Well Tracy... The person in the story(very "you" sounding) was very F.W. I believe that plays a part, but I also agree with C.S.H. that the story was about trust. Trust in yourself, and others. About the faith. You believe or convert without really knowing what lies ahead. Or below. But you must take the plunge or you'll never know what you're missing. However, all that is keeping you from falling is a thin line, yourself, your friends below you(in the faith), and the "man"(God, who thinks you are very cute and priceless in your helplessness). I also think that you intended for us to guess, and looked forward to the entertainment it would give you. (I know you take great pleasure in analysing people)
So those are my conclusions. I'm probably WAY off track, but then.... Only you can know. At least, until you deign to tell us.
Tracy means she wants a man who doesn't just catch her when she falls. She wants a man who makes her grow. She wants to be the heroine in that story and she wants her husband to be the one who makes her the heroine.
Tracy is trying to convey that repelling is a dangerous sport and should only be attempted after staying up all night at a Girl Party and drinking Starbucks coffee.
Obviously, Tracy's story is about breathing. Notice how she touches on death, which is the absence of breath;laughing, which is noisy breath; talking, which is sensible breath; huffing, which is shallow breath; and deep breaths, which are deep breaths.
Tracy is living through the notably anonymous heroine. She has a deep-seated need to be the center of attention, having had to share attention with multiplicitous siblings and very strange friends all her life. She was forgotten at a gas station bathroom while a young child, and there were pictures of rock climbing on the walls at that station. This experience scarred her for life and comes out in her writing.
What, you thought I was done? There is so much material in this one piece! So many issues!
For instance, take the line "My heart seemed to be at the base of my throat, and my breathing seemed to match the beating of it." This indicates that Tracy recently had a very bad Valentine's day, as evinced by the imagined placement of her heart. (The farther "down" the body it "goes", the more distant the experience).
The word "Trust" is often repeated throughout the piece. The fact that it is suggested she put her trust in so many male figures: "him", God, guardian angel (perhaps seen as male), means Tracy was terrorized by many male figures in her life.
The fact that the tension "half leaves", remaining in her neck, says Tracy is scared.
Obviously, Tracy has many issues with rocks, feeling she must conquer them and yet at the same time is too terrified to do so on her own. Not so obvious to the untrained eye is that she really is afraid of rocks. This may date back to some painful occasion when she was about 4 years and 7 months to 4 years and 8 months old (this being the exclusive period of time a human being can develop roccaphobia).
I'm tired. Requests on interpreting any further material welcome.
The prelude to the story is correct. It is not a story about Tracy but rather her tendency to undergo subtle but significant changes between moods and emotions, which increase her complexity and ambiguity.
In creating the characters, the author does not provide all the answers explicitly, but includes enough for the reader to put together the characters and fully understand the speeches, actions and motivations.
The story opens with the man of her dreams possessing some influence over T, albeit with her own consent. He is encouraging her to do what is against anybody’s instinct to do- leap from a 40-foot high cliff. It is here that we see through symbolism the doubt in T’s mind as to whether this is the man of her dreams or indeed whether such a man exists. She is looking down on him and he is far away. Meanwhile, she is testing him with gruesome images of a potential plunge to the bottom, and displays mixed rates of satisfaction at his answers.
Although the account is narrated in a droll manner, the presence of a high cliff and a rope brings home the real disposition of the main character. T is in a purgatorial state if not worse. She is dissipating the energy that she would normally direct toward finding Mr. Perfect (whom she is realising may not exist) into testing Mr. Jimmy-Come-Lately, the next best thing she can find. A crossroads has been reached in T’s life. Will she continue her futile search for Mr. Right or will she bring things to a head by choosing the man in whose hands her life now lies? That she is at a crossroads is clear by the extreme interest shown by the other characters in the story. They are witnessing an extraordinary feat, well out of T’s normal way of operating. Patterns have been broken at the risk of broken bones.
T is a nurturant and loving person as we see from the responses of the onlookers. Only a deceitful woman can arouse strong responses and violent reactions in other people- reactions, which are not present. Yet she fears the potential decay of her mind, which she feels is approaching on account of the gorge between her ideals and the reality of life. The ideal had been described to her from a young age but life had blatantly contradicted that ideal. She has wanted to confront the problem for some time and despite her nerves at the cliff top, would bring this confrontation to a conclusion one way or another.
She fears that the dichotomy will cause a sickness for life and a longing for death. This futile search for Mr. Perfect will bring bewildered horror, then loathing, then despair of human nature if a compromise cannot be found. T is never seen in the story inducing anyone to do anything at all monstrous. She has been suppressing everything inside her, so that one senses a volcano under her superficial poise. If something goes wrong on this descent, her sense of betrayal would be further fed, leading to deadly consequences. Her experiences lead her to attack, not the brevity of men’s love, but life and her own expectations of life. In a word, Guilt. T’s fighting soul results from an awakening sense of guilt aroused from the conflict between her persistent search and her failure to find. She blames herself for this inner discord.
