Interpretation of "Happy Endings" by Margaret Atwood

1)      Re-presenting the parts of the text I am interpreting

I am writing about “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood.  Atwood presents different scenarios of life about the relationships between man and woman, but all of her scenarios end the same way.  She writes at the end of the stories, “So much for endings.  Beginnings are always more fun.  True connoisseurs, however, are known to favor the stretch in between, since it’s the hardest to do anything with.”  This is what she did.  She lettered her stories A-F.  In A, John and Mary’s lives are “stimulating and challenging.”  They face no major obstacles and live a fun life.  They have two children who grow up well.  They live in a nice house.  They eventually retire and die. 

In B, Mary loves John, but it is not a reciprocal.  John takes advantage of her for sex and that is it.  Mary desperately tries to impress him and has hopes that they will get married one day.  When she finds out that he has taken another woman, Madge, to a restaurant, she overdoses on sleeping pills while drinking sherry and dies.  John’s and Madge’s life continues as in A.

In C, John loves Mary, but she does not love him.  He is twice her age and she feels bad for him.  John as the perfect life with Madge, as presented in A, yet he chooses to cheat on his wife with Mary.  Mary truly loves a wild, younger man, James, who is not ready to settle down yet.  John walks in on James and Mary stoned and lying in bed.  He shoots them and then his self.  Madge finds another man, Fred, and the story continues as in A.

In D, Fred and Madge live a similar life as in A, but with one major obstacle.  Their house is destroyed by a tidal wave and real estate goes down.  Their relationship, however, stays strong.

In E, things pick up from D and Fred has a bad heart.  He eventually dies and Madge devotes her life to charity work.

F is open for you to make your own story but suggests that the story will end as in A.

“The only authentic ending is the one provided here:  John and Mary die.  John and Mary die.         John and Mary die.”

2)      Explanation of why the text or the aspect of the text that I’ve chosen to focus on needs to be interpreted

This story seems very straight forward, especially in the last few paragraphs where Atwood talks about beginnings, endings, and the “stretch in between.”  I believe there is more to this story.  Anything about life and death can be taken into consideration for more interpretation.  There are many different beliefs, opinions, and so forth about life and its meaning as well as death.  Reading this story once through, I assumed I caught the gist of it, but reading it again for this post, I caught some things that can be taken to a deeper level than just surface meanings.  To help illustrate this to be clearer, here’s an example:  you are driving in a car and you pass hundreds upon hundreds of trees during a trip.  That’s it.  All you can see are trees.  Let’s say that you pulled the car over on the side of the road to examine just one of the hundreds of trees.  In it you see a family of squirrels, a hole where an owl has made its home, thousands of ants running up and down carrying leaves to the anthill at the base of the tree, a cocoon that bares a beautiful butterfly, and many more things.  At glance, you do not see the tree for what it really is: teaming with life and abundant in life itself.  All you see is a blurry brown trunk with green leaves.  This is what this story is like.  At first read, it’s just a story with a straight forward meaning, but with rereading, taking notes, pondering ideas presented in the story, posing questions, and conversing with others about the story, a whole new spectrum of meaning is revealed.

3)      What I take the work to mean

This story is primarily about presenting different ways that lives are lived out, but with one ending:  death.  Atwood seems to be set on the fact that it does not matter what your life is like, it is just going to end up in death.  I believe there is more to why the six scenarios are presented other than to prove Atwood’s point that every ending is death.  More important than death is life.  Life is the “stretch in between.”  And what you do with life is more important than the ending of it.  The majority of Atwood’s essay is about the lives that are lived out by man and woman rather than the ending of death.  If her point is to show that all of the scenarios end in one way, then why does she talk about life the majority of her essay?  It is because life is more important.  Paul, in II Timothy, talks about striving toward that end goal, the prize in which will be rewarded to us at the end of the race.  He focuses on the end, yes, but he provides a new beginning—a beginning in which our eternal lives in Heaven start.  Life still plays the major roll, however.  If one’s life is lived in sin and contempt with the Word of God, that person will spend an eternity in Hell.  However, if one lives a life holy and pleasing to the Lord, then that person will live an eternity in Heaven.  More than making it to Heaven, I believe my primary focus is to love God and love others no matter what.  If God wanted us to be focused on making it to Heaven, then he would have made that the most important commandment.  Making it to Heaven is the reward.  I feel miserable receiving a reward for something that I did not do or something that I feel I did not try my hardest in.  Therefore, life is more important than the ending of death.  Therefore, is Atwood’s focus really on the ending of death?  Let’s go back to the quote from above, “So much for endings.  Beginnings are always more fun.  True connoisseurs, however, are known to favor the stretch in between, since it’s the hardest to do anything with.”  Atwood is openly admitting that endings are pointless and that the “stretch in between” is the more challenging part.

4)      Evidence from the text to support my interpretation

How did I get the interpretation that I did from this story?  The interpretation that I formulated from reading this story came through actively reading again and again.  And with each reading, I paid attention to details of the story which provide the basis of my interpretation.  To start, I would like to point out the end of the essay.  Atwood says, “You’ll have to face it, the endings are the same however you slice it.  Don’t be deluded by any other endings, they’re all fake, either deliberately fake, with malicious intent to deceive, or just motivated by excessive optimism if not by downright sentimentality.”  This really drives the point that she is entirely focused on death.  I mean that is as straightforward as it gets.  This is why it “seems” that Atwood’s focus is on death, but let’s look at the rest of the text.  After three of five scenarios, she talks about the feelings of the characters before they died.  The sixth one does not count because she lets you make up your own story.  At the end of B, Mary becomes depressed.  At the end of C, John becomes depressed and broken-hearted.  At the end of D, Fred and Madge are grateful.  Yes, they died, but their feelings and actions just before death could very well depict where they will be spending eternity.  Who wants to live a life where you die from having just being depressed so you committed suicide?  Nobody wants to end that way whether it happens or not.  Therefore, the life must be lived in order to die happy and natural.  Also, the ending of my interpretation supplies much evidence.  Atwood’s admittance to having hope for another ending is pointless and goes on to revere life more important and challenging.

5)      Why or how the interpretation matters or could matter for me and/or for the reader

This interpretation matters in the fact that people should be focused on living their life and not the end of it.  If people focus on the end, they will more than likely not get anything accomplished during the “stretch in between.”  If nothing is accomplished, then that person took their life that God gave them and treated it with contempt.  The key word in Paul’s letters to Timothy is “striving.”  This word “striving” involves overcoming obstacles.  Overcoming obstacles are accomplishments.

