SSRJ #2: Oates
Reading “Three Girls” made me feel like a teenager again. I thought about the time my sister and I were at this restaurant we thought we saw George Strait. But, it wasn’t. We had gotten all excited. I do have a recent experience that is similar to the story. Long story short, this summer I was coaching AAU basketball and we had a tournament in L.A. Well, after one of our games we were outside having a team meeting and some of the girls thought they saw Dwight Howard. If you don’t know who that is, he plays for the NBA. After we went looking around, we found out it was him. We were the only one who knew and were able to take pictures with him. It was a cool experience. I think the narrator writing in first-person made me feel as if I was there with her.
The story being told in first-person helps draw attention to the reader and paint that picture. You’re able to see the plot clearer. To me I felt I was sitting in the same book store the girls were at. I think Oates wanted us to feel the suspense of following Marilyn Monroe. Wondering if we were ever going to be seen by her or catch a glimpse of what she was looking for. Did you ever feel you were part of the story? I sure did. I believe Oates did a wonderful job by making the reader understand the night life of New York and what part they were at. She explained the plot well. If I were to walk by the Strand Bookstore I would probably recognize it. I can’t really give an interpretation of the last sentence. What did u think it meant?
Jennifer as soon as I saw George Strait on your post I read immediately. "LOL" Itnt it comical how these three girls responded to a celebrities presence? As if when we were reading it even if we were in denial, we would act the same way. To answer to the questions that you posed at the end of your blog I would respond in saying that I also felt apart of the story, I felt as though I might have been considered the "fourth" girl. I like your observation here! I think the last sentence was to find a common link with the reader the characters and the author that can only be obtained by reading the story and taking it in as your own. Many people spoil stories by reading the end first, but in the case of this short story the author does a very good job of misleading the reader if that becomes the case. At that point the overzealous reader cannot grasp the true meaning and theme that Oates meant for her readers. I hope that maybe helps you develop a perspective on your question?
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ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to have to disagree with you about "being a part of the story." I've been in contact with celebrities before, but never in this way. I felt annoyed for most of the story actually because the plot wasn't clear to me. Even though the girls were about our age, I felt like I was reading a ten year olds diary. As for the last sentence, I totally had to re-read the story. I feel like Oates used suspense but took it too far in that at the end, the reader finally understands what the purpose of the story is. I feel as though this story is about acting silly and falling in love. I'm not sure why it had to be two girls, but I won't go there right now :)
I think it is neat that you related so heavily to the story. While I was reading it, I too felt like I could have been a third person, walking through this adventure with these girls.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed that element of this story, I thought it helped to keep one interested. If it had been a story told from third-person the story would not have been so seemingly 3 dimensional; it would have felt sorta flat, like a story someone told you, on the subway, on the way home...
I felt the tension that the narrator felt when she realized they were protecting Marilyn, in a way. I felt the excitement when the narrator made the connection between Marilyn's love for literature and her own. I enjoyed this story as well, for many other reasons , but the depth definitely created a rich setting for the story.
I like how you can relate to the story in a similar way, it seems to make it easier to understand the stories when in any way you can relate. As for the last line, i believe it to be a release of all the suspension that had been kept from following around Marilyn Monroe, through the store, and a release of the sexual tension between the two that had also been kept a secret like the one they kept from the book store.
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