Syndrome X and the Silverback Gorillas
Haley Hallowell
Dr. Ann Bomberger
LENG 241
10 September 2013
Syndrome X and the Silverback Gorillas
That’s when it happened. Nothing made Dad suffer more than my syndrome being triggered. I’d stop looking people in the eye, and become detached, spacy. If there was something to chew on I’d chew on it, didn’t matter if it was my nails or the drawstring from the hood on my sweatshirt. Sometimes I tasted blood, I chewed so much, or if it wasn’t blood, something salty. What really got Dad was my silence, how I could go for days, weeks, as long as two whole months without a word. Dad was so garrulous he didn’t know what to do.(234) This was the passage that stood out most in the short story Dog Bites by Ricardo Nuila. This is the first time that Ricky shows the reader that his Dad wasn’t just diagnosing him with ‘Syndrome X’ for no reason. This also shows, based on a few other passages in the story, his Dad was trying his best to hide that Ricky has a form of autism. One thing that was prominent throughout the entire story was the fact Ricky only referred to his illness as his ‘syndrome’. This to me implies that his Dad never wanted him to talk about what was wrong, which contradicts when he calls himself ‘a truth provider’. We are led to believe through the whole story that Ricky’s Dad is an honest, straightforward man. To the narrator, he is an honest, straightforward man. But to the reader, when we look closely, his Dad is trying to show that he is the Silverback Gorilla:
‘The big boss is the silverback. Nature selects him, and the silver-hair genes along his spine is turned on.’ … I said, ‘Does the silverback’s son also become a silverback?(234)
I don’t think when talking about the mountain gorillas it was a coincidence the only two things he mentioned were how they eschew outcasts (referring to Billy’s mom), and the dominant male’s silver line down the spine. After Billy asks if the Silverback’s son becomes the leader, too, his ‘syndrome’ is
Dr. Ann Bomberger
LENG 241
10 September 2013
Syndrome X and the Silverback Gorillas
That’s when it happened. Nothing made Dad suffer more than my syndrome being triggered. I’d stop looking people in the eye, and become detached, spacy. If there was something to chew on I’d chew on it, didn’t matter if it was my nails or the drawstring from the hood on my sweatshirt. Sometimes I tasted blood, I chewed so much, or if it wasn’t blood, something salty. What really got Dad was my silence, how I could go for days, weeks, as long as two whole months without a word. Dad was so garrulous he didn’t know what to do.(234) This was the passage that stood out most in the short story Dog Bites by Ricardo Nuila. This is the first time that Ricky shows the reader that his Dad wasn’t just diagnosing him with ‘Syndrome X’ for no reason. This also shows, based on a few other passages in the story, his Dad was trying his best to hide that Ricky has a form of autism. One thing that was prominent throughout the entire story was the fact Ricky only referred to his illness as his ‘syndrome’. This to me implies that his Dad never wanted him to talk about what was wrong, which contradicts when he calls himself ‘a truth provider’. We are led to believe through the whole story that Ricky’s Dad is an honest, straightforward man. To the narrator, he is an honest, straightforward man. But to the reader, when we look closely, his Dad is trying to show that he is the Silverback Gorilla:
‘The big boss is the silverback. Nature selects him, and the silver-hair genes along his spine is turned on.’ … I said, ‘Does the silverback’s son also become a silverback?(234)
I don’t think when talking about the mountain gorillas it was a coincidence the only two things he mentioned were how they eschew outcasts (referring to Billy’s mom), and the dominant male’s silver line down the spine. After Billy asks if the Silverback’s son becomes the leader, too, his ‘syndrome’ is