In response to "A Temple of the Holy Ghost" by Flannery O'Conner

This story, as I was reading, served more as an entertaining story rather than a story that causes me to reach into the depths of my mind to think of meaning.  However, I do know that there is meaning, therefore I tried and am still trying to think of meaning.

To me, the child is mentally disturbed.  She is not “dumb” like the story implies Joanne and Susan are, but her thoughts are really far-fetched.  She is agitated by the girls, seems to be jealous at times, and her mind wanders to the most random thoughts.  In a way, though, she kind of reminds me of myself.  I have “far-fetched” thoughts and my mind wanders to think of the most random thoughts, but I don’t always openly admit it.  Many times, I just move on from the thoughts never to return to them again.  I don’t know whether or not to consider this a bold statement, but I believe that everyone would seem mentally disturbed if each person’s thoughts were on display for the world to see.

For only being twelve years old, she has deep thoughts, such as Jesus carrying the cross to Calvary and of her being so knowledgeable of Bible stories and putting herself in the position of each of the characters.  This impresses me.  I would like to know more of her home life, such as where is and what is the father like?

My favorite line in the entire story is, “It made her feel as if somebody had given her a present.”  The child was pondering the thought of herself being a “Temple of the Holy Ghost.”  She claimed she was pleased.  A present…such a profound thought for someone so young!  The Bible is all about giving and sacrifice and she developed that thought on her own? Wow!  I love this.  The Holy Ghost dwelling in us is a gift.  It is empowerment given by God.  For the child to feel this true statement just blows my mind, but then again, God is not limited to moving in just adults.  Actually, it is the heart of a child he desires for each of us to have.

a story of suffering hidden beneath happiness

This story was very interesting and thought-provoking.  Omelas is a city of happiness and inner joy.  They throw festivals and celebrate.  It is even referred to as the town of happiness.  At the end of the festival, they race horses.  It is a very interesting town.

The story of the boy is the most intriguing part of this story.  He sits down in a cold basement alone.  He doesn’t move.  He is constantly afraid.  He is naked.  He “sits in his own excrements.”  This boy suffers day in and day out with no hope.  Here is the interesting part; Omelas happiness is dependent on his suffering.  Not one person is willing to help him in fear of losing happiness.  Is there not one person of integrity?  The story says the people have compassion on him, but do they really if they’re not willing to help?  The story also says that there is nothing they can do to help him.  How isn’t there?  To cause a child to suffer for your own happiness is selfish and understood.

What about “the ones who walk away from omelas?”  That is what the story is called.  Are they in the right leaving the town?  Is it because they do not support this idea of making a child suffer?  It seems they have good intentions, but is it really right to just leave and not do anything to help the child?

We always think that sin is something that someone does, but the Bible says that it can also be something that someone doesn’t do.  Letting a child suffer when you can do something about it is sin.  These people are wrongfully sinning.  Jesus sacrificed his happiness, even his life, so that He could give us freedom.  Should this child not be given a chance at freedom?

A Story with Great Meaning

“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was a story that causes one to think…to think again…and to think your thoughts over yet again.  Why do these events happen in the story?  What is the meaning?  How is it that a man has wings?  These questions raced through my mind as I was reading.

I am still trying to think of a meaning for this story.  This story could be something of Marquez’s personal life…the true, original meaning being only one that he knows.  This story, however, I believe can have several meanings.  I’m just trying to figure them out.  I am having several thoughts and one is that the “angel” was sent to this household for a reason.  Maybe God was sending the family a message.  The angel gets there all battered and torn, his wings beaten and his age has caused him to be fragile.  Perhaps the road that Pelayo and his wife, Elisenda, were traveling down lead to destruction and death and the angel was sent there to help them realize it.  The angel went through torment and was tested with extreme patience.  After having that done, after quite some time, he began to grow new feathers.  Feather’s like a crow’s in which he tried to hide.  Once the feathers were grown, he began to practice flying and then flew off into the distance.  Perhaps the family learned something.  Perhaps the family needed to learn patience.  Elisenda sighed in relief once she saw him fly off.

I struggle with this meaning to be completely honest.  Thoughts come to mind and I keep thinking there has to be some greater meaning.  The story just seemed so magnificent and so thought-provoking that the meanings I come up with seem to fall short of the standard I have created for the meaning of this story.

This creature was treated like an animal, caged and fed scraps.  People expected to see him do marvelous things.  Why?  Because of his wings.  What was the purpose of his wings?  Was he really an angel or is he something else?

I want to know something though.  What if Pelayo, Elisenda, and the town would have cared for the fallen angel?  What if they would have taken him into their home, washed him up, fed him, and gave him a nice warm bed to sleep in?  What if?  Would the angel then have flown off when he grew new feathers?  Or did he have some reward that the family and town missed out on because of their response to him being there?

A passage of Scripture comes to mind when reading and thinking about this story and that comes from Hebrews 13:2:  “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”  In verse three, it goes on to say, “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”  “Angels,” “mistreated,” “suffering.”  It kind of sounds like this story doesn’t it?

Nature Poetry: Mary Oliver

“Have you noticed?” is what Mary Oliver asked at the end of the first stanza of her poem, “Musical Notation:  1.” Have I noticed?  If I have noticed, do I notice enough?  Have many people noticed?  She was asking about a specific thing in nature, but the question can easily be opened up to all of nature.  Have we noticed the creativity, the complexities, the beauty, the thought that was put into nature?  It is magnificent, yet we take it for granted, even harming it in many ways.

Mary Oliver has a beautiful talent for writing poetry about nature.  She also has a talent for writing in general.  Her words pop off of the page and come alive when reading them.  My favorite lines that I read were “I know a lot of fancy words.  I tear them from my heart and my tongue.  Then I pray.”  These lines are from “Six Recognitions of the Lord.”  They are beautiful and humble.  God is not interested in hearing a prayer that is focused on impressing Him with grammatical correctness and big words.  God is interested in the heart.  I love how nature can also be applied to these lines as well.  Consuming yourself in nature—getting alone in the midst of God’s creation and away from all manmade things—and sitting quietly acknowledging God’s creation is a prayer.  It is a humble prayer.  It is of the heart and is full of peace.

Professor Corrigan’s notes on Mary Oliver really helped me understand her writings by being straight forward.  Her poems are not necessarily difficult to understand, but reading the notes broadened my mind on her writings.  Corrigan talked about a poem which was not in the reading which sounds very intriguing.  The line he quoted from that poem which is called, “Thirst” is “Love for the earth and love for you are having such a long conversation in my heart.”  Those words are beautiful.


