Response to a Response

I just read a post by Eamon Callahan called Story Endings (click title for Eamon’s post). The post isn’t really about one book, It is about Eamon often rereads books that have sad endings. He then gives a few examples of these books and the tragic endings they have. He writes about how he might be always rereading them because he keeps hoping the ending will change even though he knows it wont. He writes that that is the difference between books and reality, we can change reality, but we can’t change the book.

The first reason I chose this was that I relate to it. I was recently rereading one of my favorite books, Nobody’s Princess (features in this blog). Unfortunately, I hate the ending. I never want the bad things to happen even though I know they will. This post has made me think more about why I keep rereading even though it annoys me. The thoughts in Eamon’s post also make me think about how in that particular book it is not that the ending sucks but that I would not make the same choice the main character did at the end of the book. I had no power over the ending and that bothered me. I kept hoping that if I read it one more time I would influence the main character’s choices.

            Another thing Eamon writes about briefly in his post is how part of the reason people love TV shows and books is because you never know what will happen and it leaves you on the edge of your seat. I think that Eamon could have expanded on this because it is a very interesting idea. However, he did not, so I will do it for him. I do agree with the initial idea Eamon has here, but there is more to it. I do not think it is just the fact that it leaves people on the edge of their seats that makes people like movies and books. There is, of course, the fact that they transport you to another world. I also think it is partly that they relieve you of responsibility for anything that happens in the book. You did not make the choice, the writer did, so you are not responsible for anything bad that happens. It allows for gilt free experiences. If the book of TV show is written well, we will be sad if something bad happens, but not guilty.

On the other side of why we like things, Eamon wrote about how people like video games because they give you complete control while still feeling safe. I again agree and will again expand on this interesting idea. This also relates to gilt. In video game you can go around shooting people and blowing things up without a pang of gilt because you know it is fake and no one has given the characters a personality, which would make them seem more real. Video games also allow us to do things otherwise impossible and try out things we know would be terrible ideas in real life.

Over all this was a great post. I think that a lot of the ideas he brought up were really interesting. After reading this post, I looked though some of Eamon’s older posts. This one was the best. It was also the longest. I think this is because in many of his other posts, Eamon touches on ideas then drops them. He even does some of that in this post. If Eamon were to elaborate a little more, all of his posts would be incredible.