Intro to Lit Blog

The three short stories by Nella Larsen don't have much in common as far as plot goes, but the author's style can definitely be felt through all of them. All three stories seem to begin in the middle of a longer story. By that I mean we are placed into the middle of an ongoing story with established characters with little or no explanation of what's going on. In “The Wrong Man” we don't know the connection between Julia and Ralph, in “Freedom” we don't know why the main character hates his wife, and in “Sanctuary” we don't understand the connection with the main character and Annie Poole. By the end of the story, everything comes together, but I found myself very confused as I was reading all three stories. It felt like I was missing something I should have already known. I'm not that familiar with short fiction, but I think this style adds a lot of depth to these stories. Confusion led to curiosity, and I found myself eager to find out what happens next. While some of the stories were better than others, I was disappointed when each one of them ended.

My favorite of the three stories is “Freedom.” This story stood out from the rest because it involved only one character and we, as readers, experience his thoughts and emotions as he spirals towards insanity. The main character (who is never named) feels such intense guilt for his wife's death that he can think of nothing else until he goes completely insane. This process is described to us from a unique perspective. Its told in third person, but our view of what's going on is very limited. It's as if we are simultaneously inside his head and watching him on TV. For example, “A nameless dread sized him; she would not come!” and “He sat wrapped in immeasurable sadness. He knew that she would not come” both have third person description followed by a thought from the main character. This limited perspective is very effective because it completely draws the reader in by keeping it interesting. We get to see the thought process of someone losing their mind without the explanation an external narrative would provide.

Larsen is able to create a believable story for her characters and create a conflict for them in less than ten pages for each story. Her method of placing her characters into situations without any character development is interesting and effective. Unlike most things I've read, we must learn about her characters only through how they interact with their environment. This, mixed with her ability to keep the plot well hidden, kept me reading and wanting more.

posted by rcunning @ 5:02 PM