Journal 8 Favoritism: Travis Hearn

Out of all the authors we have read, I believe Flannery O'Connor would be one I may pursue. I like the story "Everything that Rises Must Converge" because it is not overly violent or hateful, and even though it is about racism it is approached in a much more civil way than "Where is the Voice Coming From?", and in a much more interesting way than the Craft narrative. O'Connor seems to be eloquent, can tell a story that is at once interesting, intelligent, and human, and can develop characters which I empathize with. In The Sunflower, I was off put because World War II is something I've been taught time and time again, and unfortunately my dislike for the material has carried itself into a dislike for the story format. The Craft narrative, while interesting and truthful, was a chore to read, not because I had an issue with the dialects and terms, but because I dislike heavy use of dialects. In my personal readings, dialects come up quite often, being a mainstay of foreign cultures in fantasy and science fiction. However, the characters that use them are secondary at best, with most of the story being free from their impediments. I much prefer a story to be told with words, than through words. The words themselves hold no meaning except for the idea they form when merged, so while dialects use words to show the reader something, I prefer ordinary words which explain something.

"The Man in the Well" carries within me an entirely different sort of hatred, one for character development. Again, my readings have exposed me to the character archetype of "the stupid kid that screws up and needs to be pulled out of the fire by the main character". The problem with "The Man in the Well", is that there is no main character to correct the kids, and they are all stupid. I don't have much faith in humanity, and children are the best expressions of the worst parts of us. Without a developed morality, they do whatever they want, and often times those things are horrible. I know I shouldn't judge an author for a single story, but I just cannot stand these stories to the point of being unable to continue with the author.