First of all, i have to say that these two stories - "The Swimmer" and "Good Country People" - were really weird. They were both stories about nothing and seemed like there was no point to them, that is, until you have completed reading the two works.
In "The Swimmer" i kept saying to myself, "Ok. So what's the point behind the story?" It seemed like it was just a simple tale about a drunk who came up with this crazy idea of being able to swim across an entire county by swimming from pool to pool (i could be wrong, but i think a lot of other people might have been thinking this as well while they were reading it). In the end we find out what Cheever was building up to which is the swimmer finally returning home to an abandoned house. He had been drinking so much that hadn't realized how much time had passed that his family left him. This was, to me, a complete surprise ending. i never saw that coming.
"Good Country People" was another weird story to read. This, Like "The Swimmer", started off as a pointless tale to me. But, in another surprise ending in which we find out the reality behind the boy selling the bibles, we can understand what O'Connor was building up to. It wasn't until the very end that I saw the whole point of the story.
I think the obvious similarity between the two stories is the way that they are structured. They both start out as seemingly pointless tales. But, after surprise endings in both, we see what the point was behind each authors story. In "The Swimmer", the man was so caught up in his drinking and trying to achieve his goal of swimming across the county, that he had lost track of what's really important to him - his family - and in the end, they leave him. it shows that life is only sweet when you have people you love around you. In "Good Country People" we discover that the point of O'Connor's work is that we must pay attention to what's in front of us and that we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Although someone or something may look harmless, they might actually be lying and deceitful. So, in that sense, the similarities in these to short stories is that we have to read to the very end to see what the message is behind each author's writing.
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4 comments:
I dont agree with your statement that much in that the story had no point because, if the point of the story was in the first sentence then it wouldn't be a story. I think having the introduction, and the events leading up to the final event is what makes the point come across.
Although I do agree with you on the point of the stories in the end. I think that Cheever's story is seeing what you have with you should not be taken for granted, but he chose to waste it away, and eventually gets left alone. With O'Connor's story you can't know people until you feel like you can trust them. She knew the boy for what? 2 days.. and then was saying she loved him and trusted him with things that will leave her abandoned. Your statement don't judge a book by it's cover, i think works good with this story because she not only got fooled by him but he had to ease his way to get to know her so he can then trick her.
I do agree with what you said about both stories seeming to start off with no point- although what Amanda said about stories not coming out with the point in the first sentence is true, I still felt like there was a lot of narrative going on in both that didn't seem to be going anywhere- so, no, you weren't alone in that one. Reading your post was actually helpful to me because I wasn't sure what happened in the end of "The Swimmer". I thought maybe his family had left him, but then again, I wasn't sure if maybe they just weren't home yet and the story ended abruptly. Seeing that you, and many other interpreted the ending as though they had left him validated my initial thoughts on the ending. "Don't judge a book my its cover" really does suit "Good Country People" well. I had said in my post that for the first time, Joy/Hulga had let her guard down, and it ended up being a huge mistake that left her stranded and vulnerable. I also agree with your poitn about in "The Swimmer", the idea is to not take what you have for granted. Ned took his entire life for granted- so much so that he "forgot" about the major things that were going on in his life as he was so caught up in his swimming voyage. I got the same themes out of both stories.
Colin, I agree ith everything you said except for your comment on the beginning of the stories. I feel that they set the situations up. Ned's carefree attitude, Hulga's bitterness and meanness. Without the backdrop painted for us I'm not so sure I would have been impacted by the stories. I really dug both of them and we both seem to understand the stories on the same level (albeit the beginnings).
Again, I agree with what the others have said, that stories DO need background information. I also see what you are talking about though. I was not at all interested or drawn in by these stories in the beginning. At the end, I sat there thinking "What a GREAT story, but I wish they didn't take this long to read. I wish I could have just found out what happened halfway through."
You read these stories very well, I think. And I like the morals you came up with at the end.
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