I went to Lake Bonny Park for this field trip, and I stayed there for at least 45 minutes.  While I was there, I wrote a poem inspired by my visit:

It is calm.
It is still.
As the morning sun rises, the birds all join together in song.
A gentle breeze creates a pleasant atmosphere.
The clouds shuffle from one place to the other.
The sun peeks through the cracks as if to see what is new in the world.

Is it possible that nature can feel good?
Is it possible that nature can wet your appetite for sensation?
I believe so.
Peace and gentleness dwell in my heart.
All the stresses of the world are gone.
It is just me and God.

God breathed life into nature.
Nature breathes life into me.
It is the place where I can find God when everywhere else fails.

I wonder what it is like to fly.
To catch the wind beneath my wings and soar into the air.
Birds are often ignored because they are so common,
Yet they are magnificent creatures designed and gifted by God.
One day, I will fly.

Othello

I went to the Thursday night's showing of Othello put on by Southeastern's theatre department at the Polk Theatre.

Visiting Nature

Rereading “State of the Planet,” by Robert Hass, helped me to better understand it.  I still admit that I do not completely understand all of it, but I am learning as I continue to read it and discuss it during class.  This past Thursday, our Intro to Lit class received the opportunity to visit the Circle B Bar Reserve here in Lakeland, Florida.  Professor Corrigan read some passages from the poem while we sat quietly in nature.  Practicing this, nature really brought the lines on the page to life.

The trip to the reserve was very fun.  I enjoyed every minute of it, even the overcast weather.  I saw birds that I have never seen in person before, such as the Great Blue Heron, Sandhill Cranes, and a few other bird species.  I was quite excited when I saw these beautiful creatures.  We also saw our nation’s mascot, the Bald Eagle.  I have seen these a few times before, but each time provides the experience as if I had never seen one before.  Lastly, seeing alligators are always exciting.  We didn’t see any large ones, but nonetheless it was interesting and fun.

The fifteen minutes of quite time and observing nature was very inspiring and enlightening.  To view nature in the light that it was created by God is truly amazing.  You see nature in a whole new beauty that is different and incredible.  Also, to spend time with my class at the reserve allowed us to fellowship while discussing God’s creation.  New thoughts and ideas were offered by everyone who contributed to the dialogue of nature.

Nature must be protected if it is to survive.  We were able to pull a weed that was an invasive species to Florida.  It felt good to help our environment so that it can thrive.  However, nature must be protected in other ways as well, mainly from pollution.  Our main sources of pollution are plastics and car exhaust.  Recycling can help nature to thrive.  It will help keep our resources available.  Also, if we find alternatives to our habits of living as far as resources go, then nature will survive much, much longer.

The Poetry Inside Creation and Pollution

I am one to admit that poetry is not my strong suit.  I enjoy good poetry and am moved by it, however finding the original interpretation of it is a struggle for me.  I most always come away with an interpretation, but most of the time not the one that the poem was written about.  “State of the Planet” tripped me quite a bit.  I felt that I was all over the place reading it, finding it hard to follow.  In these next few paragraphs, I will unpack my experience in reading it.

Some of the poem did make sense to me even though I struggled with it.  I believe the author, Robert Hass, was commenting on the beauty and significance of nature and humankind, both individually and our relations.  For both to maintain beauty and elegance, maintenance and proper care are in order, which I also believe Hass was trying to point out.  In one stanza he wrote, “It will seem to be poetry forgetting its promise of sobriety to say the rosy shinings in the thick brown current are small dolphins rising to the surface where gouts of the oil that burns inside the engine of the car I’m driving oozes from the banks.”  This relates the pollution he causes to the suffering of the dolphins as a result.  I assume that when he wrote “rising to the surface” he meant that the dolphins were lifeless and floating to the top of the water.  It seems that he is pointing out the harm that we are doing to our environment.

I would like to point out one passage that particularly caught my eye.  Hass wrote, “…regarding a black outcrop of rock in the desert near a sea, charcoal-black and dense, wave-worn, and all one thing:  there’s no life in it at all.”  I have not even come up with a meaning for this passage, yet it still caught my attention.  I do love the wording and the way that it caused me to think over and over again on its meaning, yet I don’t have a solid understanding of it.  As I write about it now, I am pondering thoughts in my head and writing them freely on this page.  Perhaps the rock that is “charcoal-black” and lifeless is a result of constant pollution.  Previous to this passage, Hass talks about a bird.  He says, “…the bird that can’t know the amazement of its being there, a human mind that somewhat does…”  That makes me say “Wow!”  We have the ability to think and be free-willed.  A bird is a creature of habit with no soul, yet it is amazing.  God created this world in all its beauty and splendor and meaning and we are destroying it.  Perhaps Hass is getting the reader to think on deeper levels to better understand the sheer beauty and splendor of creation at its roots.

Encountering Nature, Reflecting on Life

On Friday night, March 25, I received the privilege of attending a presentation on the Hillsborough River given by Professor Laura Runge.  She visited five different spots on the river over a period of 13 months, visiting each spot once per month.  She then wrote an essay after each monthly visit.  Last night, she read to us the essay on her November visit.

I learned that the Hillsborough River provides most of the drinking water for Tampa, thus it is important to take good care of it.  I also learned that it was named after a British governor.  On this trip in November, she took her son, Spencer.  It provided good bonding time, yes, but she took him for his incredible eyesight and curiosity for nature.  On this trip, Spencer seemed excited seeing the wildlife and doing the things that his mother did.

One thing that primarily stuck out to me was the conversation between Professor Runge and her son about life.  This conversation was initiated by Spencer when he asked his mother, “Does it seem like forever?”  He was asking about her forty-four years of age.  He then stated that his eleven years of age seemed like forever.  This conversation caught my attention because God is the creator.  God created life and he created nature and I believe that since Professor Runge and Spencer were taking in nature, it caused him to reflect on life and the beauty that it beholds.  After all, nature is streaming with abundant life and beauty that shows God’s creativity at its’ finest.

