River of Names
Kimberly Butensky
Eng2150
Time of Task: 3 hours
River of Names, Tiny, Smiling Daddy and Girl proved to be three very powerful stories and a whirlwind of emotions for the authors and myself. We are approached with the same theme in different settings and at different points of the authors’ lives. Yet one characteristic seems to prevail: emotional abandonment, a subject most women can relate to in one form or another at some point in their lives. In River of Names, the author takes us on a journey of her gut-wrenching, traumatic childhood that has plagued her throughout adulthood and most likely her entire life. Her overly populated family has a lack of knowledge and tenderness towards everyone especially their own blood. The author dances around the true grit of her family with her significant other to avoid showing what may possibly lurk below the surface, her DNA. In “Girl” we are introduced to a reoccurring theme of the daily life and robotic movements that make us so called “women” or “girls.” But don’t be too quick to lose sight of those tasks we are meant to do on command or else someone might see you for the slut you really are. Lastly, Tiny Smiling Daddy is a story written through the eyes of a disenchanted father who questions who and what his daughter means to him. Early on the father finds out his daughter is a lesbian (as is the author in River of Names) and cannot come to grips with her choice of lifestyle. Throughout the story we see some glimpses of a man who misses his daughter but ultimately has pushed her away for far too long. The story ends on a sad note with the father recalling, “If you ever try to come back, I will spit in your face, even on my deathbed, I will still have the energy to spit in your face.” A rather dismal way to remember why his daughters harbors so much hurt from his words. All three tell a haunting story of words not long forgotten by these women. Moments in our lives that shape us into who we are, who we
Eng2150
Time of Task: 3 hours
River of Names, Tiny, Smiling Daddy and Girl proved to be three very powerful stories and a whirlwind of emotions for the authors and myself. We are approached with the same theme in different settings and at different points of the authors’ lives. Yet one characteristic seems to prevail: emotional abandonment, a subject most women can relate to in one form or another at some point in their lives. In River of Names, the author takes us on a journey of her gut-wrenching, traumatic childhood that has plagued her throughout adulthood and most likely her entire life. Her overly populated family has a lack of knowledge and tenderness towards everyone especially their own blood. The author dances around the true grit of her family with her significant other to avoid showing what may possibly lurk below the surface, her DNA. In “Girl” we are introduced to a reoccurring theme of the daily life and robotic movements that make us so called “women” or “girls.” But don’t be too quick to lose sight of those tasks we are meant to do on command or else someone might see you for the slut you really are. Lastly, Tiny Smiling Daddy is a story written through the eyes of a disenchanted father who questions who and what his daughter means to him. Early on the father finds out his daughter is a lesbian (as is the author in River of Names) and cannot come to grips with her choice of lifestyle. Throughout the story we see some glimpses of a man who misses his daughter but ultimately has pushed her away for far too long. The story ends on a sad note with the father recalling, “If you ever try to come back, I will spit in your face, even on my deathbed, I will still have the energy to spit in your face.” A rather dismal way to remember why his daughters harbors so much hurt from his words. All three tell a haunting story of words not long forgotten by these women. Moments in our lives that shape us into who we are, who we