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Two awesome little stories to read from this week. Margaret Artwood’s “An Angel” and Aimee Bender’s “Loser”. Both stories were awesome and unique in the writing styles they presented as opposed to other short story examples we’d read before. I really enjoy the dark undertones with which both stores are filled. I love a good tragedy. As Professor Moriea previously said in class, not all things end happily and I more than respect that in terms of the life I live.
ReplyDeleteFrom the start of “An Angel” I was caught off guard by the fact that Atwood was discussing an angel of suicide. It just so happens I’m researching the subject in my spare time, I have a fascination with suicide notes for some weird reason, please don’t judge. Anyway it’s an encouragement to keep reading. As the story or short-short progresses Atwood does a great job of focusing her attention on character details rather than anything else. It made me question just exactly the story was headed and what exactly she was trying to convey to the reader. Sometimes clarity in writing is not always the answer as being vague can lead to suspense or open ended interpretations, leaving the reader up to their own vices. It’s an interesting point of view as well, to speak from the angel’s perspective, because it’s as if the angel is at the beck and call of the one contemplating suicide.
“Loser” is a scary experience. When a mother is expecting their child to return from school safely in their arms and they don’t is a nightmare. This is undoubtedly a story about faith; the young man’s ability to search on for the child as well as Mrs. Allen and her ability to keep it together in a stressful moment in time. The third person perspective with which the story was wrote is something I do a bit, but I fair better with first person. Like I have stated in the past, first person gives you the chance to personalize just a bit more, albeit you are writing fiction, which makes it harder for the reader to trust. Still I feel that even in fiction there are realistic elements with which one can relate.
-Lucas Zamora
After reading the model short-short stories along with a general introduction to the aspiring writer of such stories, we tackled two more short-short stories chosen by the author of our Creative Writing textbook. These were Atwood’s An Angel and Bender’s Loser. Margaret Atwood is a Canadian author who first began publishing articles when she was 16 in 1957 and has since won numerous prestigious awards. Aimee Bender, on the other hand, is a middle-aged American author and has published several novels as well as numerous short stories.
ReplyDeleteAtwood begins her piece by claiming she has seen what she calls a suicide angel. Since she has seen it, she goes to some length describing its appearance by first describing what it most assuredly does not look like, the common archetype good angel, and whimsically describes their feet. Breaking into the next paragraph, she describes its antithesis followed by a fanciful aside complete within its own paragraph parenthetically separated from the rest of the piece about snow angels. Finally, she ends the composition with a bit of angelic history before a not-very-exciting climax.
Bender’s Loser was much more fun and intriguing as well as considerably longer (about two and half pages so) consisting of an imaginative story about a boy that could sniff out things. She begins by making the boy an orphan thus isolating and focusing on the protagonist. Next she quickly runs through a backstory in which she describes the boy’s extraordinary ability which sets us up for the main course, or conflict, of the story, which we must necessarily get to quickly since this is a short-short story.
Bender adequately describes Mrs. Allen by way of her Green Star, some kind of gigantic jewel that not only lets us know that Mrs. Allen is not playing with a full deck but provides comic relief: Mrs. Allen tries to talk to it and upon seeing it, the clairvoyant boy wants to lick it. It plays little role in the story aside that and the fact that it is the item wanted by the kidnappers.
While there is dialog, none of it is in quotations, but that does not take away from any of its readability. The narration is third-person omniscient; even though we have a protagonist, he is not followed around, and rather the scenes jump to where the action is. Yet it is noteworthy that the author peers only into the mind of our protagonist, hence there is a bit of third-person limited.
Like any good short-short, she ends the composition by leaving the reader with something to ponder. Here, the clairvoyant boy seems to be reconnecting with his dead parents. Or is he? We can’t be sure. It’s for us to ponder.
Elizabeth Barham
“An Angel” was one of those non-fiction, fiction pieces. Many people struggle with thoughts of suicide. The fact that Atwood was able to make a non-fiction situation fiction was beautiful. The way that she drew suicide as a fallen angel and a mythical creature was almost like a poetic take on this fiction piece. With comparisons to Lucifer the suicide angel is described with raw feelings of what the angels’ task is to be and to be achieved. Atwood also does a heavy contrast between, “the others, and those who fell.” The two types of angles she describes give the angel of suicide and all the other fallen angels a huge description just in the contrast.