Nature is a gift from God.  As a gift, we need to take care of it and protect it.  I believe that “green” is a good thing.  I’m not an extremist or as the world defines it as “tree hugger,” but I believe doing the little things that count are important, such as recycling, turning lights off in a room that isn’t being used, unplugging power chords that aren’t in use, and many other things.  Doing the little things is what makes a big difference.  Attending the presentation broadened my understanding of the beauty and significance of nature.  I must admit my intentions for attending the presentation were solely to receive extra credit, but I did get something out of it.  So kudos to Professor Runge for grabbing the attention of a young man whose mind was elsewhere.  I benefited.  Also, I believe that the presentation has served as a good transition for the time we are going to spend on learning about nature in Intro to Literature.

A Growing Mind

This entire experience in learning about people who are mentally handicapped has been very challenging and eye-opening.  First reading “The Boys Next Door” and talking about it in class several times, reading Dr. Fettke’s article about his son and his experiences and thoughts, and then visiting AFI and talking with the class about that has really opened my mind to the world that the mentally handicapped experience.  Each of these things brought new and different thoughts and opinions to my mind that helped me to learn and grow.

Reading “The Boys Next Door” opened up the experience for me.  I wasn’t really too sure what to think after reading the First Act, but after finishing the story and talking about it in class, it really set the tone.  Reading Dr. Fettke’s article brought all of this into perspective personally.  As he talked about his son, I was reminded of whom I consider my little sister, Eva.  My mom has been babysitting her for quite some time now.  Then visiting AFI and talking with the class really pulled it all together.  My heart now goes out to the mentally handicapped more than it did before this experience in Intro to Lit.  My heart already went out to them, considering Eva, but I have developed a better understanding and passion now.

Reading “The Boys Next Door” again tonight, I had a different understanding and different thoughts as I was reading as I did before.  It seems that AFI and the situation in “The Boys Next Door,” with four mentally handicapped people living together in an apartment with a supervisor who checks up on them regularly, are very similar.  Both of these situations present an atmosphere that encourages and teaches independence.  That way, the mentally handicapped can learn to go throughout normal daily activities on their own.

This experience has been a good one, thus far, and has really touched my heart.  Though they may be impaired in the mind, the mentally handicapped can challenge you to think harder and more creative than you ever have before.

Mental Disabilities: A Blessing

Steven M. Fettke’s article on mental disabilities in the light of Christian faith was very insightful.  It allowed me to view mental disabilities in a new and more appropriate way with more respect for those who are affected, both the mentally handicapped and their families and friends.  Fettke presents mental disabilities as a gift of God.  God has a reason and a plan for why those who are mentally handicapped are the way that they are.  Even still, mentally handicapped people are created in the image and likeness of God.

As I was reading the story and as we have been talking about mentally handicapped people in class, I couldn’t help but be reminded of whom I consider my little sister, Eva.  Eva is seven years old and has Down syndrome.  She is not biologically my sister, but my mom has been babysitting her for quite some time now and my brothers and I have bonded with Eva.  I had never really had a personal experience with mentally handicapped people and I honestly admit my view on them has changed since I have been spending time with Eva.  She has emotions, she responds to things by presenting her own opinion, she knows what she does and does not want to do.  She laughs, she cries, and she loves.  I have come to a realization that Eva is perfectly there and not absent-minded as many people assume that’s just the way mentally handicapped people are.

Professor Fettke was right.  In his article he said, “In our own experience of our son and his condition, my wife and I have often remarked about his potential healing as something we might actually regret.”  Those words repeatedly rang in my ears.  He went on to say that he doesn’t mean that their faith is too little that he can’t be healed, but that their son will not be the same person that he and his wife have come to know and love over the past 23 years.  I know and love Eva just the way she is.  If she was to be healed, our time together during babysitting hours wouldn’t be the same.  That bond, that connection that we have now will be diminished.  And this is not to say that a new bond cannot be established, but there is nothing wrong with the one that we have now.  I view Eva as a gift.  She has blessed my life, changed the way I think, changed the way I feel, and changed the way I view God’s creation, just as Professor Fettke talked about.  Fettke references Hauerwas’ modernity view.  This view is that people with mental disabilities are better to be nonexistent.  Eva is not somebody who is better to be nonexistent by any means!  She is a beautiful creation who never fails to bless those around her.

The church has a responsibility to God’s creation:  those who are mentally able and those who are mentally handicapped.  Are we not responsible for ministering to the needs of the world?  Mentally handicapped people live on the earth just as well as those who are mentally able.  The church needs to be Christ’s hands extended to the world, reaching every kind of people.

From left to right:  Me, Emily (Eva's baby sister), Taylor, Eva, and Zachary

In response to Act II of "The Boys Next Door"

The ending of “The Boys Next Door” was a little bit different than I predicted.  I predicted that Jack would be changed, and he was, but not quite in the way that I thought he would be.  He was changed in that he came to the conclusion that he needed to move on, to get another job.  I thought that he would in some way be changed internally in an obvious way, such as realizing a deeper passion for mentally handicapped people, specifically Arnold, Lucien, Barry, and Norman.  Saying this, however, I was surprisingly pleased with the ending.  I thought that Jack and Arnold at the train station exchanging good friendship was a good way to end it.  I felt throughout the story that Jack had a closer, more personal relationship with Arnold than with the other roommates.

I was surprised to see how Barry reacted to his father when he visited.  I felt when Barry was curled up on the couch in the fetal position after his dad had slapped him,  that childhood memories were taking place all over again—sore childhood memories.  I wasn’t pleased to see that the father-son relationship stayed the same after so many years.

Jack made a statement that I thought was very key to the story.  He said, “You see, the problem is that they never change.  I change, my life changes, my crises change.  But they stay the same.”  Poor Lucien doesn’t have much hope.  Will he change?  Can his mind grow?  Will he progressively learn to comprehend more complex thoughts and ideas as his life progresses?  He is 50 years old, yet still contains the mind of 3-year-old.  It doesn’t seem that he will change.

Norman contains the mind of a young child as well, but he has found love, so he thinks.  I think that it’s good that he is interested in Sheila.  It will help him learn things about life, such as relationships.  With a supervisor, his relationship with Sheila can help him grow as a person.

Arnold is very much stuck in his ways, but he does have hope.  I believe that everyone has hope, even Lucien.  Though it is a play, situations and people such as the ones in the play do exist and God is very much capable of transforming minds and producing unexpected miracles in difficult situations.

In response to "The Boys Next Door"

Act 1 of the play “The Boys Next Door,” by Tom Griffin, was interesting and very different to me.  I have never read or seen a story with quite this situation.  Basically, four mentally handicapped men are living together in an apartment and have a supervisor named Jack.  The play offers a story for each main character, helping the reader understand better what is going on.