Tracy’s only mildly critical comments are in response to the verbosity of the man. Yet she decides to trust him bringing the story to a happy conclusion. T demonstrates her perspicuity by intuitively and correctly analyzing her situation and by responding- but in a navigable mode. She has allowed herself to compromise, and having compromised once, is willing to compromise again. The second compromise is never as bad as the first. The problems have been identified in her mind and a solution, known to her alone, has been found.
Yet with all the inner turmoil that led to this new dawn, this new understanding of the relationship between the ideal and life, her own words and actions compel one to describe Tracy as merely a quiet, biddable, careful woman, no different from before, but for her little adventure on the cliff. Little do we know what goes on in another’s head! “It had been worth it”.
Wow, Tracy, wasn't that fun to ready? When you get a chance, will you please send me a text msg? I was going to send you a really long one lastnight, and it didn't work. so send me one, and I'll try to send you the one I had for you. It was a cute story I was going to tell you about. Maybe I'll just call you. :)
You'll never get her to tell us. It's like I said, she just WANTS us to guess so she can analyse our response and laugh at us. What more could it possibly be? Aside from a typical Tracy moment with a certain brother of mine. Which is what I thought origionally, but I don't believe Tracy has ever gone repelling at all. Maybe it's what she IMAGINES it would be like if she ever went repelling. Hmmmm.....
Shelley, I like your answers. They are amusing. I like analysing them. ;)
Christa, you've been doing very well with all of your interpretations! Regardless of what our new friend Sarah says, it wasn't the cell-phone bit, though I wish I had thought of it, too.
You do get a prize, Christa. You get my first tri-annual Blogger Award for Most Interpretations for a Tracy Story. Congratulations!
16 comments:
Nope. I'm not going to tell unless someone else knows....
Well Tracy... The person in the story(very "you" sounding) was very F.W. I believe that plays a part, but I also agree with C.S.H. that the story was about trust. Trust in yourself, and others. About the faith. You believe or convert without really knowing what lies ahead. Or below. But you must take the plunge or you'll never know what you're missing. However, all that is keeping you from falling is a thin line, yourself, your friends below you(in the faith), and the "man"(God, who thinks you are very cute and priceless in your helplessness).
I also think that you intended for us to guess, and looked forward to the entertainment it would give you. (I know you take great pleasure in analysing people)
So those are my conclusions. I'm probably WAY off track, but then.... Only you can know. At least, until you deign to tell us.
Yours in Christ,
Shelley
I know what Tracy means.
Tracy means she wants a man who doesn't just catch her when she falls. She wants a man who makes her grow. She wants to be the heroine in that story and she wants her husband to be the one who makes her the heroine.
Actually that sounds illegal, but nevermind.
Tracy is trying to convey that repelling is a dangerous sport and should only be attempted after staying up all night at a Girl Party and drinking Starbucks coffee.
Obviously, Tracy's story is about breathing. Notice how she touches on death, which is the absence of breath;laughing, which is noisy breath; talking, which is sensible breath; huffing, which is shallow breath; and deep breaths, which are deep breaths.
Tracy is living through the notably anonymous heroine. She has a deep-seated need to be the center of attention, having had to share attention with multiplicitous siblings and very strange friends all her life. She was forgotten at a gas station bathroom while a young child, and there were pictures of rock climbing on the walls at that station. This experience scarred her for life and comes out in her writing.
What, you thought I was done? There is so much material in this one piece! So many issues!
For instance, take the line "My heart seemed to be at the base of my throat, and my breathing seemed to match the beating of it." This indicates that Tracy recently had a very bad Valentine's day, as evinced by the imagined placement of her heart. (The farther "down" the body it "goes", the more distant the experience).
The word "Trust" is often repeated throughout the piece. The fact that it is suggested she put her trust in so many male figures: "him", God, guardian angel (perhaps seen as male), means Tracy was terrorized by many male figures in her life.
The fact that the tension "half leaves", remaining in her neck, says Tracy is scared.
Obviously, Tracy has many issues with rocks, feeling she must conquer them and yet at the same time is too terrified to do so on her own. Not so obvious to the untrained eye is that she really is afraid of rocks. This may date back to some painful occasion when she was about 4 years and 7 months to 4 years and 8 months old (this being the exclusive period of time a human being can develop roccaphobia).
I'm tired. Requests on interpreting any further material welcome.
Yes, of course.
The prelude to the story is correct.
