"Incarnations of Burned Children" by David Foster Wallace

      This story immediately begins with the arresting action of a father and mother attempting to rescue their young toddler from severe burns, but they are unsuccessful in doing so. In the end, they are out of time and their child dies. Earlier in the story, the focus weighed heavily on the dad, but towards the end, I felt as though the story's focus shifted to the toddler. In a different light, the ending's shift in focus could possibly be to comfort the parents and confirm that their child was no longer in pain? Then the primary focus of the story would be the mother and father, but it's just a thought! Each character was beautifully developed and authentically believable for me. I could see each action happening the exact way it is told, from the father running inside after hearing screams to the mother cursing and yelling out God's "first name." Though we are not provided with much background information and are not directly shown how the parents react in the ending, it is easy to assume that each character is forever changed. Whether it is for the good or the bad I am uncertain, but I do know that some change has been forced upon the characters physically, mentally, and emotionally.
       Some of the most enjoyable and brilliant components of the story for me were the narrator's emotionless tone yet ability to create emotion within the reader, and how Wallace took a completely depressing story and still provided a satisfying closure through the ending. Though the end is somewhat abrupt, readers are assured that the child has lived life "untenanted" and "whatever was lost never thenceforth mattered." The whole story is told in past tense and I guess I never actually realized it until the narrator simply summarizes the rest of the toddlers existence by looking back, which I thought was a great touch by Wallace. The only minute detail I was confused about was the title and how it's plural, "IncantationS of Burned ChildREN."  Yet there was only one story described; however, the more I thought about it, the more I assumed that this particular story was just one of many the narrator was telling or had told which would make the title accurate.
      Other elements of this story that captured my attention and that I felt worked significantly well were the title and instant climactic action. Wallace beautifully tells this tragic story through a third person narrator, whom, after finishing, I assumed was an angel-like spiritual being, or either the deceased toddler looking back and accounting the facts from a higher standpoint. Without much detail, the narrator still shows us that it is omniscient with insights into the parents' thoughts and lines such as, "and his man's mind empty of everything but purpose." I have also gathered that the narrator is quite young as it refers to the parents as "the Daddy" or "the Mommy," as well as saying things like, "the Mommy said their God's first name," enhancing the tone even more. This child-like tone contained through the entire story, is evident also in the structure. One long paragraph serves as the whole story, possessing limited punctuation with numerous extended sentences linked together over and over by "and's."
       Though Wallace does not provide many descriptions of the characters, settings, or emotions, I am still able to maintain a strong emotional connection and sympathy for the Dad and Mom, as well as the toddler. This could solely be possible because of the lack of details given, and how it is simply told through straight facts and actions that the characters take. Thus, the tone can become creepily ominous, but in a really intriguing and significant way. There is also a feel of urgency and panic as the story unfolds, espcially through the long sentences and paragraph. The traumatic event is depressing in itself, but I found it even more intense since I had to incorporate my own emotions in place of the characters. Wallace incorporates this productive strategy very well through the narration by not blatanly telling me how they feel, but simply showing me. Despite the eerie feel of the narrator, I found the consistent tone extremely effective and moving. I also thoroughly enjoyed that Wallace omitted any dialogue and personally I think if any were added, it would take away from the story and the creepy yet innocently beautiful tone would be lost. This is easily one of my favorite, if not my most favorite, story assigned to us this semester. For some odd reason it must take a  depressing story to hit home and draw out my emotion which allows me to connect with the story like this one. I would love to read more stories like this one!
   

