“At least you can still have a barbeque!”
Samuel Burns: manager of Americana Explosives
Unfortunately, if we knew what the weather or not was like next Tuesday or tomorrow for that matter, we might not get out of bed. What is it about the weather or not that can leave one paralyzed in the face of so many decisions and possibilities? And why is it unfortunate that knowing the weather or not could have any negative effect? It is unfortunate because of anticipation. Anticipation is a strange creature, which fulfills and denies simultaneously. It curls into itself awaiting the satisfaction of its demand like an embarrassed John getting it from a trick for the first time. It pouts in a corner when expectations go unfulfilled. Does this satisfy any elements of anticipation noting all the stylistic and contextual methods of response outlined in Guidelines For Posting Reading Responses To The Blog? I have been anticipating something brilliant to come of my finger tips but we may both be disappointed. I have noticed that we are discussing some type of devise utilized by manipulators of all types and I anticipate that many will use it I the future, what a genius. So Brautigan’s character doesn’t have to answer the door, the board made a noise and he knows what Margaret wants, do you? She probably doesn’t know that the board is a give away and it is the cousin of her misery, the music of her identity. Some one is usually in the dark it just depends in this case if its you or me.
joshua, i read this a couple of times, and there were things i really liked about it - first of all i liked that you addressed that margaret doesn't actually arrive, we don't actually meet her and we should be content with this fact. we learn all we need to know about margaret with the small details that braugtigan tells us about the board squeaking, the familiar sounds of her footsteps, ect ect.
ReplyDeletethe only thing i sorta wanna suggest is maybe to break up your work a little bit more so that dim wits like me can have an easier time reading it. i know the feeling of just writing on and on as the thoughts come out of you, but sometimes it is better to just be totally straight forward. in my opinion, the delicate balance of writing is to keep coherent communication with the reader, but to also show them creative images and a specific style. i always have to read through my writing just to make sure that i can UNDERSTAND it. it seems a little silly, but i got very caught up on this line and i'm still not sure if i understand what you are trying to say:
"And why is it unfortunate that knowing the weather or not could have any negative effect?"
anyway, hope you could understand me...
I haven't had the opportunity to read Brautigan's book "In Watermelon Sugar," but I hear Margaret was one of the main characters. I took another classmates suggestion and looked up the meaning of Margaret, which is associated with a pearl, or a saint's name. Now that I know that, I think maybe he wasn't annoyed with her but loved her.
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