The Blanket is a story about two lovers who enjoys wild sex, but is uncertain if they are willing to spend the rest of their lives together. The relationship they share is that which is built nothing more but lust. In the end, the couple figured out their feelings for each other, the blanket of Valerie serves as symbolism of their union. I have to say that this story surprised me; the title did not foreshadow the erotic nature of its plot, or rather the detailed descriptions of the author. The story has a lot of lines that are very poetic, usually with a theme of one lover comforting the other.
Of all these poetic lines, one line stands out for me. He imagined scooping up sleeping Valerie and putting her in the middle of his thoughts. In choosing a line from a story, I always look for the line that pretty much sums up the whole story. If that is not possible, I choose the lines which have the most appeal to me. The other factors that I look for are: the line’s aesthetic value, if the line is nice to read, use of sound devices. Next is the line’s symbolic meaning, almost all creative forms of literature has some sort of symbolic meaning that means more than it actually appears.
Another is the lines use of images, how the lines make my imagination work. How the line summarizes the story This line does not exactly sum up the entire story, in fact its just half of it. It does not show the rough sexual relations that happened to Valerie and Michael and the conflict that resulted from it. It just shows how Michael felt about Valerie despite their weird relationship. I also chose this line because, as corny as it sounds, it’s a romantic line usually found on stories with less sexual content. Aesthetic Value
The Term Paper on Nine Stories
For those like me who couldn't find any insightful analyses about this collection on the Internet: You're welcome. I have finally figured out what this is about (I think). So the fancy book club met a couple weeks ago to discuss Nine Stories by JD Salinger. Much despair was had because of our varied and confused insights into Salinger's stories. Was Seymour a pedophile? What's up with the random ...
It may not mean much, but how the words used sounds to illustrate a scene in the story. Techniques like alliteration and rhyme are usually what I am looking for. The author may have not intended for that value to exist (they are usually attributed to poems) but it did anyway. ‘Scooping’ and ‘sleeping’ are not only alliterated words but also rhyming words, ‘putting’ in addition, rhymes as well. Symbolic Meaning This line might mean that Michael would save (scoop) the sleeping Valerie in keep her in a place (inside his thoughts) away from the things that can harm her.
Valerie told stories of her horrible past, how she got raped and beat up. It is one of the reasons why she cried during one of their intimate moments. She cried because she was reminded of this dark past. She felt vulnerable, especially after the bad joke that Michael put on her. After that event, Michael realized what he has done, and felt it was time that their relationship turn serious. Imagery Lines that have clear images of action are always effective; they make the reader’s imagination work.
The image of a Valerie being scooped up by Michael in her sleep makes me think of a fantasy inspired music video, a damsel in distress being saved by a hero. Or a man just dreaming of her girl in her sleep, and being contented by just that mere sight. Conclusion He imagined scooping up sleeping Valerie and putting her in the middle of his thoughts. – Seriously, you can’t find any other line in the story that can match this line’s aesthetic, visual, and symbolic meaning. The line is like taken straight out of a Nicholas Sparks novel.