Response to Nate's "The Summer of Lemon Drops"

       "The Summer of Lemon Drops" is about a guy who received a ticket for public intoxication after mistaking a female police officer for a "sir." The narrator's punishment is to complete community service in Florida by following a park rangr around, digging up seaturtle nests to see if there were eggs and create grates to ensure their protection. I'm not exactly sure what the narrator wants, besides not having to participate in the maditory community service. It's a little unclear what the conflict within the story is as well. Though the narrator's friend John tricks him with a fake treasure box, I kind of wish something more would have come from it. I thought the narrator would have changed a little more through the story, however, I didn't see much change. Although, it was nice to see the narrator end up caring or interested in something since we see him as a guy who doesn't seem to take interest/care into a lot of things.
       I really liked the story line as well as the narrator's voice. He has a slightly sarcastic and realistic tone which I found quite enjoyable. I wish I could have seen more of the John character, with maybe some background information on John and the narrator's relationship, or possibly just John in general. Also, I would like to see a little more conflict in the story. I was a little confused about the title as well. I kind of wanted to see the lemon drops come into play more, or maybe the title changed? Nonetheless, I liked the story and I feel that it could be improved with only a few simple and minor details!

Response to Adam Smith's "Animals"

        I really enjoyed this story which seemed to mainly focus on the relationship between a "bad boy," the protagonist, and a "good girl," Jenny. The story highlighted the insights of an unexpected relationship between two opposites through the eyes of the narrator who happens to be the "bad boy." However cliche this storyline seems, I think Adam did a good job straying away from the overused scene where the good girl falls for the bad boy, two different worlds collide, and opposites attract. This storyline even goes back to Shakespeare who capured this in his famous story of Romeo and Juliet. Nonetheless, I found it very interesting to see the spiraling thoughts of the narrator and his constant struggle with who he wants to be and who he is. The story also hits on a bit of identity search for the protagonist, which is influenced by his relationship with Jenny. The identity crisis within the narrator adds to the conflict nicely. The narrator seems to go through several ups and downs in who he is and who he wants to be. He wants to be this "bad boy" because he knows Jenny likes it, but then again he wants to change for her as well. He feels terrible when he has influenced Jenny in the end.
       Not only did the narrator change throughout the story, but so did Jenny. Both characters seemed to swap roles by the end. I liked how the characters did not clichely end with the narrator changing himself simply for her. I thought Adam did a really good job exceeding my expectations as far as how the story would end up.

Response to Taylor's "Losing Sincerity"

      This story is about a guy named Brad who juggles college and a career as a hotel manager. Brad has several issues with the power that he has through his career. Not only is he superior to his friends attending a soroity function in the hotel Brad is managing, he is also in a higher position than his girlfriend. I enjoyed the story and the storyline, however, I did not find a huge conflict within the story besides the awkwarness/decision Brad has to either do his job and be nonprofessional, or he can let his friends get away with an out of control party and possibly lose his job. Also, I was not sure that the character Brad really changed from the beginning to the end of the story. He seemed to always be a prick. Whether he knows it or not, it does not seem like he really changes any through the story's events.
      I did like the characters and their personalities. Brad seems to be a believeable character through his actions and dialogues. Also, I really liked the Alyson character. I would have liked to see more of her and what she thought about Brad. It seems as though she doesn't necessarily like Brad because he says in one part that he basically talked her into dating him. I would have liked to see more of her character and more of a central conflict in the story.

Cole Eady's "The Grind"

       This story is about a young writer named Skipper Fischer who wants to make it in "undoubtedly one of the hardest businesses to work in" and work as a comedic writer for Stewart Donahue's show "Midnight Slot with Stewart Donahue." As Skipper begins to proceed through the interview process for the job hiring, the narrator's motives change. Skipper realizes that the glamour, fame, and even experience was far from what he had anticipated it to be. Though he is given the job, Skipper turns it down. As the reader, this is a fairly surprising outcome. Personally, I just thought he was not going to get offered the job, but in contrast he did and actually turned Stewart Donahue down himself in a twist of events. The narrator changes in an extremely quick amount of time and makes a huge decision/opportunity in what seems like a matter of minutes.
       I loved the narrative voice throughout this story. I found it to be very relatable and entertaining. Many lines were quite humorous because they were so brutally honest. I think Cole did a great job with developing Skipper and allowing the reader to see what type of guy he is. The only thing I would chage or play around with is the ending. I kinda of felt as though it was somewhat rushed and that Skipper changed his mind in a matter of minutes and turns down a huge opportunity. Of course, I could have read it wrong, but i really enjoyed the story and loved Skipper's character and being able to see inside his thoughts.