ReplyDeleteIn “Loser” I found it interesting that Bender didn’t use quotations when any of the characters were speaking. It was almost like it emphasized being in the head of the main character. As I read “Loser” I felt like I was looking through his eyes. As the reader I was cut off from interaction with the other characters. They were flat characters with no serious purpose. I was only interested in the main characters point of view. The lack of quotations made the other characters more inferior to the main character as well. Although we never get his name and all the other characters do, he is still of more importance because we have his point of view. Also giving the characters all names except the hero was an interesting approach as well. It seemed like Bender was trying to make this story relatable to any reader. Making it possible to put yourself in his shoes even more. Giving him no name also emphasized the title in my opinion. “Loser” is in reference to the hero, so it’s almost like that is his given name. I loved that she gave him a sort of super power. That he is this misunderstood super hero that, like in any comic, has the skeptics and believers. But, instead of shooting lasers out of his eyes or flying, all he can do is find lost things. Except he can’t find the one thing he wants the most; his deceased parents.
Claria Buddle
Usually when you tell someone that they are an angel, it is because of a divine act. An Angel buy Margaret Atwood’s, An Angel, is about the different types of acts by different kinds of angels, and her messenger is the one of suicide. She writes how there is more than just the innocent angels that are usually thought of. She even refers to the angels we are capable of making, snow angels, and that they themselves are messengers of the future. Since most snow angels look the same, it could possibly mean that we are all equal. We are all born the same way, and we all die. The way the story ends, ironically that we wouldn’t believe it were real unless it had wings, like that of a mythical creature. As if suicide is thought of, as if once you see the wings, suicide has taken your mind.
ReplyDeleteAimee Bender’s, Loser is alike with the feeling of being lost. It deals with an orphan with no name who lost his parents but is able to find items. At one point it mentions, “He’d never found anything, or anybody…” meaning that the items never had real value to the people. It wasn’t until he was faced with having to find a missing person. Throughout the short story, it talks about feeling lonely, and after finding the boy in the end, he goes home alone. He is not a loser for being alone; he is a loser because he finds what is lost and has lost his parents. As if losing his parents has made him lose his mind. He can hear the waves, because finding his parents will complete him. He has the urge to call the kidnapped boy “son”, because he never had that connection with his father, due to his parents being killed when he was young. This was his first time finding a person, and it was if finding the kidnapped boy made me feel as if his father was finding him. The young orphan boy feels as if he has in some way found himself.
(Sandra) Melaine Villarreal
I found Margaret Atwood’s An Angel pretty intriguing to me how she portrays the angel of death or in this case the angel of suicide. When I first read the title I thought she was going to talk about angels we imagine today, but the author totally flips it around. I felt like when this story was written, the narrator was in a dark place, it gives you feeling of sadness. How we imagine angels: to be beautiful, full of life, and peaceful. Atwood kind of eliminates the character of an angel, how we see them as. Instead, she paints the picture of the angel of death. I can relate to this story, because I have been in depression once in my life. It is a horrible feeling. Anyways, in the first sentence when she mentions “I know what the angel of suicide looks like.” (145). In the second sentence “I have seen her several times”. I can interpret as a reader, that maybe she has gone through so much in her life that the last thing that was on her mind was suicide. Or she might have known a loved one that was suffering from the thought of suicide. All in all, this reading was fairly intense and dark.
ReplyDeleteAs for the second story “Loser” I enjoyed this reading. Bender gives us a backstory of an orphan boy who lost his parents at sea in a tragic accident. He feels so alone without his parents by his side. After years goes by, the boy develops special abilities to find lost things, then one day a boy goes missing. Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. What I liked about this story is that the orphan boy was determined to find this missing boy and to bring back him back to his mother. Mrs. Allen was relieved and praised the young boy. I don’t agree with the title though, it doesn’t connect with this story. How is he a loser if he found a missing kid? Maybe that is how the community and neighbors viewed him as. Even though the young boy might have felt good about himself after he found the missing boy. There was an emptiness inside this character. When the narrator mentions “Where did you go? Come find me. I’m over here. Come find me” (149). The memory of his parents still lingers with him. As if the “young man” was talking to his parents in his head. He wanted to be found and to escape from his loneliness in his world.
Between these two narrations, in my view “An Angel” captured the reader’s attention from the beginning compared to “Loser”. I think “An Angel” had a stronger opening than “Loser”. These two were viewed in two different perspectives “Loser” was written in third person and “An Angel” was written in first person. “An Angel” sets a good example of a short-short story and it was very well written. From these two stories, they are unique in their own way. I hope to cooperate my pieces of writing in a great manner.
