The Caves in Oregon

gone out. He walks into the kitchen to find “the refrigerator bleeds.” Blood has oozed out, and onto the floor due to the excess amount of, now unfrozen, meat stored in it. At that moment, his wife, Becca, arrives home and immediately becomes angry at the scene she finds, crying out “I hate this house” and snapping at Kevin. The narrator goes on to explain that a “lava cave” runs under the town, and occasionally, the caves collapse, taking the electricity- and peaceful mind state of the characters- with it. The narration goes back a year ago, when the characters first got married, explaining their happy life together that has begun to deteriorate as their house does. Before, the couple loved the excitement of the wild life where they lived, but then they found out they were going to have a baby. One day, when Becca was four months pregnant, she and Kevin were sitting in the living room when they heard a scratching at the window. Kevin went to go see what it was, opening the door to a swarm of bats. They all flew into the house, creating a scene of chaos that lasted thirty seconds before they flew out once more, but the next day Becca woke up with cramps and lost the baby. The miscarriage had nothing to do with the bats, but they presented a bad omen and a turning point in Becca and Kevin’s relationship that began to be very cold.  

The description at the beginning of the story of the meat in the refrigerator was very graphic, describing the dripping blood as, “Little droplets gathering there, swelling fatly, and then, too heavy, they break from their purchase and race for the floor.” The description of this scene creates a juxtaposition to the more placid way he tells of the miscarriage, “she delivered, with a rush of blood, the baby that looked like a baby, a little girl, only too small,” simply stating what happened as opposed to going too in-depth as was done with the kitchen scene. This reversal of descriptions is an interesting technique. A miscarriage is thought to be more violent, but by already injecting a rudy scene into the readers head before any mention of it, the author is able to keep the emotionally lauded scene about the miscarriage more clean, not having to go into graphics, making it more bearable to read while still evoking the main ideas. 

The Woods

The story starts with the narrator, Justin, and his father in the woods. Justin is twelve at the time. They stop a mule deer tangled in the barbed wire fence. The animal is still alive at this point. However, the father insists that his son to kill the deer. The image of Justin killing the deer greatly haunts him throughout his life. It causes him to hate his father, the woods and hunting. However, when the father calls and asks the son to go hunting, the son agrees. The two men go into the woods with the father’s dog named Boo. Justin feels a little bit of resentment towards the dog because his father is paying more attention to the dog than to him. Boo then finds a body in the woods. From the site of the body, it is apparent that the body has been there a very long time. Justin wants to go and immediately get help and contact the police. However, Justin’s father puts it off until the next day. That night Justin hears sounds in the woods. However, he does not say anything, and internalizes his fear. The next day, the two men find another (newer)dead body. They decide that it is time to head home. Boo then runs across the river and disappears. Justin and his father then return to camp, only to find it tattered and destroyed. Justin begs to leave but his father will not leave without the dog. They find the a dog collar and blood in the woods. Justin suggests that it is Bigfoot that is lurking in the forest. The two men leave the woods scarred, but get away unscathed. 

The character development in this story is really strong. Justin's relationship with his father really grows throughout the short story. This is seen best when the father decides not to shoot the mule deer (this is towards the end of the story). The author paints such a clear image of the characters thoughts and actions, and, in addition, adds many sensory details. The story is told in Justin’s perceptive and in such a way that it appears as if he is telling you the story out loud. An example of the way he almost speaks to the reader can be seen when he says, “Have you ever noticed, when you lay your head to your pillow and listen- really listen- you can hear footsteps? This is your pulse, the veins in your ear swelling and constricting, slightly shifting against the cotton” (52).  Some of the strong character description is evidenced in the following quote, “Whereas I- with my freshly deodorized armpits, and my $100 safari jacket with Velcro compartments and all sorts of zippers and buttons........ did not feel nearly as comfortable (54).” This quote is so strong because in the sentence prior, it is contrasted with the father being, “natural and fearless” (54).  

The Woods

The story starts with the narrator, Justin, and his father in the woods. Justin is twelve at the time. They stop a mule deer tangled in the barbed wire fence. The animal is still alive at this point. However, the father insists that his son to kill the deer. The image of Justin killing the deer greatly haunts him throughout his life. It causes him to hate his father, the woods and hunting. However, when the father calls and asks the son to go hunting, the son agrees. The two men go into the woods with the father’s dog named Boo. Justin feels a little bit of resentment towards the dog because his father is paying more attention to the dog than to him. Boo then finds a body in the woods. From the site of the body, it is apparent that the body has been there a very long time. Justin wants to go and immediately get help and contact the police. However, Justin’s father puts it off until the next day. That night Justin hears sounds in the woods. However, he does not say anything, and internalizes his fear. The next day, the two men find another (newer)dead body. They decide that it is time to head home. Boo then runs across the river and disappears. Justin and his father then return to camp, only to find it tattered and destroyed. Justin begs to leave but his father will not leave without the dog. They find the a dog collar and blood in the woods. Justin suggests that it is Bigfoot that is lurking in the forest. The two men leave the woods scarred, but get away unscathed. 

The character development in this story is really strong. Justin and his father’s relationship really grows throughout the short story. This is seen best when the father decides not to shoot the mule deer (this is towards the end of the story). The author paints such a clear image of the characters thoughts and actions, and, in addition, adds many sensory details. The story is told in Justin’s perceptive and in such a way that it appears as if he is telling you the story out loud. An example of the way he almost speaks to the reader can be seen when he says, “Have you ever noticed, when you lay your head to your pillow and listen- really listen- you can hear footsteps? This is your pulse, the veins in your ear swelling and constricting, slightly shifting against the cotton” (52).  Some of the strong character description is evidenced in the following quote, “Whereas I- with my freshly deodorized armpits, and my $100 safari jacket with Velcro compartments and all sorts of zippers and buttons........ did not feel nearly as comfortable (54).” This quote is so strong because in the sentence prior, it is contrasted with the father being, “natural and fearless” (54).