Monday, September 21, 2009

"Time and Again"

In the short story Time and Again, written by Breece Pancake, the narrator is a farmer whose work is to plow and salt the roads. This short story is different from the others because he seems to be a person who lives a dark and cold life. The irony of this is that the setting in this story takes place at night where it is cold enough for snow and ice to fall. An example of this is when he talks about his son. The narrator tells the reader how his wife passed away a few years ago, and once she died, his son ran away from home. He says that he leaves the lights on when he comes home. The light represents the only good thing in his life, which is his son. The problem with this is it has been years since he has seen his son, and the reader would most likely come to the agreement that the chances of his son coming back are very slim.

Another example of this is how the narrator talks about how he is going to stop working, and he will watch his hogs grow old and die. He says that he is getting too old to work, and that he is always tired. The problem here is that the narrator has never even seen the person he works with, who is Mr. Weeks. The setting of the story sets the mood of the story for the reader, and one can’t help but feel bad for the narrator of the short story.

1 comment:

  1. I have to disagree with what you said about the narrator keeping the light on when he leaves the house. I don't think the light represents his son, the only good thing in his life, since his son isn't in his life anymore and hasn't been for years, but rather represents the hope the narrator has that his son will return home.

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