"I'll do it." 7 of 15

[Story deleted at the publisher's request. Simon and Schuster 9/6/04]

================ Paragraphs 50-68

train27.gif (19055 bytes) It's as if he wants the operation to be an inevitability, as sure as the arrival of a train. So the train is an important symbol for this story, and the associated time references at the beginning and end of the story must be part of the feeling of being rushed by Jig's condition.

================

Many readers stop at Jig's surrender in paragraph 63, those who see the man as dominant and winning. Yet other readers see this as a turning point in their conflict because of his reaction in paragraph 64; he is taken aback because he realizes there will be recriminations if they don't both agree on one course of action. That's what he means in paragraph 68--he doesn't want her just to sacrifice herself or her values because that would open him up for recriminations if something goes wrong or if she has regrets later on.

[See the realizations that Prof. Stephen Lane's students make about this story and the layout of the train station.]

50 This operation will remove the source of their current unhappiness.

51.1 The curtain of disappointment again--why two strands?
51.2 Is their relationship changing in some way? If the two strands symbolize a couple, which two people will there be--Jig and the American, or Jig and someone else?

52 Sounds like a popular but risky operation.

53 She's being sarcastic again; she must not trust his motives.

56.1 She has to have the operation and want it or they're sunk as a couple.
56.2 Sounds like elective surgery; this is the kind of thing people say about abortion, "the best thing to do."
56.3 Does she want her safety more than she wants him?
56.4 Why does she want him?

57-61 Is it worth the sacrifice and the risk to feel loved? Will she feel loved afterward? He'll be indebted to her.

62.1 If he's not worried about the operation, he must be worried about her condition--and what it's doing to their relationship.
62.3 He says this too much about how "simple" it is, so it can't really be simple.

63 She's going to make the sacrifice, but she doesn't want to.

65 If she gets the operation with this attitude, that she's sacrificing herself for him or for their relationship, things won't be fine--and he knows it.

The URL for this page is: http://vccslitonline.vccs.edu/copy_of_hills/agree.htm


Previous	Sitemap	Next