Andrea Espericueta
After reading the first short, short piece I was able to understand a better way of how a fiction story will be like. Magaret Atwood did a great way in writing such a piece known as, "An Angel". When I write mine I want to be able to use the type of imagery she included, for example.. "She's nothing like the pictures of angels you run across here and there ones in classical paintings, with their curls and beautiful eyelashes or the ones on christmas card." Just with that simple phrase of demonstrating the type of angel she was not talking about made me want to continue reading. She was able to attract me into her piece because I thought to myself, "well what kind of angel can it be" and with the description I knew it was not a good one. Another thing I enjoyed from this piece is how she kept saying the type of angel it was, a suicide angel. When we think of that its never a good thought, also we know that angels might such like this one she described would not be easily believed, that could of been the reason why it is a fiction short piece.
ReplyDeleteTo continue to the next reading, I can say that I liked Aimee Bender's piece so much more, I feel like the fact that she used a actual story from someone life to make her character was real good. Even thought I knew the genre was going to be fiction, there was going to a part where something could have not been true. As I continued reading I was able to understand that her character which was a male. He had some type of powers, the fact that the powers were being illustrated, we know that is not true. But to go on, she did a good job with adding not so much dialogue but I can say she used the perfect amount of imagery to make her short reading good. I think because of her story, it gave me a great idea. Not only does it have to be fully "fake" but there can be characters that are known as real and ordinary people but they might have abilities or even do actions that might be known as fake in my story.
-Aliza Longoria
Margaret Atwood’s “An Angel” and Aimee Bender’s “Loser” both have dark undertones which intrigued me as an avid fan of tragedies. I enjoyed Atwood’s personification of suicide by describing an “angel of suicide” and how its appearance differed from other angels. These include the angel’s “face of a gray egg” and describing how it is “dense, heavy with antimatter, a dark star”. This usage of word choice further helps me imagine and picture this angel of suicide which the narrator is describing to me. Bender’s “Loser” begins with a grim story of a young boy who loses his parents while swimming and is raised by his community. The story centers on this character’s ability to sense objects as well as the reactions which ensue by the neighborhood. Some react positively, praising the boy while others ostracized and criticized him, claiming it was all an act for attention. The ending of this short story was powerful in quiet sense, as even after finding the lost boy and being a “hero” he turns down a reward and continues his daily life of lying on his bed, feeling lonely without his parents and wondering about his ability which he hopes someone (his parents?) possess to “find” him like he did in finding the young boy. I feel it is strong as despite the story not being a “tragedy” the ending is not an overall positive one, as the boy still feels alone and describes as feeling the confusion of objects.
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed these readings as despite their short length, they were able to tell a story which is able to evoke emotion within the reader, specifically a somber feeling. This is important to note, as I feel it is harder to get a reader to care about the story or its characters, especially to feel bad or pity towards them. Longer tales have been written and fail to get a reader to care about the characters in it so that when something tragic occurs to them, the reader is struck with indifference. These stories not only accomplished this, but also did it in a small number of words, which speak volumes as to how well-written these stories are.
-Pedro Conchas
I liked the reading selections from this homework very much. This is because, although they are both very short, they make every word count in order to give a more compelling story. The shorter of the two, An Angel by Magaret Atwood, is significantly smaller in length than the second reading. This does not mean that it does not hold its own. Every word feels like it has been carefully selected so that every sentence will contribute to the sense of unease that the reader would feel while reading it. An Angel is a tight, compact piece that reads with a sense of deliberate menace. The angel at the center of this piece is a faceless, beckoning entity that puts to mind the tricksters and devils of the ancient stories. This is a creature that would come to you with familiarity, the wings of a proper benevolent angel, and be not quite right with its melted face - that tell-tale reveal in all the old stories of a monster's true nature: the tail, the aversion to salt, or the hidden second skin. Because it is told in a matter of fact manner, as in the style of those ancient cautionary tales, it gives An Angel a feeling of dread. I read this at night and immediately regretted it.
ReplyDeleteThe second short short story, Loser by Aimee Bender, is much longer than An Angel. Its title is very fitting: it is about a boy who has the ability to find lost items, but cannot find his parents, drowned in the ocean. It is a tragedy and is full of terrible irony. The boy has the ability to find lost things, but this ability only applies to items and not people. He can find his neighbors' hairbrushes and keys, but he cannot find his parents whom he wants to find most of all. He can find anything in the world that he wants to find, except for the people that wishes most to find. Since I have lost my own father, this story left a discomforting feeling in my stomach. I was uneasy: my own father had been cremated, and I myself had scattered his ashes in the ocean. Like that boy, sometimes, I think on my father in that ocean and know I could never find him.
-Doris Tolar
Just having finished creative nonfiction, I found myself reading the two stories as if they were real. But I quickly realized they were false, simply two different pieces of genuine fiction and was pleased with what fiction can do. I really enjoyed both, “ An Angel” by Margaret Atwood and “Loser” by Aimee Bender. Furthermore, while reading I really tried focusing on the elements we had previously covered so that I could fully understand what it means to write a fiction short-short story.
