Analysis of 'How' by Lorrie Moore

Today I am talking about 'How' by Lorrie Moore. This is the second story in Moore's collection 'Self-Help' that I will have written about. A common technique in the collection is the use of the second person. The title of 'How' suggests little in terms of what the story is about which is strange because the story does seem to focus on one particular theme: the difficulty of being in a relationship.

The first thing that struck me about 'How' is its form. The story is composed of several blocks of text that are separated by line breaks. There are a few single sentence paragraphs but most of the blocks contain approximately 5-6 sentences. In general the blocks feel somewhat related in terms of their subject matter but they also change quite a bit. This unique style means that you could start reading at pretty much any point in the story and you wouldn't feel any more or less lost than if you started at the beginning.

The main focus of this story is romance. The story's speaker is giving the reader a glimpse into the intimate details of her relationships with numerous men. Similar to other stories in "Self-help" the speaker's tone is that of a mentor or expert providing advice on how to do something. In the case of 'How' the speaker is telling us how to act in relationships without really stating an overarching objective. I did not get the impression that following the speaker's advice would be a wise decision. There is a lot of tension between the narrator and her various lovers.

I greatly admire Moore's writing for its experimentation with form and language, but I find it hard to muster up enough motivation to discuss her work. Her tendency to write about romantic conflict simply does not interest in me in the way that other stories do. It is difficult to discuss the content of a work that upsets you no matter how much you appreciate the writing style of that work.

"There will be an endless series of tests"

Being in a relationship can feel like a constant struggle. The speaker of 'How' feels like she must meet the demands of others over and over again. This sentence reminds me of shit tests, a way of measuring someone's worthiness as a mate by presenting them with a question. I have encountered these before and they are an unavoidable part of being in a relationship. A shit test is usually veiled in some way to appear less important than it actually is.

"The sadness will die like an old dog. You will feel nothing but indifference."

I can't help but feel bad for the narrator. She seems to have good intentions but her actions inevitably lead her down a path of despair. Changing your habits is one of the hardest things to do. While I have a hard time relating to the romantic trials of a single woman, I can empathize with the more general problem of being stuck with a bad habit. Simply put, being able to break a bad habit is one of the most difficult yet integral things that a person can do to make his or her life better.

While reading 'How to Become a Writer' I found myself unable to stop reading. Reading 'How' is a much different experience. Moore's thoughts about writing are insightful and relevant to myself as a creative person but I find her writing about relationships to be much less appealing.

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Analysis of 'How to Become a Writer' by Lorrie Moore

Lorrie Moore's 'How to Become a Writer' is narrated in the second person by a character named Francine. The story is told in the style of a self-help column directed to people who want to become writers, but the actual content of the story is extremely personal. Moore seems to be making fun of the idea that there exists a universal path to becoming a writer. The truth is that every writer has experienced their own unique journey and no two writers are alike. The narrator's strategy of presenting her own experience as a path that anyone can take is what gives the story a humorous tone.

This is the first of Moore's stories that I have read. I was drawn to the story by its title and immediately hooked after reading the first sentence: "First try to be anything else." Basically, the best way to become a writer is by trying to become something else.


"You will read somewhere that all writing that all writing has to do with one's genitals. Don't dwell on this. It will make you nervous."

This story is filled with statements like this that seem ludicrous at first but actually contain a deeper truth. Not all writing is completely focused on the writer's genitals but one could argue that the motivation to write often stems from sexual frustration.

 The other idea I found interesting from this story is the concept of writing as a kind of sickness. The narrator states that her obsession with writing causes her to lose weight and she compares being a writer to having polio. The narrator characterizes writing as a bad habit that causes her to lose interest in the more important things in her life. When the narrator reveals to her roommate her grand idea of adapting Moby-Dick, she responds by saying the two of them should go out for drinks. It seems like everyone except for the narrator and the other students in her creative writing classes think of writing as a waste of time. And yet this does not make the narrator any less motivated to write, which gives the narrator a heroic quality. She doesn't care what anyone else thinks and that makes her more attractive to the audience.

By far my favorite part of this story is the ending. Here we see the narrator on a dinner date with a man she describes as having a face like a blank piece of paper. What the narrator means by this is anyone's guess. To me it seems that she is once again relating her own motivation to write to her love life. Earlier Francine admits to using a college boyfriend's sense of humor to generate writing material. This idea was also reinforced when the narrator's roommate states at a cocktail party that the narrator's writing always has to do with her boyfriend. So at the end of the story, Francine remains inclined to use her love interests as fuel for her writing. When the narrator jokes that writing is a lot like having polio, her date responds by saying "interesting" and then by smoothing his arm hairs. This small exchange basically encapsulates society's response to hearing the crazy-sounding ideas of artists. Much of the time, when people with normal lives hear artists speak, they would rather do literally anything else. But people will say anything if they think it will get them laid. We put up with the crazy urges of others because we want them to like us. Lorrie Moore knows better than anyone else that creative writing is a fruitless endeavor 99% of the time. It's a somewhat bleak sentiment to express to an audience of aspiring writers but maybe it's exactly what that audience needs to hear.

