I enjoyed the story, Survivors, by Kim Addonizio because I did get to see some character development. Throughout the short story I learned about this couple. I entered their world and I feel like I didn't even have to move. I didn't go on a journey or learn their traits through a process of events, but I still have a sense of who they are. I liked the line, "He wanted to be first because he did not want to have to take care of his lover's parrot or deal with his lover's family..." When I first started reading this story I thought that this was kind of horrid. It felt to me like the guy couldn't be bothered to do the dirty work and ultimately like he was unwilling to sacrifice for his lover. However, as the story continued the statement came to be fleshed out and I realized that this man was simply exhausted. The man had a disease that was sucking the life out of him. His lover had an exhausting unrelenting family and an annoying bird. This guy just did not had the will to deal with it all. I love how Addonizio showed me a picture of thier life in such a short amount of words. I got a small snapshot of their lives without any plot development. There is so much to learn from Addonizio's description. She tells a whole life story with the use of careful words and details. It is so amazing to me how she helped me know this character in so short a space.
It especially amazing to me because I am so long-winded when I write. I feel like I have to flesh out every detail and say things in so many different ways in order to help my audience understand. I always want to say more and oftentimes that gets me into trouble because I end up repeating myself. Addonizio only used a few specific details and it was clear to me what she was saying.
Another story that I thought was interesting was "Walking the Baby to the Liquor Store". To begin with, the title through me through a loop. Why would anyone want to take their baby to a liquor store? It think this is a great attention getter. It turns out that this writer created a loving ritual out of something that most people would consider taboo. I would not think taking my child to the liquor store would be a good idea. But this man enjoys his daily ritual and so does his little girl. He writes, "The baby adores going to the liquor store. In her infant mind there is, perhaps, nothing so beautiful or significant in this world as sitting up in her yellow stroller and rolling bravely west toward some exotically remote BUNNY'S..." In his story he ends up making a statement about the importance of enjoying the little things in life. His daughter loves to simply take a walk to the liquor store each day. He believes that everyone should take time out of their days in order to enjoy their world. I like how he used something sort of taboo to make a truly valuable point. Children grow up so fast and it is so important to experience every moment you can with them.
Leigh Hancock wrote a piece of micro-fiction "Molibi". This piece inspired such sadness in me. One of the lines I liked was, "I want to describe her in flowing adjectives, to protect her against an inevitable life of maize stamping and childlugging." I like the description here because it is only a couple of words, but it describes a whole piece of history. Hancock also used great description when she states, "These things demand wide hips and square shoulders, a jaw that can clench and a soul that dog-shakes disappointments like water." I can imagine a dog shaking the water off. All the water sprays in every different direction. There is such vivid imagery in all of Hancock's sentences and it paints a touchable picture. I think this is a fearful story. I am happy for Molibi and I am sad for her. I don't think that the emotions matter as much as the fact that I actually feel for this character after only reading a small amount of words.
So it turns out that I proved myself wrong in some cases. Mirco-fiction does have space to help you feel invested in a character, but it needs to be well done.
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