It is not a story about Tracy but rather her tendency to undergo subtle but significant changes between moods and emotions, which increase her complexity and ambiguity.
In creating the characters, the author does not provide all the answers explicitly, but includes enough for the reader to put together the characters and fully understand the speeches, actions and motivations.
The story opens with the man of her dreams possessing some influence over T, albeit with her own consent. He is encouraging her to do what is against anybody’s instinct to do- leap from a 40-foot high cliff. It is here that we see through symbolism the doubt in T’s mind as to whether this is the man of her dreams or indeed whether such a man exists. She is looking down on him and he is far away. Meanwhile, she is testing him with gruesome images of a potential plunge to the bottom, and displays mixed rates of satisfaction at his answers.
Although the account is narrated in a droll manner, the presence of a high cliff and a rope brings home the real disposition of the main character. T is in a purgatorial state if not worse. She is dissipating the energy that she would normally direct toward finding Mr. Perfect (whom she is realising may not exist) into testing Mr. Jimmy-Come-Lately, the next best thing she can find. A crossroads has been reached in T’s life. Will she continue her futile search for Mr. Right or will she bring things to a head by choosing the man in whose hands her life now lies? That she is at a crossroads is clear by the extreme interest shown by the other characters in the story. They are witnessing an extraordinary feat, well out of T’s normal way of operating. Patterns have been broken at the risk of broken bones.
T is a nurturant and loving person as we see from the responses of the onlookers. Only a deceitful woman can arouse strong responses and violent reactions in other people- reactions, which are not present. Yet she fears the potential decay of her mind, which she feels is approaching on account of the gorge between her ideals and the reality of life. The ideal had been described to her from a young age but life had blatantly contradicted that ideal. She has wanted to confront the problem for some time and despite her nerves at the cliff top, would bring this confrontation to a conclusion one way or another.
She fears that the dichotomy will cause a sickness for life and a longing for death. This futile search for Mr. Perfect will bring bewildered horror, then loathing, then despair of human nature if a compromise cannot be found. T is never seen in the story inducing anyone to do anything at all monstrous. She has been suppressing everything inside her, so that one senses a volcano under her superficial poise. If something goes wrong on this descent, her sense of betrayal would be further fed, leading to deadly consequences. Her experiences lead her to attack, not the brevity of men’s love, but life and her own expectations of life. In a word, Guilt. T’s fighting soul results from an awakening sense of guilt aroused from the conflict between her persistent search and her failure to find. She blames herself for this inner discord.
Tracy’s only mildly critical comments are in response to the verbosity of the man. Yet she decides to trust him bringing the story to a happy conclusion. T demonstrates her perspicuity by intuitively and correctly analyzing her situation and by responding- but in a navigable mode. She has allowed herself to compromise, and having compromised once, is willing to compromise again. The second compromise is never as bad as the first. The problems have been identified in her mind and a solution, known to her alone, has been found.
Yet with all the inner turmoil that led to this new dawn, this new understanding of the relationship between the ideal and life, her own words and actions compel one to describe Tracy as merely a quiet, biddable, careful woman, no different from before, but for her little adventure on the cliff. Little do we know what goes on in another’s head! “It had been worth it”.
Wow, Tracy, wasn't that fun to ready?
When you get a chance, will you please send me a text msg?
I was going to send you a really long one lastnight, and it didn't work. so send me one, and I'll try to send you the one I had for you. It was a cute story I was going to tell you about.
Maybe I'll just call you. :)
Marcy
Umm, yeah, I mean *Read* not ready. :)
Think I'm handsome?
what a bunch of crap...all you have is a 21 year old girl acting...21....
this isn't quantum physics...it's 1+1=2.....
jake
Wow--all of these good thoughts! Great input, y'all!
Still haven't gotten it, though....
Jake, your thought was the best. You are way off, but hey...good try!
;)
Anyone else?
You'll never get her to tell us. It's like I said, she just WANTS us to guess so she can analyse our response and laugh at us. What more could it possibly be? Aside from a typical Tracy moment with a certain brother of mine. Which is what I thought origionally, but I don't believe Tracy has ever gone repelling at all. Maybe it's what she IMAGINES it would be like if she ever went repelling. Hmmmm.....
Shelley, I like your answers. They are amusing. I like analysing them. ;)
Christa, you've been doing very well with all of your interpretations! Regardless of what our new friend Sarah says, it wasn't the cell-phone bit, though I wish I had thought of it, too.
You do get a prize, Christa. You get my first tri-annual Blogger Award for Most Interpretations for a Tracy Story. Congratulations!
My interpretation is the correct one.
Denial is the first sign of a correct interpreatation.
The prize which accompanies the tri-annual Blogger Award for Most Interpretations for a Tracy Story is……………
Me. Surprise :-)
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