Summary and Reflection on Short Stories From The American Best Short Stories 2022
The Wind
“The Wind” is an intriguing narrative surrounding a woman and her three young children attempting to escape their abusive household. The woman’s husband, a police officer, had been physically abusing her for a long period. The audience learns this from the reaction of the woman’s colleagues. One of the colleagues, also the woman’s friend, says, “Oh, Ruby, Doris said. It got even worse, huh. Jesus, take a look at you” (Groff 9). This indicates that the abuse has been ongoing and that it had, in fact, escalated. To show the gravity of the situation, the woman, Ruby, says, “Shoved his gun in my mouth this time…Thought I was going to be shot. But, no, he just knocked out a few teeth” (Groff 9). This statement indicates that the gradual abuse Ruby was undergoing had reached a level that Ruby no longer considered tolerable. As the narrator explains, “My grandmother looked him directly in the face, perhaps for the first time, because she was a timid woman whose voice was low, who made herself a shadow in the world” (Groff 9). Ruby had gained the courage to plot an escape from her abusive marriage, saving not only herself but her children. Choosing to be docile while the abuse worsened was no longer an option as her husband had gone as far as hitting their daughter, “But then the children caught his eye, and he saw the state of them, and put the potatoes down and reached out and touched my mother’s face gently with his hot rough hand. Lord. She get it, too? he said. She’s just a kid,” (Groff 8). Ruby wished to save her children from emotional, psychological and physical abuse, perhaps even manage to give the youngest, Ralph, a close-to-normal childhood. Ralph was the youngest of the three children and did not have a clear picture of what was taking place. After Ruby’s daughter declares that they are never returning home and that she wishes for her father’s demise, Ralph says, “That’s not nice. He’s my dad” (Groff 12). While the two older children recognize and understand their father’s vice, Ralph does not. This meant that there was still a chance for one of them to not feel the full effect of their father’s abusive nature. However, it is these years of abuse that place a barricade in their journey to freedom. Ruby, suffering from her physical beating and overwhelming emotional distress, becomes immobile during a crucial moment of their escape, “It’s O.K., it’s O.K., it’s O.K., my grandmother whispered. It’s just that
my body is not really listening to me. I can’t move anything right now. I can’t move my feet. Oh, God,” (Groff 19). It is at this moment that their father catches up to them, and they return to their prison. This time, the children had no one to save them but themselves, and while they survived, it is apparent that the years of abuse significantly impacted them. This is seen through the firstborn daughter, whose childhood experience painted an unfortunate picture of women and their place in the world. To her, for a brief moment, a woman meant courage and capability, but then this moment went away when their father, a powerful policeman, caught up with them, and she learned that a woman’s place was submissive and docility so as not to end up like her own mother (Groff).
This narrative was a sad, interesting read exploring heavy themes such as partner and child abuse, complacency within society (as demonstrated by Dougie, Ruby’s boss) and gender inequality. While reading the story, I found myself struggling with establishing who the narrator of the story was. At first, it seemed as if Ruby’s daughter was the narrator, but then the voice changed to Ruby’s granddaughter. The story alternated between the two narrators, a factor that was jarring, especially when trying to establish a relationship with the narrator so as to get a better understanding of them. I, however, did manage to overcome the challenge after re-reading the story twice. It was then that I realized that the author chose this particular narrative structure to show how the abuse Ruby endured had affected her grandchild, who was not even present when it occurred. The author’s aim was to show how an abusive household can adversely affect generations. Having understood this, I read the story once more, appreciating the two voices present to guide me on how Ruby’s abuse affected them.
Detective Dog
“Detective Dog”, by Gish Jen, is a complex and interesting narrative that highlights themes such as racism, politics, complacency, bullying and family dynamics. Betty, a wealthy Chinese woman in New York, shares her life experience with the audience, explaining how she left her home country and winded up in America. Driven by her mother’s advice about life- “No politics, just make money” (Jen 1), Betty found herself owning three apartments in New York with her husband Quentin and raising two children, Theo and Robert, who are significantly different from one another. On paper, Betty’s life seems perfect. After all, she is wealthy, constantly communicates with her parents and has a family. However, the audience learns this is not the case. In an attempt to please her mother, Betty adhered to a second piece of advice, “And when it came to China: “See nothing, hear nothing, say nothing. Do you hear me?” (Jen 1). This meant that instead of staying in her country and fighting the injustice her people were facing, she chose to run away by amassing a significant amount of wealth. The problem with this precedence is that Theo, Betty’s son, who is interested in politics, emulates her mother’s actions. After making a fortune through online poker (and buying a car), Theo packs his bags and leaves, “It did not occur to them that Theo would use his car to leave them” (Jen 13). Betty felt trapped by the political turmoil in her country and used wealth to escape from it. Theo felt trapped by his family’s indifference to the political climate of their home country and used wealth as a form of escape. Theo says, “I hate you,” he would say, for example. “I hate your values and your way of life, and I do not respect you. What have you ever done but look the other way no matter what was going on? Did you ever tell the truth? Did you ever speak up?” (Jen 9). It is evident that Theo struggles with the fact that he does not belong. He was uprooted from his home and friends, was bullied in Vancouver, and no one shared his values in his own household. The author writes, “Betty was happy for Robert that he had found a kind of acceptance Theo never had at his age” (Jen 16). To Theo, leaving his home was pursuing his freedom, a chance to find his own people, people who understood him and to feel a sense of belonging. While his motives are reasonable, his actions are irrational. Despite this, the audience witnesses yet again Betty’s and Quentin’s complacency (Jen).
