Roethke

Out of all the stories we have read this semester, Roethke’s story is my favorite. I love how as the reader I am instantly forced into the story and given all the details I need in order to coherently follow the structure of the story. The structure and dialogue of the story is very well written, molding the ambiguity of the inner dialogue with that that has been said in such a way that the read doesn’t become “bogged down” in information.
The best part of the story is the different sections of the story. Each section has a subtitle and within that subtitle are simple words and phrases that describe what each section is about. I have never thought to experiment writing a story that is broken in to subtitles and allow for the subtitles to move the plot along. However, the only real plot development, as far as I can tell, is that of Eulalea Mae, although I’m not quite sure what her purpose is to the story.

I am still confused as to what the author wants to show with this story. What is the over all message? The beginning definition or phrase at the top of the story leads me to think of the story as going in one direction but when Eulalea Mae is finally mentioned, I become a lost for words. This reminds me of the Gerbil, yet it is safe to say that in both stories the Gerbil and Eulalea Mae serve as a catalyst for some thing, though I’m worried that catalyst is only to get us through the story.

I wouldn’t mind reading other stories by Roethke, though I’m worried that since I really liked this one, I probably wouldn’t like any of the other ones. Oh well.