Discussion 2

Our textbook discusses many "literary elements" (character, plot, setting, etc.), but I suggested that at the heart of any analysis there are two things to look out for, and these should (maybe) make your life easier: 1) patterns, 2) peculiarities. Especially in short fiction, repetition and oddities stand out, and they are rarely accidental (the author wants you to notice these things; they are significant).

"How to Talk t your Mother (Notes)" certainly has both, and they are easy to spot, though what they suggest might take a little thinking

Here is your task for this week's discussion; you will choose only one of the following for your posting:

• There are lots of odd repeated "things" in this story:

  • the author makes several references to artificial hearts (why this odd choice when she does not go into the medical profession?)
  • here are four presidents mentioned (some are missing, why?)
  • there are different kinds of music running through the story (what do they suggest?)
  • there are several birth/death references (lots of baby references, but would she make a great mother?)
  • there are many instances showing compliance vs. rebelliousness (do the ages matter?)
  • there are close parent/child moments and very divided parent/child moments (again, do the ages and situations matter?)

  Look at only one of these categories (such as the four presidential comments) and explain how they fit literally/logically into this "journal"; then explore what they suggest about Ginny and how they might help us to understand her character, how she feels about herself and the things that have happened in her life, and the various conflicts in the story (mainly between Ginny and her mother

  And the most important consideration--what is the central idea of this story, and how does the pattern you chose contribute to this central idea, the meaning (theme) of the story?

Some Hints (things to think about and deal with in your discussion):

• Ginny's dad might have been saved if the artificial heart were produced earlier, but she has a horrible relationship with her dad, so that is odd. What does a heart symbolize?
• Ginny leaves off two presidents in the time period where she mentions presidents: LBJ and Ford. Arguably Ford is not historically very significant, but LBJ certainly is. Notice the even spread of democrats and republicans.
• Ginny is educated and living when the Pill is widely available, and she does not particularly like kids (how do we know this), so why does she keep getting pregnant?
• The ages/moments where Ginny and her mom are close/distant are not particularly unusual (generation gap has been written about thousands of years), though the degree of their breakdown is huge. Think about how telling the story backwards might suggest an idea...maybe even a theme.
• etc.
  

For a bit of added fun, I may toss a couple more questions onto the discussion board this week to give you even more to write about :) This is a challenging story.

Once again, as always, your posting should be about 300 (or more) words; each of your responses should be about 200 (or more) words.