. She is fully aware of this but does not let it effect the amount of love she will have for him. 

Blog Post #7: The Girl with the Blackened Eye

This story takes readers on the journey of a girl who has been abducted. She is weak and fragile but intelligent in her own way. She plays off on her innocence and intrigue and for some vague reason is sparred by the man who has kidnapped her. This story really drew me in from the start. I was expecting some stereotypical story about self-hate or depression when reading the first few sentences, but was surprised by the abrupt turn that it took into something much darker. 

Not being able to fully relate is what kept me reading. I wanted to know more about this scenario. It is something that all women dread to think of and hope that will never happen to them or someone that they care for, but it keeps happening. These girls are still being found, and the men are still abducting. I've always wondered what the journey of something like this would be like because of my fear for it. I believe Oates knew this piece of information about her readers: curiosity, fear, empathetic, and sympathetic would be those reading this so she made sure to tell her thought process. Not solely on the fear of being raped and kidnapped, but on each and every little detail of the entire experience. Why me? Why hasn't he killed me? What does he look like just in case I am able to survive? My last words to my family? Oates made sure to incorporate these fine details into her story which is what set is apart from anything I've ever read. The psychological journey that us readers go on throughout this short story makes it something less sympathetic and more powerful. 

I also love the title and how it plays into the story as well. Its so simplistic for a story that holds so much drama within it. With all of the dramatic turns that the story takes it kind of throws me off how the girl doesn't really seem afraid as she is telling it. I know that the protagonist is telling it from the past, but I still enjoyed how she somehow didn't make it all about herself and more about the experience itself. 

This story was amazing and made me think of things like this in a new light. Oates did an amazing job with grabbing readers in, captivating them with her dialogue and diction, and helping them see things through the eyes of this girl. 

Fiction Dialouge

“I think this will be good enough,” she announced. Her hair flew past her shoulders as she removed it from her ponytail.

His gaze went from his phone to her immediately. “Yeah, it’s okay.” She calmly agreed. His attention went back to his phone. He tried to ignore the glare that was coming from her, though it was obvious he knew he wasn't showing her the attention that she wanted.

“I know you see me looking at you,” she yelled. His attempt to not care failed as the smirk on his face slowly transformed into a small giggle. She smiled along with him.

“Okay, okay,” he replied “let me take a look at what you've done.” He placed his phone on the table giving her his undivided attention. He signaled for her to turn around and she gleefully obeyed. Her hair barely touched her clavicle with highlights of blonde and running through it. He let his fingers dance through it searching for the rest that was no longer there.  A nostalgic gaze took over him as she finished her little twirl. He couldn't let her know though- it would crush her.

“Nice,” he breathed out “it was time for a change anyway. Do you like it?”

“I love it!” she squealed.

“Yeah, me too.”

Although they promised to be honest with one another he just wanted to see her happy. It’d been so long since she acted this way and he missed it dearly. Her mannerisms and body language screamed of joy and he decided he would be the last one to ruin that. He leaned against the wall as he took in her new self, almost admiring the new woman she had become. A part of him hated her new straggly hairstyle, it reminded him of the kid in his chemistry class that sat in the back and typed too loud. Another part of him couldn't get over the fact that he could still see her beauty shine through that hideous cut and those baggy clothes. No matter how she dressed or appeared, she would always be his.

“Okay,” she announced as she put her hair back into a ponytail “let’s go get something to eat.”

“Sure.”

“Can we go to that sushi joint everyone’s been talking about?”

“Whatever makes you happy.”

It seemed that was his goal from the beginning.

Blog Post #6

Story from Feb. 18th: Describe a noun in one sentence and then make a story surrounding that particular noun

    The building stood modern and loud with its familiar logo and fluorescent color scheme standing proud for all to see.  Although we've received complaint after complaint the line never ends-- we must be doing something right. The soldiers march in tired, fed up, and ready to assume position. The lieutenants drag themselves in hoping that this war will end better than the last. As the clock-in button is clicked, smiles are forced, hair is brushed back and shoulders too.

