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Living Dyingly by Edwidge Danticat
The Summer Day by Mary Oliver http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/133.html
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I read Death of a Fish and overall, I thought it was a fairly entertaining piece as to how adults handle a death in the family for a child, this case a goldfish. This piece was made in a way to make a very matter of fact moment in life into a dramatic one due to the adult not knowing how to possibly grapple with death themselves, nor how to explain it to a child. Straying away from the concept of death, and more into the psychological aspects of it is what in the end shields the child. This is highly relateable due to either my family friend trying to cover up that my friends fish died in the first…
Death of a Fish
The most apparent technique that Gopnik employed in this story was his references to three key players: his sister with a degree in developmental psychology, the movie Vertigo, and the life/death of Bluie the fish. Predominantly through these, Gopnik begins to define the meaning of consciousness and its relation to the concept of death. A theme that was very present throughout the story is "the echo" or "the imitator." The fish, which is superficially the main topic of this piece, is described as a placeholder for more desirable and unrealistic pets. The discussion of the movie Vertigo recounts the continual death and revival of the Kim Novak character. Psychological studies that Gopnik reads describe how human…
Edwidge Danticat: Living Dyingly
I’ve never thought about how social media serves as an open obituary until I read this piece. We put our entire lives on social media for the world to see and when we die it is still there for everyone to go back and view. For instance, people will often post on Facebook saying “miss you” or something to that extent and then tag the person who has passed. The author also goes on saying that we cannot write about death without writing about life. When we talk about someone dying we often begin to reminisce in their past which includes memories from when they where alive. Something else that caught my eye when reading Danticat’s…
Edwidge Danticat’s Living Dyingly used many techniques to convey her message on death. Death is something that everyone struggles with accepting. To put this in more personal terms for others to understand, she talks about the struggles she herself has as well as her mother. For instance, in the beginning Danticat’s mother was described as recording monologues on cassette tapes, however there was like a disconnect with reality. She never quite states that she’s aware death is near, but rather words of comfort to her children. However, later in the passage when Danticat talks about her mother’s monologues, there is a shift she notices. Instead of ignoring the reality, she is now starting to accept it. Death is not an…
Savannah Lacy
Death of a Fish
Adam Gopnik’s article, Death of a Fish, begins very innocently and relatable. He tells the story of how to break the news to his 5 year old daughter that her precious fish, Bluie, has died after getting stuck in his fish bowl’s castle. As someone who had a fish as a little girl, I found this to be a cute story and something that many people have had a similar experience with a family pet. The article that had originally started out as a cute recollection from Gopnik’s family, then takes an unexpected turn and discusses the theories of consciousness. Gopnik says, “Children have more consciousness than the rest of us because they believe…