I really liked this story because the ending surprised me and it was written very beautifully. The imagery of fall and carving pumpkins brought me back to my childhood. It is such a relatable thing to be sitting in your home with your loved ones carving pumpkins and making fun of your own, because it is a difficult task. The specificity in which everything is described such as: "...Allison and Clark gutted and carved the pumpkins together, at an old table set on the back porch, over newspaper after soggy newspaper..." makes me see the image so clearly and feel like I am there. I can recognize these images as they've been well-known in my life.
The way it ended really shocked me because it was such a pleasant piece but then it suddenly took a dark turn. I hadn't paid much attention to the fact that Allison "wore a natural-hair wig", but one can assume that she had a form of cancer. Her age was of significant because the author brought it up twice, and even mentioned her husband's age in its contrast and I never expected her to die.
I loved the scenes with the pumpkins! I think it was Marley who thought of it first, but she basically related the pumpkins to Allison and Clark. Allison is simple and "untalented," so her pumpkins are like that too. The same goes for Clark's artistic character and the pumpkins he carved. There's also and interesting connection between the candles used in the jack-o-lanterns, since light is often related to light in fiction. Allison suggested that they let the candles burn the whole night, and then she dies that same night. In essence, her light goes out.
ReplyDeleteI almost wish that Robison had made the connection a little bit clearer by noting a jack-o-latern light out when she had Clark on the phone, but I suppose that her omission of that possible image leads the pumpkin/ jack-o-latern metaphor a little more abstract.