ReplyDeleteIn the first story, An Angel, one of the elements that really caught my attention was that indeed it was a very short story and written in first person. It was very captivating and interesting and I was expecting to turn the page and read more but it was just that single page. It left me feeling curious and thirsty for a continuation. Another thing I noted as interesting was the style in which it was written; first person point of view. It felt kind of like a lecture, some type of information teaching you about this new creature. Obviously we all know what angels are, all heavenly and stuff but in Atwood’s story the angel is suicidal and is enclosing rebellion, a symbol of some kind. The story feels very passive in a sense and the diction is simple but it did fell very dark and profound. It opens up this whole new idea of angels as opposed to the stereotypical ones we know. It’s very different and inspires me to come up with something like that.
The second story, Loser, was also very captivating and dealt with “superpower.” An idea presented to mankind via movies and such. I found it similarly dark and deep like the first one. It was a longer story, written in third person, had dialogue, and developed characters. The dialogue was not in quotations but it felt relatable in the sense that I could sympathize with eh lady who lost her son. Compared to the first story, the title and ending of this one were a bit more confusing for me. Is the boy the loser because he lost his parents, does he get bullied, or is it because he’s different. In the ending, who does he want to be found by? It seems his parents, but they’re already dead. One element I greatly admired from this story and hope to pass on to my writing is the way in which the author created such an enchanting story with a limit of words/space.
- Mayra Lopez
There is a huge difference, in my opinion, when it comes to reading fiction instead of non-fiction. I enjoyed writing my own creative non-fiction story and reading some of my classmates', but I am more excited to read and write fiction. Just by reading the first story, "Angel", I know that I am going to enjoy it more. The title tricked me into believing the story was about a "normal angel", or about someone real that might portray on in real life. However, This story ignores the common stereotype of how an angel looks like and does. Adding something dark and describing it, as Atwood did with the suicide angel, was something I did not expect but enjoyed. It allowed me to question whether this is real or not. Could there actually be a suicide angel?
ReplyDeleteThat's what fiction does, although we know that fiction is make-believe we can't help but ask ourselves these question when an interesting theory, folktale, or story is told.
The story was short, but very descriptive and dark. I personally like the sentence in paranthesis in the middle of the paragraph because it allows the reader to question whether this could be true or not. Although I enjoyed it, I did find the story needed to be expanded just a bit more. It is written in first point of view, which I find very appealing in fiction, and I think it was very profound.
The second story, Loser, was also very appealing. The whole concept of superpowers has always intrigued me, but this one was different. Instead of a "cool" super power like flying or super strength, this one was about the power of finding lost items. At first it seems rather dull, but given a chance it is very interesting. As we read about the boy's "gift" we start to understand it's weakness, that he can only find lost item and not lost people. I like the suspense near the end and the dialogue which, unlike the first story, this one contained a lot. I did enjoy the dialogue, the descriptions the author used, and the characters. I don't know why, but this sound a lot like something I would see in a television show. I started to imagine the whole scenario in my head as such and to be honest, it was quite interesting.
Overall, I enjoyed both stories. There were both different, but profound. It made me question whether any of that was even possible in real life.
Erik Ramirez
These two stories appear to give a lot more imagery and detail and are able to express what is going on in the story. While the reader reads these two short stories, the reader can connect to what the writer wants them to connect to and also feel what is going on in the piece. For ‘The Angel’, it’s a beautiful piece and is able to express what may go through everyone’s mind when death comes along. In most literature and other works, angels are always seen as the representation of the beauty of death. Angels are supposedly beautiful creatures that help lost souls move onto the afterlife and find peace after death. However, there is always a dark side and death is no exception. Death, in other works, is always seen as something to fear and is negative. Many writers have written about death as something that no one wants to happen to them, but with the ‘suicide angel’ this brings how death is actually wanted and how death is seen as something hideous, but welcomed. To me, the writer is trying to get the readers to see how death is something that is scary and negative but may people do welcome it because it is a part of life and no one can escape it. The ‘suicide angel’ represents how life actually is and how many people do suffer their own inner demons and see how getting away from everything, such as suicide is a way out. Negative and horrifying things do occur and that is a part of life and whenever something does happen, humans only want to get away from it. In the piece ‘Loser’, the writer was able to have the readers actually connect with the characters and sympathize with them because they are elaborated and given a background. With the characters in this piece, the readers are able to see what has happened to them in their past and also what is going to happen to them in the present and what they are feeling. To me, when characters are shown their own backgrounds and also given dialogue and able to interact with other characters in the story, the readers are able to connect to them and see who they are. This character, the finder boy, is important in the story because he is someone that has a precious gift and many people do not believe he actually possesses it. Many people believe he is a liar and someone that only wants attention. With everything about him explained, who he is and what has happened to him, the readers are able to see who and what the character is and see that he is a normal human being like anyone else with an extraordinary gift. These short pieces are able to give the characters more light and the readers are able to connect to them. For example the suicide angel and the finder boy are seen as characters that the readers can connect to because they are able to see who they are as a person and also their backgrounds and also what they were feelings were expressed in the pieces. These two writers are able to have the readers connect to the readers.
