SSRJ #2: Bloom

This story has a very creepy tone to it. The first paragraph alone was scary and dark. While the creepy tone suggested a dark tale ahead, the words used to describe and support this tone created a sort of elegant beauty within death.

I was surprised by this short story, having just read "A True War Story". This short story was so different. I think what created this difference was Bloom's use of imagery. O'Brien's usage of imagery was to support a grotesque and gory situation. Bloom's imagery was sharper, though, and more close to home. Not everyone will see the remains of their friend stuck in a tree. Everyone, though, must experience death. The stages of death that were described are something that happens to every living thing. That in itself is very frightening.

I think the author's reason for writing this story was to intrigue and thrill, but I also see it as a warning to be wary of how you treat someone. The man who killed Anne and her boyfriend, among others, seemed to have been treated wrongly from the beginning of his years. The way that his father would make him stay outside naked during the night if he so much as peed the bed is a terrible thing to imagine. The unjustice that this boy felt as a child due to his father seems to have transfered into his older years, where he goes as far as killing. The way that he was raised was not his fault, but others besides himself must still suffer because of it.

I also think that the author wrote this as a warning to those who might be too trusting. Anne, who was talkative and attracted Eugene this way, might have been able to avoid this situation. It is sad to think that her mom wanted her to be a ballerina, and if Anne had taken to such an activity, then she might have lived past this.

This also leads to the topic of choices. This story spoke a lot about what happens to the body after it dies. It attracts flies because of the smell released once dead; this smell is inevitable and cannot be changed. What can be changed, however, is the course of ones' life. It is interesting to think that if Anne had perhaps taken a different course in Debate, or had found that she loved dancing more, or enjoyed music more, then her life could have been spared. Perhaps another innocent person's life would be taken in her place, falling prey to Eugene's evil. The evil that was created because of his father.

This world is a cycle. People and animals and events are all connected. One step by one person might change the lives of thousands of others. One decision to stay home might also have the same effect. It is astounding to think of something so complex, and yet so simple.

I'm wondering if Anne's choice to go into Debate rather than something else, such as dancing, had an effect on anyones mind as it did for me. I find it so astounding, yet so frightful, that one simple choice can have such an effect on many people's lives.