Arnold is one of the men living the apartment.  He is marginal.  The little things about people aggravate him and get to him.  I believe that he, along with Barry, have less severe cases than Norman and Lucien, who are retarded.  Arnold is easily persuaded (as indicated at the beginning of the story when he goes to the grocery store) and can also trick people quite easily.

Barry thinks he is a pro golfer.  He is a grade A schizophrenic.  His case seems mild though by the way he acts.  I believe that there is promise for Barry and that he can one day lead a fairly normal life.

Norman is mentally retarded.  He has a problem with eating too much doughnuts and loves his key chain.  When things get out of order or when something makes him nervous, he panics frantically.  He works at a doughnut shop, which will be good for him to live as normal of a life as possible, but I believe that Norman would need to be under supervision at all times.

Lucien is also mentally retarded.  I believe he has the worst case of the four men.  His speech is poor and he doesn’t think straight.  He also gets easily distracted.  I do not believe that Lucien will ever be capable of living on his own, unfortunately, but he does have a good heart.

To me, these four men living together under supervision is a good thing.  It will help them grow and develop maturity.  I believe that it will also help them cope with their mental diseases.  I believe that in the second act (mainly at the end),  that I will see that each of these four men have matured and have learned.  I also believe that Jack will learn some lessons about life having supervised these four men.

In response to "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin

This story is very interesting and meaningful.  There are a lot of emotional experiences that are heart-breaking and life changing in this story.  I would consider it an emotional roller coaster.  A lot can be gathered and learned from reading and taking to heart what is in “Sonny’s Blue’s.”

The main character, I would kind of relate to myself.  We are completely different in nearly every way, but there is one aspect of him that reminds me a lot of myself.  The main character is Sonny’s older brother.  He wants the best for Sonny and he wants him to be successful in life, but he doesn’t necessarily say the right things to encourage Sonny.  The main character wants Sonny to do things the way he thinks they should be done and really doesn’t want to listen to what Sonny has to say.  Fortunately, by the end of the story, the main character does learn to listen, and it helps him in his thinking as well.  When I thought and/or felt strongly about something, there was no changing my mind, and I would defend it whole-heartedly.  My brother and I would get into conversations about topics—some that could be controversial—relating to the Bible.  He would ask questions to help him think, he would listen, and he would even admit that he might be wrong at times.  I didn’t want to admit I was wrong and I felt embarrassed when I knew I was, but would continue to defend my thoughts for the sake of not admitting I was wrong.  I’ve changed and I’ve learned that it is okay to be wrong.  This life contains making mistakes and learning from them.  Now, I try to ask questions, listen intensely, and do what I can to be changed for the better as an intellectual, and hopefully as a Christian, even admitting that I am wrong at times.  As one can come to learn, a person who is so set in what they think has little room to change.

Both the main character and Sonny had troubles, but they came to came to an understanding with one another.  They grew as people.  They changed for the better.  There are many lessons to be learned here, but one stands out to me.  We have one life.  We can either be set in our ways and hope that good comes out of it, or we can be willing to be changed.  The very one thing that has helped me through all of my struggles in life is that God’s direction never fails to lead to good.

In response to chapters 3-4 of "A Grief Observed"

My response to these last two chapters may be quite a bit different from my response to the first two chapters.  I feel that I need to speak more about what I'm thinking and feeling inside as opposed to what C.S. Lewis is feeling and then me commenting on it here and there.  Lewis is a brilliant man and I will write a few things here and there that drove my thoughts and feelings.

Lewis said "I had been warned—I had warned myself—not to reckon on worldly happiness."  When we do this, our emotional breakdowns will only be more dramatic and heart breaking.  We, as Christians, are to store our treasures, thoughts, and happiness on things above and not on earthly things.  Death is tragic, but if we can wrap our minds around the fact that this life is only temporary and pales in comparison to the life that succeeds it, then our hearts may be quicker to heal.

Lewis mourned for ten days and described the weather as "low hung grey skies and motionless warm dampness."  After those ten days, he claimed he felt less grief than he ever had and that his heart was light...the sun was shining.  I love the description that Lewis has laid out here.  Our times here on earth are filled with "low hung grey skies and motionless warm dampness" in a figurative way more than literal.  But this is only temporary.  The sun will shine and we will be taken up into glory with our Father.  This may seem cheesy to some, but I saved this quote from "Batman:  The Dark Night" in my phone immediately after hearing it when my youth group went to go see it on opening night.  One of the characters said, "The night is always darkest just before the dawn, but the dawn is coming."  Jesus is coming and our grief will permanently decease.

I went to visit Tiger Flowers cemetery today.  As I walked around the cemetery, I read tombstones and counted the years of the lives that now laid there, read passages from "A Grief Observed," and even related these events to my own life.  How did I do this?  Well, when I hear of someone who is going through a hard time due to the death of a loved one, I put myself in their shoes.  What if that had been my mom, dad, brothers, girlfriend, friends?  I have been so blessed because I have never lost a closed loved one and I always think "how will I make it if I do?"  Lewis said "Whatever fools may say, the body can suffer twenty times more than the mind."  To be tortured physically and to be tortured mentally are two very different tortures.  Mental torture does seem to be very devastating.  There were two tombstones together where a father and his son lay.  To one's surprise, the father outlived the son by twelve years.  I thought..."what if that was my family's situation?"  These questions come to mind and it helps me to picture the lives of the people that are now buried in the cemetery.  Oddly enough, I even thought of events that were going on during the early 1900s when these two men were in their prime, such as the office of Teddy Roosevelt.

Death is not to be taken lightly.  I believe that it is the worst torture one can go through.  Death does provide many opportunities that we need to take a hold of and to not let our situation bring us down to change us into people that are opposite of what God has called us to be.  Any of these opportunities may be drawing closer to God, learning, growing, and thinking on whole new levels in all areas of our lives, especially spiritually.  When all is taken into consideration, there is one thing that I am sure of…God is good and His love never fails.

I went to the Lakeview, Roselawn and Tiger Flowers cemetery complex for this fieldtrip, and I stayed there for at least 40 minutes.

In response to the first two chapters of "A Grief Observed"

In "A Grief Observed" by C. S. Lewis, Lewis writes through his struggles after losing his wife.  As with anyone who has just lost a close friend or family member, he beings to ask questions, question what is right and wrong, question what is real, and question God.  The difference between most people and Lewis, however, is that he has a unique, creative, way of thinking and writing and is very talented in transferring information from his mind to paper.