ReplyDelete- Andrea Serrano
An Angel
ReplyDeleteThis short story surprised me. I usually really enjoy readings like this because I find things like stories about the angel of death to be really fascinating. I thought that this was actually a really interesting concept because it is sort of a play off of the idea of the angel of death. I really like the way that the author described this angel as one of the fallen ones. However, while I think that the concept is insanely cool, the execution of it fell a little flat for me. I understand that this is a short story but I think that there could have been a little more put into it to keep that intrigue. Staring out,I think that this piece was really strong because you get that stark comparison of the common view of angles against the character that the author is presenting as the angel of suicide. However, I think this would have been more interesting if she would have told more about who gets to see this angel and when. I also thought that the last line was a bit lacking. It could have had a stronger ending.
Loser
This is probably my favorite thing that I have read this semester. The story was so intriguing to me. I wanted to know what was going to happen all the way up until the end. The character was interesting and the detail in the writing was awesome. If I were to change one thing, it would be the fact that the author didn't comment on how it was that he got this gift and why. The ending was subtle but still solid. I really enjoyed this writing style. In this case, I think that the length really helps this story out a lot. The author included just enough information to keep things interesting without dragging it out. Although I would have loved a bit more information, I really do think that if they had included more, it would have taken away from the simplicity and charm that this story has.
Erin Valdez
Loser is a great fictional story, I enjoyed it a lot. I sympathized with the young man, given that my parent’s past away when I was young. I enjoyed it like a comic book story. Like a very close relative to Marvel universe in regards to his powers, which will eventually evolve into to something greater. Like a superhero origins theme.
ReplyDeleteI found the story very structured, there is the introduction in which he is known to have lost his parents. However mostly everyone seems to know him for his special gift. Then there is a short episode with the girl which seems did not care or believe to be with him. There are references about the “community” or town in which he lives. He seems to live in a relative small town. Perhaps a town where everyone knows each other, everyone knows about his tragedy. Also they are aware about his gift, some take it well, others are skeptical. Next, he helps a desperate mother, regardless of her belief. He strives to locate the boy, and finds him. The mother is grateful.
The good thing about this character is that no one thinks of him as freak. Usually these type of stories, it is bad thing to have a gift or super power and be looked at the wrong way. There is a psychology reference in regards to superhero characters. I remember supporting an event in which this was main subject, and it was oriented to Psychology majors, and comic book aficionados. This story reminded me of the event and different meanings to character behavior. For example: Batman, his parents were murdered, he seeks justice, uses Bruce Wayne to disguise, not the other way around, etc.
The young man is good at heart, and helps other people without hesitation. His name is never mentioned. And he seems to be still be looking for his parents, either knowing he will not see them again, or just remembering the little he remembers them. Perhaps it is an alternate story of a very vivid dream.
Francisco J. Aboytes
The short story “An Angel” by Magaret Atwood, you realize in life you will go through good and bad times, sometimes the bad times will be too much to bear. You might want to commit suicide or do some type of self-harm. The reason why I think this is call “An Angel” is because even the devil was once an angel, and the angel of suicide will drag you down and take you away from your comfort zone, and back to where you don’t want to go. The talk of suicide is very out of the ordinary because, it is just a topic that people really don’t like to talk about. I personally don’t mind talking about it, because I know some people actually suffer from this; as long as they are okay with opening up, but the angel of suicide will be with them for a long while. This short story really does go past the boundaries that I am use to seeing in a normal textbook, which is good. The title did throw me off though, I expected it to be a bit more uplifting short story, then again “Can’t judge a book by its cover” or title in this case.
ReplyDeleteIn the short story, “Loser” by Aimee Bender, is about an orphan that really doesn’t mention his name. I think it is interesting that they author gave the boy a special or supernatural ability, “to sense and smell object’s presence- he did not need to see it to feel where it put its gravity down.” Which you think is a good thing, but then you realize that he can only find lost items and not lost people. Which I think is pretty brilliant, due to the fact it brings this hero his own kryptonite, he can find whatever he wants, except his lost parents. To me that is sad, because you have this kid that can literally find a lost toy, money, phone (just naming random stuff), or whatever that is lost, just the one thing that he really wants to find, he cant.
