The Vertical Fields

The Vertical Fields In this short story “The Vertical fields” the young boy starts out stating how his family and friends is a strong stand point of this text. The story begins saying, “when I was a young boy, after having the traditional punch and cookies and after having sung around the fire, I, with my sister, my mother and my aunts, and Emma Jackman and her son. For me as a reader to read this up front in this story shows me how meaning his family is to him. The plot of the story goes on to show the importance of being together as a family, especially around the holidays. Traditions come into the story as they were almost real to me, I felt like I was at home. The conflict of the story is told by the main Character, the young boy. The traditional family gathering, around the piano to sing Christmas carols, clinching tight to one another, Christmas in a cold and damp Missouri night. The young boy and his family go onto the midnight service. The main character is the young boy, the narrator explains this young man to be full of life at such an age. Many thoughts of love and care come from the boy’s mouth as he explains his mother, past and present times. He goes onto say how his mother has always put him first, far above anyone else. Next would be a minor character, his sister. His sister is a bit of the outcast, she seems to be distant to the family as she gets older and older. I think this is going to end up into some bad decisions and will hopefully she will realize how important family can be, what will see come to if there is no one else? Second there is the close family aunt who is there for the boy, his mother, and the sister. Treating them all, even the sister with equal love to them all. She is the one in the family I see being there for everyone at all times in such an important time as Christmas. Characters are not real people in this story, but they are constructed for a purpose, purpose of showing the reader of possibly placement. I put myself and my family into this story; it always seems to be so much more real from a reader’s eye. In this story the role of the main character performs importance of quality of life and family being together. The role of the setting in this story goes to show how the “cold damp Missouri Christmas eve night” is a heavy relation to almost any reader, here in Utah I could fit myself or anyone in so perfect. The character in this text definitely tells the story, partly the narrator. The story comes from such a strong point of view from the boys eye, going on telling how the importance of his mother, the rest of his family, Christmas, and the midnight service, comes to my eyes as it would be straight from the boys mouth. The language of the story is done very well, in a perfect understandable way, almost from someone I would know myself. The tone of the narrator is also a strong stand point in the story; it is a calm tone, which is good with the Christmas theme. One of the important images I see in this story is Christmas, one of the many reminders of family in this story. One of the sayings I recognized well in this story says “My spine arched toward trees and streets walking slowly breathing deep I moved down the sidewalk, eyes crystallizing streets yards houses and all lives within. My perception forked upward through treetops into the Vertical Fields of space, a moment later, I breathed vapor on the rear window and with my finger, and I signed my name”. A powerful ending to such a relating story.