In the essay “Signs and Wonders”, Rebecca McClanahan
describes city life and the pros and cons that it entails. She talks about the
prices of flowers vs. the prices of food in New York, the people, and how she
gets these “New York highs” that come and go at unexpected times. She
emphasizes that she is in “the peak of her life” often, and even relates this
to things like a homeless man pleasuring himself in a public gazebo. After all
of her complaining, in the end she decides that there is no better place to
live out their leases than New York and that the “peak of their lives” will be
gone soon enough, so they should enjoy the moment.
Liking this as a summary, but I feel like it's missing the analysis. Not to stick on a gross moment, but why do you think she brought up the man in the park?
ReplyDeleteI wrote "TMI?" in the margin. I had meant to ask about that. Sometimes I think writers bring this stuff up to let us into their private thoughts, right? Just like someone you know well has the right to be gross around you, McClanahan assumes she does, too, and so maybe you feel closer to her?
The other thing to think about would be the way she works with contrast, and your response implies that you're interested in that. Dig a little deeper on these, if possible.
DW