Reading The Light

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Recommended: Narrative of childhood

Reading The Light

The story that is most significant to me is “Reading the Light'; by Roger Pfingston. This story felt like it was written from the heart. It is filled with emotions, ones that the author caught in his story very well. Even though I could not empathize with Brian, I did feel sympathetic towards him. When David said to Brian, “Is it really such a surprise? I’m sure you know that your mother and I haven’t been the best of friends lately.'; (6), that was a shock to me. David did not seem to be sympathetic towards his son; instead he made it sound like it had happened and that there was nothing that could be done about it. At the end of the story, David, Maria and Brian went to the park where the author stated “The three of them stood huddled in the glare of ice and sun.'; (7) My heart sank. They just stood there accepting that their family was breaking up. I thought that Roger Pfingston wrote this story from his heart. I was able to put myself in Brian’s place and actually feel how I thought he would feel.
The story that stretched my imagination the most was “Charles'; by Shirley Jackson. Even though children have wild imaginations, it did not occur to me that a child in kindergarten would tell such an elaborate lie. When I looked back in the story, I found the spot where I think that Laurie first started to tell his lie. “The teacher spanked a boy, though, ... For being fresh'; was Laurie’s replay to his mother asking him what happened in school. “Laurie thought. “It was Charles';'; (14) When I reread this I thought that this was where Laurie decided to put on his act. I know that young children are capable of a lot of things, and some times they go unnoticed, like Laurie’s charade. This story seemed to be more like a fairy tale.
The Story that I think I will remember the longest is “Another April'; by Jesse Stuart. This story found a soft spot in my heart. I thought it was indescribable how much Grandpa enjoyed life. Grandpa was acting like an anxious little kid “Don’t get ’em, I won’t ketch cold.'; (37) Grandpa seemed to be filled with life. He waited every year to go out and be among the world.

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