       The enemy attacks with order after order, and we fight the good fight with spatulas in hand ready for the rush to end.  It is now 16:22 and one of our soldiers has ran off leaving us down a member, but alas we cannot disappoint so we march on. Some of our men are losing sight of the goal, cries can be heard, prayers are being made, orders are being taken. This is typical of a Friday rush.

        We came here with the hopes of living more, now we just want to go home. The enemy now wants peace so they walk in with their heads held high, receipt in one hand, wife in the other. They complain about the price, they complain about the portions, they complain about the atmosphere. I listen, for it is my job to console them with free food and apologies.

        Men double my size and age talk blindly at me. Disregarding the fact that I am young enough to be their child, tiny enough to fit into their wives purses, and fragile enough to break down at any moment. All they see is a badge, it doesn't represent power- I am worse than a figure head. At least they start off with good reputations. I am responsible for the mistakes of my team. I am in charge of the yelling, the refunds, I receive the write ups, I take the sass, I welcome the drunks. I am a manager.
       With my shoulders slouch, my gaze finds something in the background close enough to his head so that he thinks I'm looking at him. After he is satisfied he leaves victorious and I am left to pick up the pieces.  The wives and girlfriends always leave me with apologetic smirks and body language that tell a tale of despair. I feel sorry for them, but I must return back to my station.

   Wrappers fly, wages are at stake, the American dream is joke, and the orders keep coming.

Blog Post #5

While reading the Fiction packet I must admit I fell completely in love with it. It takes readers on a journey as to what one should and should not do when writing fiction. There were so many things that I already knew of such as character development that the author gave a new twist to in order to give a new perspective on how to do them. With this being said it would be pretty obvious to see why the character section of the packet was my favorite.
   I've attempting writing short stories where the characters don't really grow or tend to act out in stereotypical ways with resolutions that can be seen a mile away. I never thought that developing a character would take time for both the writer and the reader. Thinking of a character of more of a polaroid makes my job as the writer a lot easier. Learning to go with the flow and do what YOU think the character would actually do instead of what they SHOULD do is what makes a character grow.
    This "letting the chips fall where they may" approach really opened my eyes and will definitely be incorporated into whatever type of writing I decide to do next. Another technique that I liked was how the characters can have traits or certain characteristics of people that we already know. This is something that I tend to do already; I never thought that this was a actually thing that many others did as well. Our characters help to set the plot of our story and the events that occur to them. Everything falls to place once the character is developed and without a strong character that readers are fond of, the story will go no where. This is what I've learned from the fiction packet.

Blog Post #4

    I've completed reading Tocqueville. There are many things I personally enjoyed about this book from the intense drama to the vast amount of metaphors and literary devices used to help the author get his point across to readers. For example, in the very first poem that I read, "Lyric" Mattawa uses different types sounds and instruments commonly found in music as a way to demonstrate the trouble that takes place during 9/11. His approach is refreshing and acts as a great way to draw readers in. 

     Another poem that I enjoyed was "Terrorist" (p 17). Although I may have gotten the wrong interpretation, I enjoyed how raw it was, it failed to hold back on emotion giving readers to opportunity to try to feel everything the protagonist is feeling. 

Overall, I truly enjoyed reading Tocqueville. Even though I had a difficult time understanding a lot of it, I was still able to feel the tone and overall theme that Mattawa wanted to get across. It has also helped me with my poetry skills, guiding me in the right direction as far as what to look for in a good quality poem. 

Tocqueville Blog Post #3

Tocqueville is a very interesting and new way to tell a story. It takes on poetry and rhythmic patterns to develop a story that most would not take the time to read due to its serious tone and subject matter. This new form of writing really drew me in and made it a lot easier to read this piece. I really enjoy the first poem lyric since it was the poem that initially drew me in to begin with. I love the metaphors and personification he puts on earth and music and how he somehow finds a creative way to relate the two elements into a beautiful piece of poetry.