-Roberto Rodriguez (Bobby)
Fiction is a great way to keep on stretching the creative boundaries of your imagination and thats what happens in these two short stories.
ReplyDeleteIn An Angel the story is told in first person through the eyes or through the imagination of the narrator. This allows to be more descriptive in the elements to the story with its under tones of sad and beauty mixed into one. She mixes the two tones throughout to let the readers know that even if its an angel this angel is mixed with evil. This allows the appeal of a contradiction when something is suppose to be good but it isnt. This story goes on without an actual setting never really metioned in a physical place so it does give the illusion of perhaps she imagined the whole angel of suicide.
The Loser short story has a great role of characters that they mention but in particular the ones they dont mention is what makes the protaganist super natural ability much more of a defiance against the community. I believe thats the reason the author left everyone else nameless by just refering to some that are believers and some that are skeptics to achieve the conclusion of much more of a shock to the skeptics. What makes more of a mystery in this story is the use of third person point of view. The author could have easily used the omiscient principle here and been able to go back and forth as she wished along as letting the characters know everything in the story. But as with all stories there need to be a clash of differences in order to be a story to tell and thats what happens in this story. The setting is a small community with a big secret attraction in the boy ability that came from the ocean. So it has a super hero feel that he has a duty to live up to while being resented by the community. Its a proven tale told over time that wins the attention of the readers to keep on wanting more throughout.Overall the strangeness from both stories translates into wanting to read more from these authors.
- Victor Vasquez
The stories for today’s reading responses were interesting pieces of nonfiction. The story “An Angel” by Margaret Atwood had me slightly confused. While I understand that this is a creative piece of nonfiction the talk of Angels distracted me. I could grasp the dark tone of bringing to life those who suffer with contemplating suicide, but for some reason it made me think of a drug addict. I couldn’t wrap my focus on the suicide angel but felt like it was more about someone grappling with addiction. I found it to be a difficult read. I can understand however having something deep inside you and listening to that voice. Perhaps Angels are more of our subconscious and that is why there are so many kinds. The voices in our heads that we listen to.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading “Loser” by Aimee Bender much more. While the sixth sense of having the ability to sniff out the gravitational pull of an object is highly unlikely I was drawn into this sad tale of this orphaned young man. I was slightly drawn back by the title. I kept waiting to read what made him a loser, but I found nothing but genuine kindness from him. Everyone seemed to like him except the skeptics of course. I was glad to see the slight comedic relief in the line, “He had a desire to lick it.” in reference to the Green Star. It was there to me that he gained a little humanity. While it was terrible to read of the way his parents passed, I still couldn’t flesh him out entirely. It seems at the end that he begins to question his strengths and weaknesses in what he can do with his gift. And then it cuts to him thinking of his parents, is what I got. Lost at sea but he is still trying to find where they are. He feels the pull but is unable to locate them. I liked this story. I want to delve deeper as to why this is called loser.
These two pieces both had more of a dark tone and although somewhat of a happy ending you still felt the sorrow of these characters. I enjoyed Bender’s ability to make me feel like somewhere in this world there is this young man with this sixth sense even though it's highly unlikely. A creative piece of nonfiction that made you feel as if you were reading a page from someone's biography.
-Diana Zepeda
In Margaret Atwoods “The Angel”, Though the piece was short it had a way with description that thoroughly impacted you in a way where it can actually make you believe that angels look how they are represented, instead of how media and art portray them. Though I suppose I could see the point because if I were to picture the Angel of death I would picture a dark cloaked figure with always waiting in the corner of your eye. but the way the Angel of suicide was described was exactly the way I would image it to be with her, “A dark star”. Though in this short story the writer says that you can clearly see her whenever people are about to kill themselves which must mean that the person in this story must be or has attempted suicide. It is something that I find the most chilling. And I just have to ask: Who else thought of ‘Supernatural’ while reading this piece? Or am I just making connections that don't exist?
ReplyDeleteThough Aimee Benders, “The Loser”, is an interesting story and a tragic one at that. One of the things that really kept bugging me was the lack of quotation marks for the dialogue. I’m not saying that it's wrong, all I’m saying that it is a bit of pet peeve of mine if dialogue does not have them. On a good note, something that caught my attention immediately was that the writing style (at least to me…) was a lot like mine. And I like reading stories or novels that have a similar writing stay to mine. Maybe because i find it more relatable. Or so I think... It's kind of ironic how realistic this short story was when the main character had a superpowered kind of sixth sense.