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Analysis of 'The Caretaker' by Anthony Doerr

Anthony Doerr is a writer of short stories and novels. Given his tremendous talent as a writer, it is surprising that Doerr is not more well-known. 'The Caretaker' is probably my favorite of his stories. I first read this story several years ago and certain images still linger with me today. This post will analyze key elements of 'The Caretaker' to better understand how the story works.

To begin I will provide a brief plot synopsis of this story.

'The Caretaker' is narrated in the third person by a nameless voice. The protagonist is Joseph Saleeby, a bookkeeper for the Liberian National Cement Company who embezzles a small amount of money each month. Joseph's life is very orderly and regimented until Liberia descends into a civil war that lasts 7 years. Joseph's mother disappears and he leaves his home. He wanders through his country witnessing horror after horror. At one point Joseph shoots a man who may or may not be innocent. Joseph leaves Liberia and finds himself on the Oregon Coast where he is hired as a caretaker by a man named Mr. Twyman. This is where Joseph's actions become more ambiguous and the story increases in complexity.

An Intensity of Detail

To put it simply, Doerr is a master of injecting realistic details into his stories. One could argue that plot is secondary to the detailed descriptions of the objects and things present in the story. Having such an incredible amount of detail brings the story to life and makes imagining the events easier. I imagine that a lot of research went into creating such vivid and realistic descriptions.

Whale Hearts

The defining moment of this story is when Joseph takes it upon himself to bury the hearts of five beached sperm whales. For Joseph, this act is an attempt to atone for the sins he committed in Liberia. It's clear that Joseph has been traumatized. For much of the story, Joseph's actions seem to make very little sense. It's no surprise that Joseph still feels distraught after this difficult act. Perhaps we can look at Joseph's actions in contrast to those of other people who seem to be scavenging whatever they can get from the whales' corpses.

This section of the story almost has a comedic tone to it. I can't help but laugh as Joseph first saws through a decaying whale carcass and then labors to bury them in a massive whole.

"he had told himself it would be like cleaning a fish, but it is completely different - it's more like eviscerating a giant."

This is the kind of thing that would only exist in fiction. What exactly this moment means is still a mystery to me. Joseph feels bad for the whales so he saws through their organs and buries their hearts in a giant whole in the ground.

"The hearts are still there, sitting just beneath the earth, waiting. What good does burying something really do? In nightmares it always manages to dig itself out."

This quote encapsulates what I believe to be the main idea of 'The Caretaker'. Essentially, the idea is that one cannot heal from trauma by burying or neglecting one's emotions. One must face the emotions head on to truly recover. Many of Joseph's decisions stem from a desire to bury his emotions deep within like whale hearts in the dirt. Joseph has this realization and then strategically pivots to burying things that will grow such as seeds.

I find 'The Caretaker' to be truly remarkable but also kind of a bummer to read. I read fiction because I am obsessed with stories and figuring out how they work and I can't help but see 'The Caretaker' as somewhat disappointing. The majority of time is spent with a deeply traumatized man as he labors without any reward. The story's ending does contain some hope as Joseph learns that he can go back to Liberia, but what good is that when Joseph's entire life there has been destroyed?

Ultimately 'The Caretaker' serves to engage readers with an alternate version of reality. Few things in the story make sense and that is okay. Fiction creates experiences that not good or bad. They are simply experiences.

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Late Fragment by Raymond Carver Analysis

And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself
beloved on the earth.


I am no stranger to Raymond Carver's prose but I cannot say the same for his poetry. Carver is known for a minimalist style championed by his editor and teacher Gordon Lish. These days I find it harder and harder to sit down and read an entire story. Perhaps looking at poetry will get me back in the groove of reading and writing about literature.

The first thing I noticed about Carver's poem 'Late Fragment' is its short length. The poem is six lines long and one line is only two words. The poem reads quickly. I felt I understood the poem completely after reading it two or three times. Lines two and four as a question that is then answered in the following line.

Enough about the poem's structure. Let's get into the content. The repetition of the question "what did you want?" seems to be the essence of the poem. The speaker is asking this question to himself or perhaps to someone else. Whoever is answering the question knows that he has got exactly what he wanted from life. It's the kind of question one would ask in his or her final moments when there is nothing to hide. In typical Carver fashion, the answer is frank: "to call myself beloved, to feel myself beloved on the earth." 

