Part of what I really liked about this story was that it illustrated very clearly a point I made in my last post - 'Fiction allows for us to see the internal life of a person, to know with near certainty their motivations and find ourselves rooting for people we might never support in the outside world, hoping beyond hope that they will succeed or be happy or just survive.'
When Tandolfo has his mental breakdown and succumbs to poor behavior, he tells us that,
The reality however, is they serve as a representation of the reactions any sane person might have. If you were met with Tandolfo, and he showed up drunk at a party you hired him to preform at, how would you react? Probably not with the same personal connection as if he explained his day and why he what acting so strangely, as he did in the story. We understand his internal life, and therefore we are best able to see his experience as justified. We see the scene through his eyes, not out own. Therein lies the magic of character.
Beyond the brilliant illustrations of internal perspective, the imagery is beautiful in this story too. The description of the sad cake, sitting on the sidewalk and Rodney, sitting in his car, staring at it, the picture of derangement, just waiting for a car to pass by and splatter it, helped to create an ending that captured Rodney's character. This image, depressing and disturbing, but brilliantly vivid, helped to devise an ending that lent itself well to furthering the character. By the end, I was certain this could be the only possible ending, and that Rodney, in his breakdown, could only find closure and satisfaction in the cake's destruction. I couldn't see it ending any other way than with the reader waiting and hoping in the passenger seat of Rodney's car, eagerly watching the street for any sign of a car that would destroy that awful, miserable cake.
When Tandolfo has his mental breakdown and succumbs to poor behavior, he tells us that,
"he wants to let them know he's not like this all the time; wants to say it's circumstances, grief, personal pain hidden inside seeming brightness and cleverness; he's a man in love, humiliated, wrong about everything".This scene captures the difference between characters and people, fiction and reality in a way. We can see that Rodney's behavior comes from a variety of problems he's facing in his personal and professional life, which drive him to drink before his performance and behave so inappropriately at his show. The reader sees and understands this, feeling compassion and hoping he will get his act together. His actual audience, the fictional group of parents and children watching him perform, however, see his actions only, not inferring his circumstances or even questioning his reasoning. Therefore, in the eyes of the reader they might be seen as uncaring.
The reality however, is they serve as a representation of the reactions any sane person might have. If you were met with Tandolfo, and he showed up drunk at a party you hired him to preform at, how would you react? Probably not with the same personal connection as if he explained his day and why he what acting so strangely, as he did in the story. We understand his internal life, and therefore we are best able to see his experience as justified. We see the scene through his eyes, not out own. Therein lies the magic of character.
Beyond the brilliant illustrations of internal perspective, the imagery is beautiful in this story too. The description of the sad cake, sitting on the sidewalk and Rodney, sitting in his car, staring at it, the picture of derangement, just waiting for a car to pass by and splatter it, helped to create an ending that captured Rodney's character. This image, depressing and disturbing, but brilliantly vivid, helped to devise an ending that lent itself well to furthering the character. By the end, I was certain this could be the only possible ending, and that Rodney, in his breakdown, could only find closure and satisfaction in the cake's destruction. I couldn't see it ending any other way than with the reader waiting and hoping in the passenger seat of Rodney's car, eagerly watching the street for any sign of a car that would destroy that awful, miserable cake.
An excellent post, Brittany. May I please share?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Thank you.
Delete