Losing his wife (whom he refers to as "H.") sorrowed him very deeply.  And why wouldn't it?  It was his lifelong partner, his lover.  He lost his father, mother, and wife to cancer.  In his journal, as I would consider it to be, Lewis digs extremely deep into his mind to try and bring meaning to everything.  He even questions if his memories, thoughts, and images of H. would grow “fictious” and into an imaginable woman.  He is not pleased with this, but comes to the reality that it is highly possible.  Through his suffering, he also holds another conversation within his writing, which talks about the very nature of God.

The thing that he said that grabbed my attention the most was, "It doesn't really matter whether you grip the arms of the dentist's chair or let your hands lie in your lap.  The drill drills on."  He was saying this in the context that suffering is suffering and there is nothing to do with it "except to suffer it."  I believe that God can and will deliver us from our suffering permanently, but many times he lets us suffer hardships so that we can grow, learn, be a witness, and many other things that God may have in mind that we may not understand.  This quote applies to life in general.  We have choices in life, "Will I grip the arms of the chair of let them lie in my lap?"  Life goes on whether you accept it or not.  It's a question of what will you do with it?

The text that I am relating "A Grief Observed" to may seem odd to some, but it does show meaning.  The book of Joel can be applied here.  Joel describes the day before the Lord comes.  There's fire, smoke, the sky is dark, and the moon is blood red, but the coming of the Lord brings hope, joy, and life!  God can bring us through our struggles, such as the death of a loved one; we just need to continuously trust Him.

Vivid and Moving Passages from Joel

“What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And was the creeping locus has left, the stripping locust has eaten.”

This passage from Joel is very vivid to me.  Basically the book is describing that absolutely nothing is left and the locusts made sure of it.  This passage, I’m sure is meant to be taken in other senses as well.  After the return of the Lord, God is going to wipe out all those who have decided to turn away from Him.  No one will be left.  All of those, along with Satan and his demons, will be trapped in the Lake of Fire forever.  I can imagine the Battle of Armageddon.  This day precedes the Day of Judgment and is The battle between good and evil.  Jesus races down from the clouds on a white horse, followed by His massive and most powerful army created of angels and Christ’s children.  We shall rush the enemy and take them down by the sword.  No one and nothing will be left, for Jesus will be victorious!

Another passage that I found both vivid and moving in Joel says, “’I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood fire and columns of smoke.  The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.’”

This passage paints a vivid image in my head of the day before the return of the Lord.  I picture blood dripping over the moon until it is crimson.  I picture the earth in turmoil, people running and screaming, fires ablaze all over the land, a smoke so thick that it is hard to breathe.  We as God’s children take comfort for we know that He is coming soon to rescue us.

Uncovering the Beauty of Joel

The book of Joel in the Bible is very poetic and declaring.  I cannot say that I have a favorite phrase, line, or passage of Joel, because it all speaks to my heart dearly.  When deciding what to write on, two passages stood out to me, however one passage in particular reveals the beauty in Joel's—Holy Spirit inspired—writing.

"And in that day
     The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
     And the hills will flow with milk,
     And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water;
     And a spring will go out from the house of the LORD
     To water the valley of Shittim."
                                                  —Joel 3:18

This passage talks about after the coming of the Lord.  Before He comes, the land will be dark, the moon blood red, and there will be chaos.  The Lord's people will suffer, but we know that we can take hope that He is returning and will rescue us.  To my limited research, I believe this passage is talking about Heaven.  I could be wrong, but to me this is what I picture when reading.  Another thing I thought it may be talking about is during the 1000 year reign here on Earth or Joel could be speaking figuratively saying how amazing the time will be when the Lord returns.  An indicator here in the passage that seems to signify Heaven is the line “And the hills will flow with milk…”  In other various places, the Bible describes the land of the Canaanites, in which the Israelites are to possess, as a land flowing with milk and honey.  I have heard many sermons spoken using the metaphor “flowing with milk and honey” in talking about Heaven.

What a beautiful and very well-worded passage of scripture.  It is passages like these that keep the hope of Christians alive, looking forward to such a joyous time.  The line “And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water” seems to indicate that nothing will be missing and that everything will be fulfilled.  The brooks will not be dried up, but flowing.  And lastly the line “And a spring will go out from the house of the LORD to water the valley of Shittim” seems to indicate that God will extend his merciful hand towards His people and bless us.

This being both poetry and scripture, God could speak differently to different people from the same passage or even differently to the same person at a different time.  After reading and researching this passage, this is what the Lord has spoken to me through His Word.

More Than Just "A Story about the Body"

I do not consider myself to be great, even good at interpreting poetry, but in attempt to grow as an intellectual, I do my best and put forth effort to think "outside of the box" when reading poetry.  In the Headnote about Robert Hass in the Pearson Anthology, it said that, "Hass's work is often understated and condensed, drawing images from ordinary life in an effort to have readers concentrate on hidden meanings."  I believe that nearly all poetry contains "hidden meanings."  And I believe that in Hass's poem, "A Story about the Body" contains a hidden meaning.

The young composer and the older Japanese painter in the story represent any love relationship.  He (the young composer) comes to think that he was in love with her.  He was intrigued by her body language and the way she looked at him when she painted.  To me, this represents the rose petals in the top of the blue bowl at the end of the story.  This is taking love at face value.  It does not go any deeper.  Following a concert, they walk together back to her house.  At the front door, she confesses to him that she has had a double mastectomy.  She also says that she would like for him to have her and that she believes that he would like it too, but after hearing of the surgery, he claims he does not think he could have her.  To me, this represents the dead bees at the bottom of the blue bowl underneath the rose petals.

The next morning, he walked out to the front porch to discover a blue bowl, believed to have been placed there by the older Japanese woman.  The bowl contained dead bees with rose petals on top of them.  The bowl looks quite pleasing seeing it full of rose petals.  It looks like love.  Dig deeper to the bottom of the bowl, however, and discover that the love is only dead and is not true at all.  I believe the woman used bees because of the insect’s stinger.  Love is not to be played around with, and when it is, it is like one has been stung in the heart.  I also believe that this meaning correlates with the title of the poem, “A Story about the Body.”  Many people refuse to love someone who does not physically appeal to them.  After hearing that the woman had no breasts, it is possible that the young man did not want to be with her for that very reason.

I could have hit the nail on the head with interpreting the meaning of the poem, but I could also be very wrong.  But I believe that with poetry, everyone can take a different meaning from the same poem and everyone still be right, thus the creativity and deepness of poetry.

