tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161136885462262525.post4163242635861122797..comments2024-03-09T00:19:36.011-08:00Comments on Reading the Short Story: PEN/O.Henry Stories: 2012--Alternate Reality in the Short Story--Wilson, Millhauser, GroffCharles E. Mayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11642048806407593585noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161136885462262525.post-42396295891567912132013-05-23T14:57:27.386-07:002013-05-23T14:57:27.386-07:00Thanks for your comment, Julia. I can see the poss...Thanks for your comment, Julia. I can see the possibility of the thematic strand you suggest in the Millhauser story. After looking at the story again, it seems to me that it can indeed sustain more than one thematic interpretation. It has always been my approach to embrace the broadest, most general, most significant theme the story seems to explore--the theme that seems to predominate and provoke the most complex reader response. Thanks much for reading my blog and responding to this story.Charles E. Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11642048806407593585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161136885462262525.post-20508572026252515082013-05-23T14:40:40.389-07:002013-05-23T14:40:40.389-07:00Initially after reading Millhauser's story, I ...Initially after reading Millhauser's story, I formed more or less the same conclusion. Though, close attention to the very last line of "Case Study #5" indicates a different meaning entirely. <br /><br />Millhauser writers, "I can see a part of a swing set. A cushion is sitting on the grass beside a three-pronged weeder with a red handle" (283). That is, aspects of the myth of the phantom Lorraine manifests in his own phantom experience. Thus, being an inhabitant of the phantom town, he is not a reliable narrator. <br /><br />The structure of the short story further backs this; a sociological case study of a town could not be done by someone who lives in this town. Thus, instead of the phantoms representing Others (although still a valid interpretation), I believe Millhauser intends to address superstition; in the words of Mr. Wonder, he intends to address "believ[ing] in things you don't understand." <br /><br />The phantoms have become so embedded in the culture of the town that its inhabitants willingly accept the fantastical myth as reality, going so far as to adopt this myth into their personal identity or their psyche. Consequently they are unable to separate fantasy from fiction; they truly believe in they have seen these creatures.<br /><br />In short, what I believe Millhauser is addressing in this short story is the consequence of blindly adopting the stories or claims of others as factual truths. The consequence: in uncritically accepting fallacies, myths, ideologies, etc. as truth, you eliminate the possibility for discovering actual truth or at least your own truth. You allow others to exert power over you, as well as becoming blind to the truth of life. <br /><br /> This is evidenced when he writes: "You pass through a world so thick with phantoms that there is barely enough room for anything else" (285). And again when he addresses the disbelievers: "The reasoning is sound, the intention commendable: to establish the truth, to distinguish the real from the unreal" (283). Although I still hold the Other interpretations to be plausible, as far as Millhauser's intended meaning, these subtle hints cannot be ignored. Julianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161136885462262525.post-6618609502879199202012-05-23T22:39:59.075-07:002012-05-23T22:39:59.075-07:00Not read any of the stories you discuss, but I mus...Not read any of the stories you discuss, but I must say as a short story writer myself, your opening paragraph is very interesting & stimulating. Not thought of the distinction in that way before.<br /><br />That Wilson story sounds great too; I must check it out.James Everingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04717149514440381738noreply@blogger.com