Gorilla, My Love
Gorilla, My Love In the short story, “Gorilla, My Love”, author Toni Cade Bambara narrates a story about the way children overanalyze little white lies. Bambara tells the story as if a child was talking in first-person view. Throughout the story Hazel talks about different instances of her share of what she thought was being lied to. The read was very enjoyable because it was something that I could relate to. For instance, when Hazel and her friend are at the movie theater and she says, “ …we yell some more and some kids slip under the rope and run up and down the aisle just to show it take more than some dusty ole velvet rope to tie us down.” (Bambara 450) As I child I thought I could anything I wanted and have no repercussions to pay, the world was my playground. When I was a child I also didn’t understand why adults would tell lies, and now as a young-adult I understand the reasoning behind it. The text of the short story is written in a style as if a child was talking, such as the grammatical errors, and movement from topic to topic. All of these events helped me further relate to the story and grasp the main theme of betrayal. In my analysis I will talk about the symbols; fear, rebellion, and love and how they connect to the main theme of betrayal.
I was first uncertain about the sex of the narrator because it seemed as if a young boy was telling the story. In the opening paragraph all the characters that are traveling along with the narrator are all males. Another thing that led me on to this was the nicknames the narrator was given throughout the story. In the first paragraph, as they are traveling in the truck Granddaddy Vale says “Which way, Scout,”. (Bambara 449) It wasn’t until the end of the story when they narrator reveals their name. I believe the author intended for this mystery to occur in the story. As a child, Hazel, was lied to, but now as a reader we are mislead whether the narrator is male or female.
During the story I noticed fear,
I was first uncertain about the sex of the narrator because it seemed as if a young boy was telling the story. In the opening paragraph all the characters that are traveling along with the narrator are all males. Another thing that led me on to this was the nicknames the narrator was given throughout the story. In the first paragraph, as they are traveling in the truck Granddaddy Vale says “Which way, Scout,”. (Bambara 449) It wasn’t until the end of the story when they narrator reveals their name. I believe the author intended for this mystery to occur in the story. As a child, Hazel, was lied to, but now as a reader we are mislead whether the narrator is male or female.
During the story I noticed fear,
Cited: Bambara, Toni C.. "Gorilla, My Love." The Norton Introduction to Literature. 'Ed '. Alison Booth, Kelly J. Mays. New York, London: W. W. Norton & Copmpany, 2010. Print.