The Hunting Trip

The two climbed the ladder to the top of the tree together.  Clayton held both twenty-two rifles as his son, Chipper, situated himself comfortably in the stand.  Once he was settled, Clayton handed him his gun and sat down.  “Are you excited?” Clayton asked his son.  “Yeah dad,” the ten-year old boy said as he pulled out his favorite snack, a bag of trail mix. 

Clayton and his wife finally came to an agreement earlier in the week that Chipper was ready to go on his first hunting trip.  In fact, it was opening day, five o’clock in the morning while the sun was still rising above the night sky and the dew still sat thickly upon the leaves.  A few birds chirped here and there, but other than that, all was calm.

Clayton noticed that his son exhaled deeply as he watched his breath dissipate into the air.  “Are you cold?” Clayton asked Chipper.  “No I’m fine,” replied the boy.  “How long will it take?  You know, for the deer to show up.”  Clayton answered, “They could show up in just a few minutes, or it could take a few hours.  There may be two, three, or maybe even just one.”

Clayton could tell that Chipper was tired.  He hoped that Chipper was as excited about hunting as he was taking him.  Clayton had always dreamed of having a son and getting opportunities to bond with him on hunting and fishing trips just as his dad had done with him.  Out in the wild is where he learned about life and it was out in the wild that he would share with his son what his dad had shared with him.

“Hey dad, you know what I want to do?” asked Chipper.  Clayton turned to look at his son and asked, “What’s that son?”  “I want to kill a big ole’ ten point and mount ‘em above my bed!” Chipper said excitingly.  Clayton replied, “I’ll tell ya what, the first buck that walks into that opening is yours.”  Chipper turned and smiled and looked through his new pair of binoculars.  Clayton leaned back, stretched his long legs out, and rubbed his rugged face as they both waited for a deer to step out from the brush.

“Son, look around you…at the trees, the grass, the birds, the squirrels, the fresh air.  What do you think?”  Clayton asked with purpose.  “It’s really pretty dad,” Chipper answered.  Clayton looked at his son and said, “God made all of this.  He breathed life into the plants of these woods and the birds of the air.  He designed all of it.  Hunting is real fine thing son.  When I come out here, I always thank God for providing, for he puts the food on the table.  Also, hunting provides us the opportunity to enjoy and marvel at God’s creation.  It helps me see how truly amazing he is son.”  Clayton watched as his son looked up at him with a half smile.  Chipper replied, “That’s pretty cool.  I’ve never thought of it like that.”  Clayton felt warm in his heart as he watched his son look off into the woods pondering that thought.

An hour, maybe two had passed and they still hadn’t seen a thing.  Clayton looked over at his boy and in his deep voice said, “It’s time to call.”  He handed chipper the quad grunt call.  Chipper slowly slid the o-ring to “doe.”  He puffed a few short breaths into the tube, just as his dad had taught him.  “How was that?”  Chipper asked.  “Sounded great Chipper.  Do it a couple of more times,” Clayton said.  He did as his dad told him and then they both sat there and continued to wait.

A few minutes later, some disturbance in the bushes could be heard.  Chipper whispered very enthusiastically, “What was that?”  Clayton helped his son get his gun ready as he said, “hand me the call and I’ll blow it a few times.  Keep your safety on until I give you the signal.”  Chipper propped his gun up on the side of the hunting stand, with his finger hovering over the safety.  Clayton blew once.  The rustling of bushes crept closer.  He blew again.  Chipper was impatiently staring the opening down, about fifty yards away, through his scope.  Clayton blew a third time and about that time, a curious twelve-point stepped out into the opening searching for the doe in heat.  Clayton looked over at Chipper and nodded.  Chipper slowly pressed the safety off and lined up the shoulder of the deer in the cross hairs.  He slowly tightened his finger on the trigger, pressing the stock of the gun firmly into his shoulder.  He fired.  Birds quickly rushed into the air from the protective covering of the trees.  The deer raced off into the woods about twenty yards until he fell dead.  "God provided," Chipper spoke softly.  Clayton looked down at his son, and his son up at him and they both smiled.

Behind the Character of Sanjeev

Sanjeev, the husband in the story, "This Blessed House" by Jhumpa Lahiri, is definitely an interesting character.  A lot can be observed and said about him.  He is an average height, average built, Indian man.  He has long eyelashes, which his wife teases of them looking like a girl's.  Even though he is not overweight, his cheeks have plumpness to them.  Sanjeev wishes he could be just one inch taller than he is.  He's insecure about his height and doesn't wish for his wife to wear high heels when they go out.  All of this is described when he goes into the bathroom to throw away his wife's cigarette ashes and pauses to take a look at himself in the mirror.  Is it possibly his physical attributes that cause him to be pessimistic a lot?

Sanjeev is a handy man.  At the beginning of the story, he is in search for spots to mark in which need painting.  He is also a graduate from MIT with an engineering degree.  He's smart and very organized.  At one point, he collects and alphabetizes all of his college books onto a shelf.  Sanjeev is a successful career man.  He was considered for the vice president position at a firm soon after he graduated college.  By the time we was thirty, he had a secretary and people working under him.  When him and Twinkle were introduced, he was already in the area of Palo Alto on a business trip.  Now, he is working at an office, for a firm.  The house they are living in is two-story, with a nice winding stair case.  They have an attic large enough to convert into bedrooms if needed.  This indicated he makes good money.

On the personality side and viewpoints of Sanjeev, he doesn't talk very much.  When he does, he talks sarcastically to his wife.  He does not like the Christian items found throughout the house and is very persistent that he and his wife are not Christian.  He is worried about impressing the people from the office when they are going to attend their house-warming party.  This is expressed when he doesn't want the poster of Christ weeping hanging up during the party for anyone to see.  Even though they are having a party, he is not a very social person.  During his bachelor days, he spent his time with Indian couples in which he didn't understand why they wanted him to hang out.  He had nothing in common with them, but the story says he always went because he didn't have any other plans.  I guess he didn't have any other friends.  An interesting thing about Sanjeev is that he likes classical music.  The story says that he was at the table reading it, and his wife told him from the bathroom that no one likes to listen to that music so apparently he was listening to it.

On the relationship side of Sanjeev, he is married to Twinkle.  She is also Indian.  He is mostly short with her and speaks sarcastically to her.  Anything that she likes, he finds a reason not to like.  He discovered that the reason he hates all of the Christian items found throughout the house so much, especially the bust of Jesus, is because Twinkle loves them.  The story states that he felt he got to where he had to state the obvious to Twinkle.  It seems like he likes the idea of being married more than the person he is actually married to.  When they were raking leaves, he saw a tree that reminded him of the colors of the tent in which he and Twinkle got married in.  He didn't even know if he loved her.

