Perspectives and Reader Response

Perspectives

All the presenters thus far have explored the topic of perspective. We all know that the same event can have numerous interpretations depending on who the speaker is. This week in class I got a chance to explore the various reasons why the authors chose the specific view points for their stories. For instance, how different would "Teenage Wasteland" have been had it been told through Daisy's eyes? The choice of perspective is a key factor in determining the atmosphere, opinions, and even events in a story. While different characters may be interconnected, each character has its own history and unique view of the world. "Teenage Wasteland" was of particular interest to me. I questioned why we the readers were not told of Donny's struggles through his eyes. Instead, we saw his deterioration and eventual disappearance through the struggle of his mother Daisy. Upon further thought, I realized that by understanding Daisy's point of view we in turn saw Donny's journey through a dirty lens. Many aspects of his psyche are not clear to us. We only have the views of Cal, his teachers, and Daisy to formulate our opinions on. Often in the case of misunderstood, lost teenagers, adults and outsiders do not fully understand what the child is going through. Anne Tyler's approach was more natural with its spikes of highs and extreme lows. As Piper stated, we are lifted by the glimpses of hope that Tyler lures us with. Only to be crushed in the end by a very tragic ending. By the end of the story, we are left with more questions than answers about Donny. And perhaps Tyler wanted to leave the case open for further inspection.

"A Rose for Emily" was told through the eyes of an anonymous town member. In this case, William Faulkner wanted us to embark on the journey with the unknowing townspeople and learn the haunting facts about Miss Emily Grierson as they did. We see her life as an outsider would have seen it. Once again, we cannot confirm the motives behind her actions. We can only speculate. What is also interesting is how Faulkner completely changes our view of Ms. Emily with the very last three paragraphs of the story. Here we learn of Ms. Emily's murdering of her love interest Homer Barron and the strange details of the room he was kept in. Our emotions naturally mirror the emotions of the townspeople, because it is the only way we see the story. Throughout the story I found myself thinking "poor Emily," if only this had happened and so and so had not left. While in truth, Ms. Emily had many problems that the citizens and we were not aware of. It showed me how easily the reader accepts the narrator's ideas. However, when I reread the story I was able to piece together the clues and see different sides of Miss Emily that were hidden underneath the townspeople's impressions.

Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" benefits from having Mama tell the story. Mama, a level-headed mother of two daughters directs us through the family conflict. We respect Mama for her realistic attitude and acceptance of her daughters, despite their differences. Mama says, "I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands," and explains how her fantasies of appearing on TV include her being "a hundred pounds lighter" (5). I think the reader gains her trust at this point. We all have fantasies and dreams, but Mama tells it like it is. Her internal thoughts give us insight into her true feelings towards her daughters. For example, when their old house was burnt down, Mama wanted to ask Dee, "Why don't you do a dance around the ashes?" (10). Mama is able divulge enough information about Maggie and Dee while still retaining important facts and letting Dee and Maggie express them.


The Interpreter of Maladies

Today in class we discussed “The Interpreter of Maladies”. I could relate to this story because I’ve witnessed the difference between Indians and Indian Americans. I found myself disliking Mrs. Das. Her uncaring manner and lack of interest in her family really struck me as surprising. Her portrayal went against all the conventional depictions of mothers. However, I found her inner turmoil to be very interesting. She had a son with her husband’s business partner and kept it a secret from her current husband. We can see her pent up pressure when she releases it to Mr. Kapasi. She has the unrealistic expectation that Mr. Kapasi can solve her problem or give her some reassuring advice. However, Mr. Kapasi was more interested in the possibility of a relationship and not her trivial personal secret. However that interest slowly dies as he learns of Mrs. Das’s secret. Lauren explored the topic of Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi’s evolution and destruction of their brief relationship. (813)