“For the Family in the Car Passing By” is about Earl and Crystal and their three children and pet dog. For Christmas, the mom, Crystal, is gifted a kitten from her brother, much to Earl’s distaste. Earl makes comments throughout the story about getting rid of the cat, but when the cat is hit by a car at the end of the story, Earl is surprised at the feelings he experiences before he has to shoot the cat.
I think this story does a good job of depicting an “average” middle-class family. They go through everyday life: burning toast, going hunting and taking family photographs. The family photograph scene was my favorite, because it showed the family uniting together to get the photo and shopping for their upcoming family Christmas dinner. Adding the coupon was a nice touch, too. The part of the story where the family cleans the house reminded me a lot of my family when we have people over; everyone is trying to make the house look its best. I also liked how Earl went from being indifferent towards the cat to actually caring about it when he needed to shot it. I think that shows a positive change in Earl and shows he is more than some tough guy that goes hunting.
There were a lot of characters in this piece for it to be so short. I know you need to include everyone in the family, but the way the characters were introduced was a little overwhelming to me. The start of the story had me slightly confused, but it got back on track when the backstory of the family getting the cat started taking place. Earl is the only character in the story that seems to go through a change, which isn’t bad, but since the family itself is the main character of this piece, I think the family should have gone through something together. Maybe have a new family picture made with the cat before it dies? I’m not sure exactly what I would change.
No comments:
Post a Comment