I think Sanjeev is stressed...stressed from work and just from life in general.  Stressed people usually get irritated over small things, like Sanjeev does with his wife she leaves clothes lying around the bedroom.  I understand getting irritated over the small things in life.  Things really pinched at my nerves when I would get stressed from school, sports practices, and playing drums three times a week at church.  I believe Sanjeev is a deep thinker and a hard worker.  I believe that if he focused his attention on God, that everything else will fall into place for him.

In Response to "This Blessed House" by Jhumpa Lahiri

In this story, a young Indian couple move into a new house.  As they go about unpacking, cleaning, and fixing small things, the wife, Twinkle, discovers many Christian "menageries" throughout the house.  She finds it very interesting and wishes to display them on the mantle.  The husband, Sanjeev, despises all of the things that his wife finds and strongly and persistently claims that they are not Christian.  As the story progresses, they have a house warming party and the guests are intrigued by the story and join the hunt for more items.  They all search the attic where they find one last thing, a silver bust of Jesus.

What's interesting to me about this story is the obvious relationship between Sanjeev and Twinkle.  Twinkle is very carefree and happy all of the time where Sanjeev seems like a very organized and well put together person.  To me, Sanjeev does not respect his wife like he should.  Sure he shrugs of the items that Twinkle finds and loves, but more than that he's short with her, shows no interest in what she does, gets easily aggravated with her habits, and at one time in the story even regrets being with her.  When they have the party, all of the guys are impressed by Twinkle and seemed to indicate that Sanjeev is a lucky man, but that's just not what he thinks. To me that is another problem.  Sanjeev keeps these thoughts bottled up (other than saying they're not Christian) and constantly chews on them throughout the story.  He never tries talking with his wife.  They fail epically at communication.

Spoiler Alert!!!.....the end of the story is like crossing the finish line and not being overcome with the feeling of victory, or maybe it's better explained as already having crossed the finish line and not realizing it.  Either way, Sanjeev's and Twinkle's lives just carry on as is.  Lahiri seems to indicate that Sanjeev continues to keep these feelings bottled up and their relationship never changes.  Who knows though?  Another question I would like to raise is, “What is the meaning of all the Christian menageries placed throughout the house?”  Were they unintentionally left by previous owners?  Or were they intentionally left?  What role are these items supposed to play in the couple's lives?  These questions are meant to be chewed on, and possibly even meant for you to write your own ending to the story.

A Variety of Literature

After having read "Why Read Literature" and "Darkness, Questions, Poetry and Spiritual Hope" by Paul T. Corrigan and "Reading for Transformation..." by Francis X. McAloon, I found it hard to find a topic to write about seeing that all of these pieces are very different, but also very much relate.  So for this blog, I believe I will just write about all three.

Professor Corrigan relates reading literature to physical exercise in "Why Read Literature."  Both are "fundamental aspects of daily life" and "requires discipline and perseverance."  Many people find it difficult to stay committed to physical exercise and staying healthy as well as many find it difficult to stay mentally healthy by reading literature.  Little do those people know, reading literature will probably come easier to them than they think.  Professor Corrigan suggests that everyone loves a good story whether it is about sports, romance, mystery, different types of poetry, ect.  Anyone who reads because they are interested is reading literature.  They just may not realize it's literature.  Through "discipline" and "perseverance," one will find that reading literature becomes more interesting and meaningful and will find a deeper appreciation towards it.  By being disciplined and persevering through literature that may not even be pleasurable to read, one will find that their appreciation will increase even more.

In "Reading for Transformation..." McAloon claims that using poetry to pray can open us up spiritually to even more than what we can imagine.  He uses poetry to pray through a series of events he calls "lectio."  It is basically a process of meditating on the poetry and allowing it to come from his heart in the form of prayer.  Through this, he discovered an appreciation for poetry that he originally was uninterested in.  This reminds me of the statement, “What you get out of what you read is determined by how you read.”

In Corrigan's essay, "Darkness, Questions, Poetry, and Spiritual Hope," he talks about sitting with our questions from dark experiences as opposed to "finding" our "spouting" out answers.  We are merely humans and don't necessarily understand why the death of loved ones have to occur in the timing that they do.  We don't understand why catastrophes happen and put our hearts into depression.  These are questions that are hard to come to terms with.  I love what Corrigan says in the second paragraph of the essay:  "A mixture of optimism and answers is nice while it lasts, but in order to have a spiritual hope that is authentic and what will sustain us in the darkness, we must take an intimate account of suffering."  Christ suffered for us and tells us that we too will suffer for the cause of Christ.  It is in Him that we will find comfort and joy in times of darkness.

In Response to "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" by Raymond Carver

Raymond Carver is an interesting man, who lived an interesting life, who wrote an interesting short story called "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love."  There are two couples at a house drinking gin while having a conversation.  The main character, Nick, and his wife, Laura, seem to be ordinary people.  Their friends, Mel and Terri, argue constantly and have two different opinions about love, but nonetheless claim they know they love each other.  Mel and Terri are unarguably the most talkative, Nick and Laura just throwing in comments and asking questions from time to time.  Mel and Terri both have former spouses that have left only dark memories.  Mel gets aggravated when Terri claims that her former husband, Ed, loved her and that she will not be convinced otherwise.  Mel argues that a crazy man like Ed, who physically abused Terri, could not have loved her.  This was mentioned a few times throughout the story.  As the story progresses, the conversation seems to get less and less meaningful and weirder, in my opinion.  Mel starts to use profanity often.  This is an effect caused by drunkenness.  It seems that all four of the characters were drunk by the end of the story.

My thoughts on this story are still forming.  Of course, I had a few initial thoughts as I was reading it.  One of those thoughts was that Mel and Terri need to get their act together.  Either they love each other or they don't, but it seems to me the disrespect they had for one another indicated there was no true love in that relationship (of course this being my opinion).  I can picture that Nick and Laura give each other looks throughout the conversation as if to indicate that Mel and Terri are crazy.  I am also trying to figure out the moral of the story, if there even is one.  It would help me if I knew the purpose for which the story was written.  I believe that if all four of these characters gave their hearts to Christ, that they would find a love more real and more true than they have ever known.  After having found this love, then the couples could truly love their spouses.