Garland and Handed

Both Hamlin Garland and Left Handed have an amazing attention to detail throughout their prose, shedding light on nuanced details to their own worlds and backgrounds that only they could describe.

I was impressed by how both writers were able to build a very linear narrative, in the sense that the larger revelations of their work are not just saved until the end, but act as the end destination of a very forward-driving prose. For instance, in Garland's piece, we are bombarded with a number of naturalist image of the farm he grew up on; it almost reads like a travel book the way it makes every detail describe seem newly discovered, as if he were a tourist in his own hometown. But the real marrow of the piece is reserved until the very end: "I doubt if the women - any of them - got out into the fields or meadows long enough to enjoy the birds and the breezes" (130). Garland elaborates on this idea a few lines later, describing his hard-working mother as one of these women stripped of their ability to enjoy the outdoors worked by man, and instead, relegated to a domestic life. The poignancy of this moment is developed through Garland compulsive attention to the outside world around him. Though a bit monotonous in tone, the preceding parts of the story detailing every bird and branch in front of him are validated by the story's conclusion.

In similar strides, Left Handed ends his piece with a pretty brutal description of courtship. The last paragraph begins with Left Handed describing the woman he did not take as his wife under the following justification: "I didn't do anything to her, so she didn't become my wife at all" (320). This type of violent ownership is in stark contrast to the description of hills, horses, and herds in previous sections of the stories; the story itself begins with an indication of leaving a woman by reaching the summit of a hill - there's no mention of harming, or possessing her, in any way. For this reason, it is interesting that the more honest moments of Left Handed's story arrive after a long description of the world around him, with an attention to detail that almost hides the fact that this is all a pursuit for companionship/love.

I also enjoyed how both authors gave themselves a chance to breathe and reflect on the very stories they were describing. The end of Left Handed's story begins with self-reflection on his past: "I knew things then; I just went along from there in a happy way. Before that, I almost choked-like, my breast filled with something" (320). This allowed me to understand why Left Handed repeated certain words or phrases over and over again, giving it a "choked-like" feeling symbolizing some type of great, inner turmoil.

In this same way, Garland begins the conclusion of his piece with, "As I write I am back in that marvellous time -" before describing his hometown of a farm all over again, but bookending this last description with a final reflection before describing the connection between the outdoors and his mother. Garland states, "At such times it seemed to me that we had reached the "sunset region" of our song, and that we were indeed 'lords of the soil'" (130). Before ending his piece with a contrast of female domestic life, Garland establishes his position in relation to the world around him, and allows us to feel as sorry as he does for any character that is not experiencing the natural world as described through his eyes. The fact that this person in question is his mother makes his piece that much more heartfelt.