Both of these stories to me seemed to be treading the lines of not only short fiction but creative nonfiction as well. Perhaps this is the true test of being a good fiction writer. By being able to get the reader thinking if something this this could or did really happen.
-Victoria Walls
“An Angel”, by Magaret Atwood was kind of intriguing, but strange at the same time. I have never really been a fan of much fiction because I am picky with what I read, but this story was very interesting. If I had the choice to have read this I might have not, but I’m glad I did. It was interesting because we found out about the different kind of angels that “exist”. The angel of suicide was an abnormal angel. She was a part of some angels that fell. Which I assume means they are evil. I think this is true because maybe when you think about killing yourself, she beckons you to do it. I got hooked onto reading until the end with hints of her backstory. I think the fact that the reader can question whether she jumped or fell from the sky, down below is the best piece of this short story. I enjoyed reading about the angel herself and wish there would’ve been more of a back story about her.
ReplyDelete“Loser”, by Aimee Bender was one of the best stories I have read, ever. It gets you hooked on to reading in the first paragraph because it makes you wonder what happens to the boy in the future. When we first learn about his “power” it came out of nowhere. I did not expect for this story to have magic or anything like that in it. I felt bad for him when his date, Jenny, is almost creeped out by him like he was an alien or something. If I were her I would not have reacted in that way. When the boy looks for Leonard, he really does not look for the boy’s physical body, but the shirt (which is an object) which I think made him successful in his finding. If the mother had not pointed it out to the officer, I do not think the search would have been successful. When the boy is going outside he describes all the different objects which are not in their native home and I really enjoyed it because it allowed me to use my sense of sight to imagine what he was seeing. The ending really got to me. It made me feel sad for him because he has the power to find objects that were not in the native home, but he himself was like those objects. There was not a person like him to go find him.
- Cassandra Martinez
The short readings found in Starkey's textbook makes one ponder in the purpose of writing creatively. Through "An Angel," by Margaret Adwood, the reader is left with much more to think about aside from angels. I think when Adwood was writing she was expressing a relatable and unique message. Very rare I have encountered writings that speak of angels (good or bad) and the fact that Adwood decides to take this approach is staggering. Furthermore, the atmosphere created through her word choice places the reader at a very delicate position. As the first person narrative develops,the reader is able to explore the dimensions and the depth of what appears to be goodness and truth. The angel of suicide, for instance, takes a daunting role as it dwells near those that are broken. Although the title is simple, it sets a sense of wonder and the reader becomes aware of the subject matter.
ReplyDeleteIn Aimee Bender's "The Loser," I was able to enjoy an excellent short story. I think Bender writes with a reader in mind in a way that makes her writing relatable. The characterization of the main chatacter, for example, allows the reader to take this story on a serious side. Even though I have never met anyone with supernatUral powers, I have met with individuals who carry the burden of a death. As the story develops, I could not help but wonder why this orphan is a loser, but then I encountered a great epiphany or irony. The main character has been endowed with a marvelous gift but has lost what he most loved. Hence, I am left perplexed, entertained, and amazed, all at the same time. - Julio Manzano
In my previous post, I spoke about the location of conflict and how Starkey is too rigid with it by claiming it should be immediately present (Starkey 112). I elaborated by pointing the major conflict of the previous stories was not introduced till the end, with the exception of “The Baby” from Donald Barthelme. “Loser” from Aimee Bender follows this convention in that the underlying internal conflict of the protagonist is not introduced till the last two paragraphs. Based from my interpretation, the “Loser” tells the story of a young man who has not been able to cope with the loss from his parents in childhood, causing him to return to that time in hopes of finding them. The emotions dealt with are loss, isolation, and anguish. The objective superlative in the story was the young man’s very own ability to find lost objects. It is ironic in that he attempts to use his power to find his dead parents. However, this main conflict of needing to reconnect to his parents is alluded throughout the story in the protagonist’s thoughts and actions. After his date with Jenny, he reported contemplating the word lonely which he saw as “those two l’s in it, each standing tall by itself (Starkey 146).” Other cases reveal the inner child waking up at the beach with commentary such as “he had a desire to lick [the Green Star]”, and “he’d located the basketball in the bathtub (Starkey 147).”
ReplyDeleteIn “An Angel”, by Magaret Atwood, the underlying internal conflict is presented immediately in the first line with “I know what the angel of suicide looks like, I have seen her several times. She’s around (Starkey 145).” After that, Atwood proceeds to elaborate on the angel of suicide, adding other two dimensional characters who were also angel. With the short short, I believe it follows the strict guideline provided by Starkey. Provide conflict immediately.
