They'Re a Little Dysfunctional, Don't Ya Know?
They’re a Little Dysfunctional, Don’t Ya Know? How many people do you know that aren’t a little weird? None. Every single person on this planet has weird quirks. And some people are just plain fucked up. Two great examples of these traits are the people in the two stories I read. First, is Rose from Silver Water, she’s the one that I am going to describe as fucked up. In other words, she is clinically insane. The second is First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. He’s saner than Rose, but he’s strange. All in all, I would characterize both characters as dysfunctional. Like I said, everyone has at least a little dysfunction in their lives, as do Rose and Jimmy Cross. Having some dysfunction is normal and is a part of everyday life whether we like it or not. Dysfunction is a large part in Silver Water by Amy Bloom as it describes how Rose’s illness affects those around her, especially her family. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is also focused on dysfunction because in my opinion, serving in a combat position in the army can cause a person to be screwed up. In this essay, I will describe the similarities and differences in Rose and Jimmy Cross’s dysfunction. First I will start with Rose. The short story Silver Water by Amy Bloom tells of Rose, a teenager, who has a sudden psychotic break and battles schizophrenia for about ten years before finally killing herself. The story is told through the eyes of Rose’s younger sister Violet who tells of her family’s heartbreaking struggle to deal with Rose’s illness. Her psychosis comes after a three week span of being strangely moody and hiding in the woods until her mother would come out to get her. Violet gives a description of the break at the beginning of the story,
“She had her first psychotic break when she was fifteen. She had been coming home moody and tearful, then quietly beaming, then she stopped coming home. She would go out into the woods behind our house and not come in until my mother would go out at dusk, and
“She had her first psychotic break when she was fifteen. She had been coming home moody and tearful, then quietly beaming, then she stopped coming home. She would go out into the woods behind our house and not come in until my mother would go out at dusk, and
Cited: Bloom, Amy. "Silver Water." 1992. The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction 50 North American Stories since 1970. Ed. Lex Williford and Michael Martone. Revised and Updated 2nd ed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007. 72-79. Print. O 'Brien, Tim. "The Things They Carried." 1990. The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction 50 North American Stories Since 1970. Ed. Lex Williford and Michael Martone. Revised and Updated 2nd ed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007. 469-83. Print.