I. A secret that is withheld from the reader, by the author, is at the very end of this short story. The author leaves the reader not knowing whether or not Gail and Will ever come together again. This is evident in the last line of the narrative. Gail writes Will a letter and sends it to him in a box she bought in the airport in Australia. The letter reads, "Now it's up to you to follow me" (189).
II. This secret is similar to that of the feelings in the relationship between Una and Ray in Blackbird. Una and Ray are both afraid to share their true feelings toward one another because of the possible rejection or the many other things that could go wrong. I think that the relationship between Gail and Will is similar in that after their divorce, their having feelings for each other would not be strange but is something that would be scary to admit, especially considering he left her for a much younger woman and moved to Australia.
III. I do not believe understanding this secret is significant to the understanding of the narrative because it is about love, and love is not always comprehensive. Their relationship throughout the story is somewhat secretive in that she speaks to him as someone else in their letters. We are not sure of his true reaction to this aside from that he knows it is her. This is when she flees back to Canada and writes him the letter. I think that it is important to understand that this ending is very open to the reader to determine because it is about something that may be reconcilable or it may not. It is the readers opinion of the relationship between Will and Gail that will finish the narrative, in my opinion. I think that Will does go after her...or maybe that's just the romantic ending I love to read.
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3 comments:
I agree with Alice that the book leaves you wondering what will happen next. Will Will write back to Gail or go find her. This secret reminds me of the end of The Road. At the end of The Road the reader wonders what happens to the boy when he leaves with the other people. Alice said secret is not critical to the reader and I agree because the secret helps the reader imagine what could happen. Also life is very unpredictable, so these secrets show that you never know what could happen next. The reader has no idea if the boy with survive but they have hope he will. Just like the reader hope that the love Gail has for Will can be filled in someway. Love like life is very unpredictable and I think the authors has shown that with leaving their books very open ended for the reader to fill in one possibility of what could happen.
I agree with Alice as well. It seems as if every story we read leaves us wondering what will happen next or what does that mean? I disagree though that the secret is not critical to the reader. Not that we need to know the answers to secrets during the story but knowing what an ending means would be nice. Not knowing what happens with the love Gail us for Will is unfilling for me as a reader. I can interpret it anyway I want but until the author tells me how it really ends I am left feeling empty.
I agree that the book leaves you hanging about what will happen between Will and Gail. It seems as if every story that we have read so far has left us wondering what is next. This secret also reminds me of The Road. We are unsure if the boy is with good people and is happy, just as we are unsure if Gail and Will will end up together. I don't really enjoy endings like this because it leaves me confused and unable to put the whole story together sometimes. Gail and Will's secret is about love, which makes it unpredictable of what could happen. Love takes it toll throughout life, and I have seen this through many of the stories we have read so far.
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