My takeaway is, as writers we need to strategically know when the main conflict will be exposed. Otherwise if our timing is off, we lose the story and the reader.
Alejandro Sanchez
Looking at the title “An Angel” I thought automatically I was going to read a story filled with positive and inspirational examples, but this story was the opposite of that. It was dark and filled with death and made me think about what is really considered an angel. When Atwood described the angel of lung cancer, angel of seizures, and the destroying angel, I would have never thought to make angels mean. I liked her creativity towards this piece because it makes you think twice about who is good and bad when walking among your own. I didn’t understand the whole story at first and had to read it a few times to get through Atwood’s message. Anyone can be an angel as long as you see their wings. Demons can have wings as well so we are deceived by our eyes. I like how the last sentence of her story pulls all of her examples together to relate to the title.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading Loser because it was structured well enough to only read it once. I like how in the beginning Bender gives us the boy’s parent’s background to their death. If the first paragraph was left out I would have been confused on why the boy has the powers he does. I feel that this story can be relatable towards any audience because not everyone believes in each other. We need proof and reason to believe in someone’s talents. When the boy finds the lost boy he calls him son, which is weird but I understood it as he wanted his dad to find him. I like how Bender gives these sutle messages because it makes us think and doesn’t make it easy on the reader. I like putting mystery into my writing and that’s how I felt this piece was. Bender ends the story with the boy feeling unsatisfied, hearing the waves hitting. This was a satisfying ending towards the story because it shows that the boy wishes he could find his parents and feels like a loser because of it. The title is probably what he thinks of himself, not what people think of his gift.
Bianca Salinas
The destroying angel is a mushroom, is that a reference to a bomb? Like how an atomic bomb makes a cloud that looks like a mushroom when it goes off? The short story “An Angle” was so weird. I’m not sure what I just read. It felt like talking to that one weird kid in High School who would whisper under his breathe that the angels were going to come and get him. He obviously had psychological issues so he would largely go ignored by the bullies. This story makes me wonder what happened to them, then I realize I don’t really care. Not the most exciting story out there, although I will give it credit for all of the allusions and metaphor’s made. I wish I could provide more detail or express more interest but it really wasn’t something that I would generally enjoy and that’s okay. I think that part of these reading responses should be dedicated to being honest about one’s opinion and I frankly didn’t care much for this story. “Loser” is probably my favorite story so far. I mean, WOW. That was touching and powerful. I don’t even want to say something about it in fear of ruining the feeling it has left behind. How does a community adopt a boy? I like that we don’t know his name, so mysterious. I love how…sad this story is. It’s almost like something innocent and frail, something lost and lonely but not really so in need of a hug but there is more to it. The main character was raised by literally a community but he still has this feeling of longing for his parents, totally justified. It’s one of those stories I wouldn’t want to discuss or dissect. They should just be appreciated and the feelings it gives should be stores. There is something un-doubtfully beautiful about his sadness. Actually, there is something I would like to talk about. Why would he have a desire to lick the green emerald? I think one of the most valuable things I have learned in this course is that everything has a significance in a piece of work. If the author put it there, it’s for a reason. Now, what would be the reason for this?
ReplyDeleteMaria Fajardo
Margaret Atwoods short story title “An Angel” had the connotation that goes along with the celestial beings that we normally associate with angels. From the first few sentences the reader realizes that this is definitely not about those kinds of angels. Margaret Atwood is a writer of many genres but is well known for her science fiction work. She is a humanist and is not superstitious. Knowing these characteristics, it may be a little confusing as to why she would write about angels but as the read continues it is clear angel takes a very non-traditional form.
ReplyDeleteAtwood refers to the angel of suicide and describes other angels and their roles. In reading I think she uses the word angel to fully capture the essence of a happening and personify it. She mentions the “destroying angel. The latter is also a mushroom.” Mushroom cloud? As in nuclear explosion or maybe fungi that are decomposers. Either way Atwood succeeds in personifying the character of suicide while playing on the concept of personification, because angels are not humans. The paragraph in parenthesis brought on so much wonder. Science says matter is really made up mostly of empty space. Atwood plays with concept and romanticizes it. What I come to conclude is that her main message is that suicide is real. There is a stigma that comes along with thoughts of suicide and Atwood brings new light to how we perceive suicide.
“Loser” by Aimee Bender took a while for the story to actually take place. The first part of the story was background information to support what happens later. Why does the author choose not to name the young man? After the young man finds the kidnapped boy he is walking with him and thinks about what it would be like if he were found. The young man feels lost and there is a terrible irony that he is lost but can find anything.
- Abran Garcia