ENL121-05
October 1, 1998
Major Paper #1

"All of it is clear to a person who has understanding
and right to those who have acquired knowledge." (Proverbs 8:6-9)

(2)     The main character, Edie, provides the narration of the story from a first person point of view.  She tells her story based on an event from her past.  Because she narrates the story the reader is unable to be sure if what she tells of the other characters is completely accurate.  Because one does not hear other character's thoughts one could question whether Edie interpreted them correctly.  Or has time caused her to recall her story different from the way it actually happened?   For example, Edie says it is hard for her to recall how she felt when she had to do dishes without a dishwasher and heated water.  It had been so long ago her perception had been altered.  Sometimes time can play a role in why truth can be so hard to see.

(3)     The conflict that appears to be most prevalent is appearance vs. reality.  Loretta seemed to be a friendly neighbor when in fact she was more interested in what new information she could gossip about.  For example, she asked Edie personal questions about the Peebles.  The Peebles were ignorant of Loretta's true motives.  It appeared to Edie that Chris was her true love when in reality it was the mailman she would marry and fall in love with.  Similarly, the mailman believed Edie was always waiting for him at the mailbox when in actuality she was waiting for her letter from Chris. [Nice Point] False appearances can make it hard to detect the truth.

(4)     Some characters in the story are obvious to supporting the theme.  "I was 15 and away from home for the first time…" described Edie as being young and naïve to the world. She was very responsible for her age because she took care of the Peebleses' two children and of their house.  Yet, she was uneducated and did not know much about love or boys.  She told of how she longed for a boyfriend or someone to kiss.  Sometimes when you want things bad enough you begin to believe they are true.  For example, because Edie really wanted someone to love her, she really believed Chris would send her a letter.  However, if she would have examined his prior actions, like how he treated Alice, Edie could have come to the conclusion that there would be no letter.

(5)     Another character important in the story was Chris.  He was a soldier in the war.  Supposedly, he was engaged to Alice but from the way he treated her, one would question it.  Also, he was cowardly because he ran away from her rather than telling her how he truly felt, he said, "…A plane can get further than a car".    Also, the reader may believe he is running away from his feelings because of something deeper.  Maybe the war had injured him emotionally or mentally.  These factors will definitely make it hard to discover what is true.

(6)     Also, the character of Alice has some interesting meaning to the story.  The character of Alice may be modeled after the author Alice Munro because they have shared similar experiences between men.  Apparently, the author had been through a divorce and many of the stories she wrote about were about marriage and relationships.  Alice was an educated woman yet she was blind of Chris's true feelings.  Also, she was very gullible to believe that Chris loved her.  She was unable to accept that he did not love her so she blamed his actions on others.  For example, she believed it is Edie's fault, not Chris's, that they were "intimate", so she accused Edie of being loose and bad.  Likewise, Alice was very obsessive because she continued to follow Chris wherever he went, trying to catch up with him.  When love is involved in a situation it can really alter the truth.

(7)     In the end Edie finds that the truth was always there she just had to grow and experience life in order to filter it out. [RO -1] Truth is sometimes a hard thing to find because there are many things that can influence it.  However, as people explore life, truth will become easier to discover.

     Although I'm not sure that the chosen theme is the most productive for this story, this essay is an excellent example of what I expect from everyone for this assignmnet. The writer clearly uses three of the critical concepts to support the statement of theme. Paragraphs are well-developed, as the writer uses numerous specific references to, and quotations from, the story to support the thesis. This is a very nice job.

This outline is a bit more detailed than what I expect, but it is an excellent example.
 

Student's Comments: (You can also use the back of either page.)

Codes: B = Brainstorming; RR = Reading/Research; O =Outlining; TC = Tutoring Center;
D = Drafting; RV = Revising; E =Editing; G = Grading; T =Typing

NOTE: Revising = RV. Remember: use only one code per entry. (See Instructions.)

I used a word-processor __x___while drafting __x___ while revising ___x__ to type my paper.