Close Reading of 'Story' by Lydia Davis

Thesis Statement:

Truth is paramount in life and not knowing the truth can create complications of a great extent.

Introduction

The character in the story is insecure about the relationship with a man who is still friends with an old girlfriend. The entire story revolves around the woman's insecurities, especially the end where the woman has questions that need to be answered, “Maybe the truth does not matter, but I want to know it if only so that I can come to some conclusions about such questions as: whether he is angry at me or not; if he is, then how angry; whether he still loves her or not; if he does, then how much; whether he loves me or not; how much; how capable he is of deceiving me in the act and after the act in the telling” (Davis, 1986, pp. 01). The woman is in a relationship with a man other than her husband. However, she relates some incidents with her husband. The insecurity is due to the fact that the man she is seeing is still friends with an old girlfriend. The woman wants to know the answers to certain questions toward the end where the paramount thing is truth.

Discussion

Language, Tone and Structure

The language used in the story is like a chain on thoughts in a person's mind. There is excessive use of commas and run-on sentences, which depicts the trail of thoughts in one's mind. When a person is thinking about something, there is a shower of thoughts/assumptions that take place in the mind. The author has used simple language, and the entire text if written as if the person in the story is in a hurry. The structure of the story is similar to the trail of thought in one's mind. ...