I think there was one thing in this entire story that Dina actually cared about, and that was Heidi. So let’s do both.ĭina was such a well written character and this story was such a well written story. I would find it difficult to only talking about elements of this story without actually talking about the story. I think many of our classmates would agree there’s major difficulty in speaking on a story without providing subjective responses. Packer just gave me so much to think about in this story. The pain of isolation isn’t as bad as the pain of losing someone. Family, yes, but her mother has died, which is where I suspect this fear of intimacy came from. Not school–she skipped classes and tests and got low grades. Heidi, certainly, but she gave up Heidi as soon as she witnessed the proof of potential intimacy with her. In fact…I’m still pondering what she does give a shit about. No, it doesn’t always make her the most likeable character, but she clearly doesn’t give a shit about that. I’m still working on being that brave, but this character, at age 18, a POC at a predominantly white school, has that sort of courage down. To me, saying what you think and not compromising yourself to pander to others’ expectations of you is the very definition of brave. There were times I envied this character, such as when she proved herself queen of the comeback. I love that Packer is able to show the complexity of this aspect of our humanness so beautifully. The people we love cause us the most joy and the most pain. So many times in life we are our own worst enemy and our own best friend. Heidi seemed to inhabit both of these spaces, which I feel is a truly brilliant move. This really fascinates me.Īnother thing I learned this past week was that when you are creating characters, you must populate your story with people who cause problems for the protagonist, and with those who offer comfort. We see it everywhere, from her refusal to do a trust-fall to her abrasive comments designed to make people back away, to her fear of falling in love with a woman, to her running away from a boy who wanted to walk her home.Īnd yet, she had absolutely no problem with stripping naked and taking a shower in the kitchen with Heidi, or sleeping in the same bed with her. The heart of the narrator’s character is her fear of intimacy. Not much actually *happens* in it–it’s more a series of episodes both past and present. I was struck by how incredible the characterization is. I know we aren’t supposed to lead with a subjective response, but….dayum, this is my favorite story so far. What are some of the elements of this story that stuck out for you? 7, for example, with the line “In the cold air, her arm had felt good.” Or, later, when the narrator admits that she loves Heidi, something she can say only in retrospect, from a time after the time in the story. Note also how moments of interiority allow us to see her in ways the characters in the story can’t. I’m also struck by the way that the character’s wit and biting humor and intelligence balances her anger, and helps for us to empathize with her (I laughed out loud at this exchange: “I don’t have anyone to talk to,” said the voice on the other side of the door. One craft matter I’d like to point out is how the story (for me at least) never drags – it’s always leaning forward as it moves, taking us along in its momentum to the end. The way that the themes of race, class, isolation, sexual identity, and grief all constantly wrap their way through the story. This feels to me a good story to end on (before reading the workshop pieces), as it has all the elements of a good story – structurally flawless, a character voice we like to “listen” to by a flawed character we root for, interesting dynamics between the two characters.
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