The Body Reading Journal
The first 30 pages were mainly about the 4 boys’ lives, Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern, and the story written by Gordie. Gordie’s older brother Dennis died in April so his parents don’t look after Gordie because they are obsessed with their son’s sudden death. Chris’s dad has a mean streak, he drinks almost every day and doesn’t take care Chris either. Teddy’s dad burned Teddy’s both ears when he was young and Teddy is a little crazy. Lastly, Vern, who asked his friends to go look for a dead body with him, has an older brother, Billy who hurts Vern from time to time. Even from these simple descriptions we see that they all have bad family conditions and they are just young boys searching for adventure.
The part where I got shocked is Gordie’s story. At first, I thought this story was written by Gordie at a young age but later learned that the author had actually wrote this story when he was in university. Still, the impact didn't disappear. The story was similar to Gordie's own life in the part that the main character's brother died and thus Gordie could have written the story with his own feelings and thoughts brought into the story. For me, the Stud City was an unpleasant piece of writing to read because the story itself was too showy and harsh. Plus I didn't like it because it stopped me from figuring out what happened to the four kids for a few pages.
This was the second time reading this story but by reading it again, I realized some minor parts that I missed and learned new thoughts. I’m looking forward to finishing the story with the same amazement I had on my first try.
Good observations. I think you mean "Chris" instead of Charlie, and I know what you mean about the "metafiction" element of the book. King is asking a lot of his readers by stalling the real story and asking us to read "Stud City," which is different in style and tone. It sounds like you might be interpreting that story as written by a younger Gordie. Keep in mind that the narrator is Gordie as an adult, who is commenting on his writing career in hindsight. Stud City was written when he was in university, while the pie eating contest was definitely more a younger writer's work.
답글삭제Good blog!
You read the story twice? Wow. Reading is a skill some students have more abundantly than others. You might be blessed with this.
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