"Nephilim"
This story follows the character of Freda, born much larger than the average baby and a woman that continues to grow to a massive height into old age. Her story becomes intertwined with a boy who moves into the neighborhood at a young age, named Teddy. It is revealed that his home situation is not ideal, as his mother is often absent and eventually leaves the family. Freda employs him for various activities throughout her home such as gardening, as her condition makes it difficult and painful to move. She narrates her story as time progresses, and she continues growing while Teddy enlists, marries, and has his own children. Throughout Freda's story, there are intertwined quotes regarding Nephilim.
There are many interesting quotes throughout this story that draw parallels between Freda and the Nephilim, revealed to be the offspring of Gods and mortal woman. The first being,
"God was a blacksmith and her bones were the iron. He was drawing them out with his hammer. God was a spinner working the wheel and she was his silken thread."
The second quote referencing the Nephilim, "How they were giants on earth before the coming of the floods and how they left their bones behind...Enormous piles of bones and the sun bleached them and they turned to rock and that's why we have mountains."
These quotes show a connection between height and divinity. How does Freda portray this divinity, both through her physical appearance and her actions throughout the story?
Another interesting aspect of this story was a conversation between Teddy and Freda regarding the height of his sister.
Freda: "My dad was as tall as yours. That just goes to show you. And how can your daddy know how big your sister'll be? She isn't even three."
Teddy: "He says she's got those monkey arms."
Freda: "We're all monkeys. We all come from the same place."
Why does the author choose to include both concepts of evolution and religion through this quote?
And finally at the end of the story when Teddy returns to bring Freda a bouquet of flowers, she does not answer the door and states, "He wouldn't have said anything about her jawbone or her bent fingers or how her back was shaped like an S. He would have taken her hand and knelt down to greet her, but she stayed in her spot by the window. His face was like a mirror, and it was better not to look." Why would she refuse to open the door? Is there a connection between this instance and Eva Luna?
"Lay My Head"
This story focuses on Angela, a woman who falls into illness and visits her mother. She has endured both the death of her father and another man in her life, named Gary. Included in the story is her progression through the illness, the deterioration of her body, and her experiences with her mother, as well as a brief recollection of Gary.
There is a direct reference to her body on page 147 that states, "Her body was healthy in every way but one. She wasn't even forty and her heart was healthy and her lungs were clear and everything was perfect except for the thing that wasn't?" What is she referring to in this quote?
Another important element of the story is the depiction of death, which is represented by the quotes below:
"We're just leaves on a tree. That's what Gary told her once." Pg. 153
"I want to go home, the old woman said. I've got people waiting. My husband's waiting for me on the bridge. The granddaughter shrugged as if to apologize. She held out both her hands and smiled. She's stopped making sense, she seemed to say, but Angela understood." Pg. 152
"No, she slept the way babies do. Like someone waiting to be born." Pg. 153
How does this story embody death? What is shown by this collection of quotes?
"Sea of Tranquility"
Sea of Tranquility describes a man throughout his experiences of losing his eyesight, the multiple appointments he had with physicians to determine the problem, the birth of his son, and his encounters with his wife. The story ends with his wife driving him to the "scene of the crime", the college where they had met and started their relationship. It is at this point in the story where he regains his sight and sees his child for the first time, with his wife holding him up "like a banner".
Binder describes the progression of his loss of eyesight stating, "He bought new reading glasses with a higher magnification. The kind the really old folks use, 1.75, then 2.5, and finally 3.5, and that was as high as the Walgreens inventory went, but even with the strongest pair, he could see only the outline of his hands. He couldn't see the hairs on his wrist or his veins or whether his nails were dirt. He needed an enormous lens in front of his computer monitor just to read his emails."
The eyes are an extremely symbolic feature of the body. What are some of the reasons that could be responsible for this man losing his eyesight? He gradually loses his ability to see objects that are right in front of him, but there is emphasis that he can depict the features of the moon. Why does he only lose the ability to see objects that are near to him? And why would returning to the "scene of the crime" influence regaining of this sense?
Is there a connection between "Sea of Tranquility" and "Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka? If so, what is the connection?
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