Chapter 1 of The Water Dancer was… interesting. For the bulk of my reading, I was lost for the most part, only being able to make sense of pieces here and there. It really wasn’t towards the end of the chapter (the fateful carriage ride) that I really began to have a grasp of what I was reading. As a result, reading about the main character and their brother drowning, and ultimately dying, with the main character not just coming to peace with, but embracing their inevitable death was disturbing, harrowing even. Especially the quote “I would like to say that I mourned right then, or took some manner of note. But I did not. I was headed to my ending. He was headed to his”. So utterly curt and indifferent not just to their brother’s plight, but their own plight and everything going on as a whole. It’s callous, but not maliciously so, it just is.
About
Professor: Jessica Penner
Email: creative.writing.citytech2@gmail.com
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM. I’ll be available through Zoom and will send an invitation via email that you should keep all semester. Try to join my meeting at the start of the hour, not at the end—since I may be talking to other students or have another appointment after the hour is up. If those times don’t work with your schedule, we can schedule a different time. This means you’ll have to schedule an appointment in advance. I suggest you have multiple times in mind, since your schedule may not mesh with mine!
I completely agree Aaron, at first I was lost too. The prelude seemed lengthy at times and though long I was glad the pace picked up later on. I liked your analysis of Hiram’s emotion post crash, he did seem to be a complete contrast to the young man reminiscing and thinking about his old family. Though he watched his brother die, personally they never seemed close so the distance was there, not forgetting Hiram was a slave who could have been mistreated by Maynard. Like you, the ending was also impactful to me but for an entirely different reason. I appreciated the shackled breaking free both physically and mentally.
I agree with you I was very lost for a big part of the story. Most of it went over my head only grabbing the main details and a few side bits here and there. The ending also really got to me. I didn’t really understand what had happened. It did feel a bit rushed. I think the word calloused that you used fits well when looking through the eyes of the reader. The built up of the whole story just to end like that seems to be a bit of a let down.
I agree that the reading was a little hard to follow but once you realize what is truly going on within the story, you get a sense of how good this author really is.
I totally agree with Aaron, with the difficulty of understanding every phrase the author tends to use. I do also say that it was a bit difficult but once you get the hang of it, it’s a bit easier to read the non-fiction story “The Water Dancer.”