review of belle starr and muse:wrecked

the second day of the class!

reading "the man who knew belle starr" was... kinda painful. i tried to figure out why i disliked the story so much... and i think it was these things that drove me crazy.

• belle starr didn't seem to be a believable character. though she lived for adventure and whatnot, i just couldn't comprehend any of her actions really. our discussion today in class really helped to enlighten me on her behavior. after i figured out why she acted the way she did, i was able to chip in to the conversation.
• i guess the characters themselves seemed rather flat. though mcrae could be considered a dynamic character since he underwent such a dramatic change in the story, i really disliked his characterization. 
• the plot was... mundane, with the little twist of belle starr being who she was. 
• details... bausch did a good job with them. he really did. i was able to picture everything as i read it. i still didn't like the story overall. 
• short clipped dialog. though that's how conversations go actually in real life, it still didn't quite come across that well for me. mcrae was scared, sure, but... i just didn't like it. maybe i don't like western stories?
• the ending. mcrae changed. but how he changed was completely unclear. bausch just made it seem like he just... changed. he wasn't mcrae anymore. but then who was he? and how did he change?

okay! those are all the points.

time for a short. inspired by lake adventures today. :) kinda. ish. along with just life in general. all involved know who they are.

muse:

the first thought through his mind was, "i'm going to die." he'd never thought that anyone could do this to him. he had gathered so many people around him, guarded himself with so many faces to keep the ship afloat. but one by one the masks dissolved, turning the boat into a single plank. and he was left drowning in a deep, cold,  bluish-gray ocean in the middle of nowhere, where no one would find him. "maybe she was right," he thought. "maybe i am just a shipwreck." and with that, the driftwood sank, leaving him to tread water. a few breathless moments later, and the voice continued filling his ears with the memory. "i don't think i have the capacity to deal with you." he covered his ears and let out a cry. he was really going to die. as the waves continued to pound relentlessly against his gradually tiring body, he made up his mind. gathering resolve, he held his breath, closed his eyes, and ducked beneath the waves. "because maybe," he thinks, "maybe she's better off without me."