Runaway by Alice Munro - Essay Example

Runaway by Alice Munro The story entitled “Runaway” written by Munro was initially expected to foretell an incident of an escape by one of the defining characters. Narrated initially from the point of view of a third person, a spectator unraveling the initial events – from Mrs. Sylvia Jamieson’s arrival; an antithetical action of the story’s title. The main characters, Carla and her spouse, Clark, tries to make a decent living from giving trail rides to school children, guests from summer camps or to regular customers seeking to enjoy an outdoor trip on a horseback. Carla’s concern for the lost Flora, their white goat, could have been the plot of the story where it not for more twisting revelations that include concocting a supposed molestation of Sylvia’s husband, the poet, Leon Jamieson for blackmail; and the controversial heightened emotions of affection by Sylvia for Carla. The remuneration of Carla on her life with Clark as a passively underachieving husband led her to abruptly decide to run away from him. The climax of the story was revealed through the confrontation of Clark to Sylvia at the middle of the night, amidst the apparent surreal vision of Flora cascading from the thick fog like a ghostly apparition. Did you like this short story? Personally, the story was captivating. Once I started reading, I wanted to find out how the story would evolve and how it would end. I liked it in a way that there is a unique way that Munro creatively puts unexpected details that entice the readers to continue reading. Consistent with Bruner’s feature of narrative diachronicity, the time by which events occurred were well structured and clear. The story started with Mrs. Jamieson’s arrival from a trip from Greece and the plot unfolded with events from their mobile home to going to Mrs. Jamieson’s house, prior to the runaway. Likewise, the feature of particularity, or the ability of the story to take reference to particular events was likewise manifested from narrating a rainy summer, the unrepaired roof, looking for Flora, cleaning up Sylvia’s house after her husband’s death, the conversation with Sylvia when Carla decided to runaway, and her return to Clark presented vivid illustrations of particularities. Did it stir any emotions in you? Munro was effective in stirring different emotions as readers are immersed in the story: anticipation, confusion, empathy, fear, anxiety, among others. There was anticipation to know what happened to Flora; empathy in terms of feeling the despair and hopelessness of a wife’s travails under the conditions Carla was in; anxiety as Carla was on the bus to Toronto with mixed feelings of confusion while she was reflecting on her future and the past with Clark; fear for Sylvia’s life when Clark confronted her in the middle of the night. Bruner’s feature of intentional state entailment indicates “narratives are about people acting in the setting, and the happenings that befall them must be relevant to their intentional states while so engaged – to their beliefs, desires, theories, values, and so on” (Bruner, 7). In Munro’s story, the feature is strongly manifested in the outcome of Carla’s runaway. Despite her intentions to escape from Clark out of despair and the perception of living a new life, her decision to return was based on her value and beliefs that she already left everything behind before for Clark and her life already revolve around him. She actually sees no future without him. Although not clearly and explicitly narrated that way, readers are left to interpret the meaning of Carla’s actions from the incidents in the story. Did you picture the setting and the characters in your head? The setting and characters, as vividly told, are envisioned by the readers due to the clarity by which the setting was illustrated and the way the characterization was depicted. The words were selected in such as way that they are not too verbose to make them complicated; nor too simple to render the story boring. The characters were effectively molded to the personalities and traits intended by the author. Bruner’s feature of hermeneutic composability could be understood as the holistic interpretation of the story where the outcome of events could not be interpreted solely on their occurrence but with due reference from other situations. Thereby, all literary elements of the theme, plot, characters, setting, symbols are crucial for the understanding of the story. Munro’s use of appropriate structure and words have effectively resulted in the appreciation of readers of Carla’s decision to return to Clark. Did you expect the events to evolve as they do? The outcome was really unexpected. It seemed that Carla, in her sad and lonely state, was ultimately seeking for an escape and a chance to live a new life. The manner by which Munro structure the story applied Bruner’s canonicity and breach where not all events were narrated in a sequential or logical manner. The time when Carla was reflecting from their mobile home after a heavy shower and Clark was apparently on the computer, the events initially led to Clark having fights with people, to dreaming about Flora, repairs of their mobile home, before reverting back to Flora being asked by Clark after posting a “Lost Goat notice on the Web” (Munro, 9). But each event had to be told to establish the character of Clark in an interesting manner. By using this feature, the climax of the story was totally unexpected, as the character of Clark was illustrated as an irresponsible war freak, who someone might decide to eventually be better off leaving. Did you feel for some of the characters? Did some of the characters make you angry? The character of Clark initially made me angry and actually more to be feared, especially during the confrontation with Sylvia. Apparently, Leon Jamieson’s assessment of Clark proved to be more realistic: that “the man was just unsure of himself, just a bit too friendly” (Munro, 37). The topic of the conversation with Sylvia that night validated Leon’s contention and proved that Clark was not a person to be feared; for this intentions were to return the clothes Carla borrowed and to remind Sylvia not to bother her again. The character of Sylvia was a bit confusing; especially when there were indications of her affections with her students and the possible amorous feelings she started to develop for Carla. Through referentiality, indicating some narrative truth to the genuine character of Clark, one is made to decide that there have been mistakes in assessing Clark’s character as predominantly irresponsible and abusive. Though it might appear that he does not appear to be interested in looking for Flora, the fact that he advertised the loss through the Web attest that his ways and manners are not showy but his intentions are good. Bruner’s feature of genericness is manifested in the story through the manner by which the story was told. As traditional as people tell stories, one gets to remember the past (as Carla reflected on leaving her family for Clark and how Sylvia remunerated on taking walks with Leon) as intermittently narrating future plans and prospects. Carla seemed to remember through flashback of memories with Clark that prompted her to retract her plan to runaway and leave him completely. The feature of normativeness in the story was exemplified by the surprise outcome of Carla’s runaway. Apart from providing a breach to a normal ending, the outcome would make the reader assess and interpret the rationale for Carla’s decision – making the plot effective and in conformity to the narrative feature. In terms of discussing the feature of context sensitivity and negotiability, I believe that the manner by which Sylvia was able to respond to the incident represents the ability to accept the outcome of her support to the aborted runaway. Despite being told to keep away from Carla, and despite her inner intentions to do so, it was appropriate through a letter sent to provide some explanation on the events that unfolded during the night of her encounter with Clark. Finally, Bruner’s narrative accrual, in a sense is the compilation of events in chronological fashion that eventually created a cause and effect scenario. This could be applied in the story treating the whole series of events that ultimately led to Carla’s realization that what she really needs in her life is what she currently has – and therefore she need not look further. Conclusion The story of Carla’s runaway can be interpreted as people could not realize really losing something or someone until one tries to detach oneself from the present situation one is in. When Carla was alone in the bus reflecting on what the future holds, she realizes that the feeling of being lost is more unbearable than the feelings she has living with Clark. In this regard, there is no other resort but to return to her place with him. Concurrently, Flora’s apparition of return while Sylvia and Clark where in heated argument provided the bond that restrained their anger and instead, as stated in Sylvia’s letter “there is a bond that springs up between them, and they find themselves united in the most unexpected way” (Munro, 45). The vision could be a metaphor for the runaway that both Flora and Carla have made for their own reasons, with realizations that their hearts were where their original home was. Works Cited Bruner, Jerome. “The Narrative Construction of Reality.” Critical Inquiry. 1991. Web. 29 May 2011. < http://www.semiootika.ee/sygiskool/tekstid/bruner.pdf> Munro, Alice. Runaway. Vintage Books, Random House, Inc. New York. 2004. Print. Read More