Love is a prominent theme in Carver's fiction as well as in his poetry. I think we could all use a bit more love in the world, especially given the current political climate. We can look to writers such as Carver to remind us what is important in life. What's important to Carver is feeling loved and calling himself loved. It's a simple answer to a question that is often answered with money, power or fame.

Thank you Raymond Carver for reminding me what is truly important in life.

Analysis of 'Sea Oak' by George Saunders

I have read many of George Saunders' stories over the past few years. It's surprising that I have yet to write about 'Sea Oak'. The hero of this story works as a male stripper at an establishment called Joysticks. It's common for the customers at Joysticks to offer the employees money in exchange for a flash of the genitals or a picture of a butt. Clearly the men working at Joysticks are objectified yet the main character seems grateful for his job. Perhaps the fact that he is rated a "honeypie" provides a boost to his self-esteem.

Saunders is no stranger to inventing bizarre work environments. This is actually one of his go-to techniques as a fiction writer. The heroes of these stories encounter problems when they fail at their jobs (see 'The Wavemaker Falters') or they are pressured to break the rules. (see 'Offloading for Mrs. Schartz'). Sea Oak is different because the inciting incident of the story involves the hero's life away from work.

Humor is the most effective element of 'Sea Oak'. If any story proves that Saunders is a master of comedy, this is probably the best example. It seems like every section ends in a punchline that propels you into the next section. Sometimes it feels as though the jokes are making fun of the characters so I could see how someone might find the humor offensive. But this type of humor usually works on me pretty well.

There are so many things going on in 'Sea Oak' that it can seem a bit overwhelming. The most integral part of the story is the death and resurrection of Aunt Bernie. There is no explanation for why this happens. Aunt Bernie rises from the dead to deliver life advice to the members of her family. "Show your cock" she says to the narrator so that he can make more money at work. I wonder how Saunders conceived of this aspect of the story because it's ludicrous. This foreshadows some of the bizarre plot events that occur in his later stories.

'Sea Oak' ends on a strangely uplifting note. The is a story where the characters seem to be on a downward spiral into poverty. The narrator's plan to "show his cock" seems to work because he is planning to move his family into a safer apartment. But I would hesitate to call 'Sea Oak' an inspiring story. After reading 'Sea Oak" you come away with better understanding of people living in austere environments. If you have lived you entire life comfortably, then this is an important idea to learn.

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Ernest Hemingway Wearing Glasses

Here is every photo ever taken of Earnest Hemingway wearing glasses.

Hard at work.

Pondering the nature of the universe.

"Hey! I like your beard"

No comment.

Those yellow shades really complement your eyes

Analysis of 'Television' by Lydia Davis

Lydia Davis is known for her experimental stories that are often quite compact. She experiments with form more than any other contemporary writer. 'Television' is a four-page exploration of what television does for people watching it and how television makes life better.

Imagery

In describing what is on TV, the narrator uses vivid imagery. There are zombies, a woman with a pearl necklace, a mother with bad teeth, a father with a broad smile. The images we see on television are so realistic that reality becomes secondary. Or perhaps reality is filtered through the medium of television, but it is always someone else's reality. The voyeurism of watching television is what makes it so appealing but this would not be possible without the realistic and vivid pictures that TV displays.

Unique Structure

'Television' is divided into three distinct sections that are roughly the same length. The first section focuses on the reasons why people watch television. There are many sentence long paragraphs. The second section is also choppy with several paragraphs separated by a single line. The third section contains four longer and connected paragraphs about the narrator's individual experience watching movies late at night. TV becomes an escape for the narrator away from her own life and into other more interesting lives. The many line breaks and transitions has the effect of giving the story a faster pace and it makes the story easy to read. I feel that the structure of the piece is a reflection of the narrator's internal dialogue.

Moral of the Story

After reading this story over a few times, I came to the conclusion that TV is quite helpful. TV seems like the perfect tool for escaping from your own life when it gets stressful and TV also provides entertainment. While the story never explicitly states that TV is good, it can be inferred from statements such as, "there is some real satisfaction in getting this information about the next day's weather" or "they say it will be exciting and it always is"

For a lonely person, television can be a godsend. Rather than waste away doing nothing, TV at least provides a way of killing time that is not entirely useless. For busy people, television is a welcome distraction from the stress and monotony of daily life. Television, when used responsibly, is an amazing tool. If you have been raised your entire life with television, it is incredibly difficult to imagine life without it.

Television is good. This was my takeaway from reading 'Television' by Lydia Davis.

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