I read the short story “The Ant on the Shelf” by ZZ Packer first. I felt like I was right there sitting in the car with Spurgeon and Ray Bivens Jr. all the way from jail to the March. I loved the details used, from the bird’s personalities, to the way Lupita spoke. On the other hand, I was disappointed by the ending. I felt like the story was climaxing with Spurgeon at the train station having no money left to get home, and then it just ended without telling me what happened next. Anything could have happened to him. I decided to try another story in hopes of a good ending.
The second story I read was “Every Tongue Shall Confess”. This story did an excellent job at using flashbacks. They were appropriate and purposeful. Packer was successful in making the flashbacks flow in and out. I felt like I really got to know Clareese Mitchell through the background information in the flashbacks. The ending was not quite fulfilling enough for me. I felt like I had a pretty good idea of where Packer saw the story going with Cleophus attending Clareese’s church, which I didn’t get with the previous story.
I feel like I didn’t get much from reading these stories other than a reminder of using details more frequently and that flashbacks work well every now and then. I was frustrated by the lack of endings and they made me feel like I read all those pages to not even get a conclusion. It was nice to have the endings open so that the reader can decide what happens, but I would like to have read more and heard Packer’s view on what she thought would happen. However, I did like the way I was “shown” not “told” details.
1 comment:
Kind of like the Sopranos ending? That one drove me nuts.
As I noted in class, inconclusive endings can be frustrating to readers...which is why it helps to craft an ending that provides some sense of closure.
Something to bear in mind when you write your final feature for this class!
15/15
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