Response to Kody's "Over the Counter"

       This story is about a father, our protangonist, who is unable to pay his bills and provide for his three children Jimmy, Sarah, and Ben. The narrator has a job as a pharmacy technician, but it is not enough to stablize a house of four as the only source of income. The narrator seems to be simply stuck or out of options, until a friend, Tim, suggests he sell some prescription drugs from work to sell illegally and earn more income to provide for his family. Though the dad immediaely rejects the idea at first, he soon realizes just what he has to lose: his home and family. He decides he has to try to do something even if that means going to jail and losing his family. It's almost a "catch 22" for our protagonist. The story ends with the narrator paranoid about stealing the pills he shoves into his pockets and counts how many he has taken in his head.
        I really enjoyed the entire storyline, but particularly, I loved the narrator's voice and tone throughout the peice. I thought he was extremely realistic and stayed true to his character 'til the very end. I even enjoyed the short sentences throughout. The ones that ones contained two or three words. For example on page one, when the narrator is reading the bills, "Missed payments. Final notice. Situation unresolved. Acceleration clause. Payment in full. One month." There are numerous short and to-the-point sentences that I really enjoyed throoughout the story. It made the narrator ver effective and allowed me to be able to really hear how he talked and thought. It gave me a small insight to the narrator.
        The only thing I would change or play around with is the ending. For some reason I'm not sure if I like it or not. Part of me likes that it ends with the scene of the pharmacy tech stealing drugs, creating mystery for the reader. On the other hand, I did want to know a little bit more of wat happened. Did he get caught? It could possibly be neat to end it with someone catching him and then saying that they do it too, or just ending with him getting caught? I'm not sure! Nonetheless, I really enjoyed reading the story!

Adam Smith's Story

         This story is about a young orphan named Margret who lives in England and is adopted by an extremely paranoid woman, Lucy. Margaret's main desire as she grows up beneath Lucy's care throughout the story is to live and experience life for herself instead of constantly hearing Lucy ramble about how the world is full of "wolves" and evil people. Margaret wants to break free from her sheltered life with Lucy. Soon, Margaret encounters the milk man, Marcus,whom she takes an immediate interest in. Marcus is one of the only people Margaret has let into her life and create a close relationship with, or attempts to create a close one. Consequently, Marcus turns out to be malicious and exactly the type of person Lucy had warned her adopted daughter about for years. In the end, Margaret ironically ends up seeing Lucy's point of view of the world, although it is a fairly judgemental and narrow view of the entire outside world since not everyone is like Marcus and the people Lucy has encountered.
        I really enjoyed this story and thought the story, dialouge, and even the dramatic character of Lucy to be fairly realistic and effective. I enjoyed the plot and the storyline,as well as the ending and how a wee bit of karma comes around to reach Margaret. She could have just listened to Lucy; however, where's the fun in actually doing what you're told? Nonetheless, I liked how everything tied in together and the irony in Lucy "being right about people."
        I do not have hardly any critiques except tht I wish I could have seen more into Margaret's head when she is first introduced to Lucy especially, but also how Margaret feels growing up stuck living in a constant state of panic and paranoia. I wanted to know more of how Margaret felt. Did she ever take up for Lucy if kids picked on her about her adopted mom? Also, after knowing Lucy's character, I wanted to know exactly why Lucy decided to adopt a child in the first place since she is so scared of every little thing. If I were Lucy, I don't think I would necessarily just go out and adopt a child for companionship, or at least not on the spot. I feel as though Lucy would have researched all the background on Margaret to find out where she came from, if she has ever had any issues, illnesses, random violent acts, or something along those lines. Aside from that, I really enjoyed reading the story!