Analysis of the Short Story Floating
An Analysis of “Floating”:
“Floating” by Karen Brennan is a story about a woman who believes she can float or levitate. The authors target audience is people that have had depressing things occur in their lifetime, or even more specifically, women that have gone through miscarriages. The story is told through the perspective of a woman and I think that the author did this to show that if guilt and pain eat at a person this is what can happen. The author uses symbolism to get her point across. The story is told in the first person and no names mentioned in the story because it makes it more relatable to other people. The author portrays a woman who was pregnant, had a miscarriage and is depressed; she is also delusional and believes her baby is still alive and is her little secret, and lastly on some deep level she knows her baby is dead and feels a tremendous amount of guilt. The author shows that the miscarriage can be a metaphor for any situation in life: you lose something, or fail at something you cannot just give up, let the sadness overcome you, become delusional, or keep feeling guilty, one has to be able to move on and be happy, and live your life. The woman the author portrays in “Floating” is married. I believe that this woman has a husband who loves her very much; he takes care of her and makes sure that she is alright. Her husband also loves her very much, “I married a nice responsible man who loved me”(303). I think that the woman in “Floating” was pregnant and being pregnant and having a baby was one of the happiest things that had ever happened to her. This woman considers pregnancy a gift, “I wonder if he knows about the baby, the other miracle” (303). This woman unfortunately had a miscarriage. In the beginning of the story the author tells us of the morning the woman discovered the baby outside, I believe that the author is telling us of the morning she miscarried, “She had been crying for two days straight and had survived”(302). This baby
“Floating” by Karen Brennan is a story about a woman who believes she can float or levitate. The authors target audience is people that have had depressing things occur in their lifetime, or even more specifically, women that have gone through miscarriages. The story is told through the perspective of a woman and I think that the author did this to show that if guilt and pain eat at a person this is what can happen. The author uses symbolism to get her point across. The story is told in the first person and no names mentioned in the story because it makes it more relatable to other people. The author portrays a woman who was pregnant, had a miscarriage and is depressed; she is also delusional and believes her baby is still alive and is her little secret, and lastly on some deep level she knows her baby is dead and feels a tremendous amount of guilt. The author shows that the miscarriage can be a metaphor for any situation in life: you lose something, or fail at something you cannot just give up, let the sadness overcome you, become delusional, or keep feeling guilty, one has to be able to move on and be happy, and live your life. The woman the author portrays in “Floating” is married. I believe that this woman has a husband who loves her very much; he takes care of her and makes sure that she is alright. Her husband also loves her very much, “I married a nice responsible man who loved me”(303). I think that the woman in “Floating” was pregnant and being pregnant and having a baby was one of the happiest things that had ever happened to her. This woman considers pregnancy a gift, “I wonder if he knows about the baby, the other miracle” (303). This woman unfortunately had a miscarriage. In the beginning of the story the author tells us of the morning the woman discovered the baby outside, I believe that the author is telling us of the morning she miscarried, “She had been crying for two days straight and had survived”(302). This baby