Halfway Reflection on Short Story

As the first quarter closes in Short Story, I want to comment on some of the more memorable stories we've had:

Top three most enjoyable stories to read:

1. "When Engaging Enemy Targets, Remember"- Gavin Ford Kovite 

The unique Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style of the narrator didn't seem like just a gimmick; the choices it presented gave me a new perspective on the consequences of choices in wartime. The limited number of choices, as well as actions you could took that had no consequences, such as throwing the bottle at the car, was powerful symbolism. The interactive aspect made this story both thought-provoking and fun.

2."John S's Blue Period"-J.D. Salinger
I can see how some may not like the narrator, but I found his ridiculous mannerisms and way of speaking to be quite funny, as well as possessing a degree of self-awareness of his own absurdity. The strange non-plot of pursuing an artistically talented nun was a refreshing break from some of the heavier subject matter we've had in this class. Not to mention that the narrator's tongue-in-cheek of the student's bad art are some of the funniest passages in the book.

3. "The Things They Carried"-Tim O' Brien
I won't be able to forget the first encounter with The Things They Carried. While it wasn't as funny or entertaining like the previous two, O'Brien's oddly hypnotic and tightly-crafted prose drew me in and set expectations high for the rest of the collection. Favorite sentence:

 I'm sorry, motherfuckers, but I'm out of it, I'm goofed, I'm on a space cruise, I'm gone!—and it was a restful, unencumbered sensation, just riding the light waves, sailing that big silver freedom bird over the mountains and oceans, over America, over the farms and great sleeping cities and cemeteries and highways and the golden arches of McDonald's, it was flight, a kind of fleeing, a kind of falling, falling higher and higher, spinning off the edge of the earth and beyond the sun and through the vast, silent vacuum where there were no burdens and where everything weighed exactly nothing—Gone! they screamed. 

Top three stories I learned the most from

1. "Teddy"-J.D. Salinger

Since this was the story I was in a discussion leading group for, it's isn't really surprising that I feel I got to know this story best. For me, though, analyzing "Teddy" was the key that tied Nine Stories together. I think many of you'll agree, based on the number posts commenting on the connections between "Teddy" and "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." "Teddy" was one of the more difficult stories, was an ambiguous ending, unclear conflict, and a complex protagonist in Teddy, but that made it ultimately more rewarding.

2. "How to Tell a True War Story"-Tim O' Brien

As "Teddy" tied many themes of Nine Stories together (including Zen Buddhism), "How to Tell a True War Story" brought O' Brien's collection together. It was even more wildly experimental than "When Engaging Targets" that we read earlier; it didn't have as much a cohesive plot than small anecdotes all connected by commentary on war stories. Discussing this story set the groundwork for a lot of the later metafictional sections in The Things They Carried, and showed me a versatility in the genre that extended past beginning, middle, and end.

3. "Previous Condition"-James Baldwin

Having not taken African-American Lit before, "Previous Condition" was one of my few exposures to reading and discussion of black-white race issues. Although some of the Native Son comments in class go over my head, I thought getting this exposure was valuable just like reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in Sophomore English was, even before taking Native American and Chicano Lit-- it stretched me to think about settings strange to me.

Favorite author: J. D Salinger

It was certainly a close contest between O' Brien and Salinger. O' Brien is smoother to read and digest than Salinger, but Salinger's stories portrayed more interesting characters in my opinion and edged out in that regard.

O' Brien's characterization is quite explicit; and character traits, like Dobbin's large, friendly manner and Rat Kiley's sentimentalism are pretty clear and sometimes stated outright. In The Things They Carried, I always felt I got to know the characters pretty well quickly, which was part of the appeal. Meanwhile in Salinger, we're allowed more interpretation of the characters. For example, what kind of person is Ginny really in "Just Before the War with the Eskimo," and what is the nature of her relationship with the sandwich? 

Least favorite author: Ernest Hemingway

I had already written a blog post earlier on Hemingway's style, but reiterating, I just felt like it didn't mesh with me. There's something to be said for letting the reader do some of the heavy-lifting, but I felt like other short story authors we read accomplished that without the excessively dry effect that Hemingway created. I understand that later authors were greatly influenced by him, but considering them all at once I felt Hemingway was the least compelling. Who knows: in the future, I may come to appreciate his writing more.