Instead of searching for their son, who was in danger of contracting COVID-19 or suffering the negative consequences of political upheaval, the parents simply waited for their son to come back. They do not fight against Theo’s choice to leave home despite him being underage, they do not use their network or wealth to search for him (Theo’s grandparents suggest a private investigator), and they do not stop Theo from playing online poker. At every turn, the audience witnesses Betty’s abhorrent complacency. Examples of this include refusing to share her sister Bobby’s whereabouts and experiences when Bobby went missing, allowing Theo to play a game during an online class, allowing her husband to pay Robert for doing basic things that every child should do, allowing Robert’s teacher to shift the burden of schoolwork to her and allowing her underage son play poker, keep the winnings and leave home. However, Betty’s complacency was a trait nurtured in her. She had to be a good daughter, unlike Bobby, the dissident daughter who went missing. Still, all her complicit nature did was negatively impact herself and her family. She suffered silently, stomaching insults from her son and losing him in the end. She also kept the truth about Bobby hidden, causing their parents to suffer. Perhaps if she had spoken up, Bobby would have been alive, and Robert would have met his mother. Jen’s narrative teaches the audience that everyone has a role to play in imparting change in society and that complacency is not an acceptable role (Jen).
“Detective Dog” was a difficult read. This is because of its multiple storylines. For instance, the story tackled Bobby’s disappearance and political history, Theo’s upbringing, beliefs and disappearance, Robert’s upbringing and parentage, Betty’s upbringing, complacency and journey to New York, teenage rebellion (through Susu and her son as well as Theo), racism in Vancouver and political unrest in Hong Kong (Jen). Aside from Robert’s true parentage, none of the storylines have a tactile ending. Reading the story multiple times and noting down the different storylines allowed me to get past the challenge. I realized at the end that the author’s primary goal was to show the dangers of complacency when it came to politics and social vices. With this understanding, I was able to appreciate Betty’s character and empathize with her.
The Hollow
“The Hollow” tells the story of two men who have different perspectives on how to pursue life and its success. Greg Jackson’s two lead characters are polar opposites despite their sharing a deep-seated hollowness/sadness about their existence. In fact, at the very end, when the two characters, Jonah and Jack, meet, they begin to laugh, a laughter that captures Jack’s wife’s attention. When she inquires what they are laughing at, Jonah is the one who responds, “Jack turned, grinning, and was about to shrug, when Valente cut in and in his loud, abrupt voice answered, “Sadness” (Jackson 24). Both men battle hollowness when they meet. Jonah’s emptiness stems from his present lack of doing what he loves: art. After getting into an accident, Jonah writes to Jack and says, “I never told you this, but sometimes I get pretty low” (Jackson 21). This perpetual sadness stems from Jonah’s restlessness. He is aware that he has immense potential to become one of the best artists in history, like Picasso and Van Gogh, but his current circumstances do not permit him to do so. His goal (and the road to his goal) is an ambitious and expensive one; his outlook on life is unrealistic, according to Jack. Frustrated by Jonah’s approach to his life and dreams, Jack says, “But don’t think the people who succeed don’t play the game. They all do. Picasso did. They dance the goddam dance. Purity of spirit’s just some shit they talk about once they’ve made it to make the rest of us believe-” (Jackson 18-19). This conversation also gives insight into Jack’s view of life. He believes that conforming to society’s outline of success is what allows someone to achieve their goal, “You have to show people you can play the game” (Jackson 18). Jack’s outburst is a result of the bitterness he harbors for the mistake that cost him his new job. He lost his job because he did not play the game, “It would have been a stretch, but he could have told his bosses that he had been confused about which company Tabor was working with. Not particularly plausible, but they would have permitted him the one strike” (Jackson 9). At the end of the story, both men conform to society’s playbook of life by covering up their hollowness (Jackson).
Jackson’s story had particularly interesting characters who did not necessarily like each other but needed each other. Different as they were, they were all they had at points in their lives when they were struggling (Jackson). My challenge with this story was attempting to understand the house’s hollow as a metaphor for the emptiness that the various characters in the story were experiencing. After reading the story for the second time, I wrote down the characters, Jonah, Jack, and Sophie, and delved into their struggles. This way, I was able to identify how they all fit into the narrative’s main theme of hollowness.