The Humanity of Resistance
I felt the most drawn towards the story
"Endangered Animals" by Kathryn Harlan. The setting of
this short story is bleak; California is burning down, and animals are
being driven to extinction. Earth is becoming a planet alien to humanity. In
the midst of this chaos, Harry and Jane are going on a final road trip to bring
Harry's belongings to her new apartment in Ann Arbor, both of them know that
this may be the last time they see each other, considering Jane
is staying back home to finish her undergrad in California. There is a delicacy
to the unsaid in this story; both women know that this trip could mark the
beginning of their drifting apart, but neither is willing to admit that to the
other. By saying the words out loud, they would make the finality of it all
feel more concrete and inevitable, so they don't say anything at all. It's this
quiet defiance of fate that makes the story feel more human to me, and what led
me to choose "Endangered Animals" as my favorite short story for this unit.
All of my most beloved stories have a primary focus on the character work, how every person evolves and interacts with others. "Endangered Animals" does a fantastic job of displaying characters that are heavily flawed but still compelling to follow and read about. The relationship between Jane and Harry is one that consistently breaks apart and comes together again. They are, as people, constantly shifting and drifting apart before once again colliding. There is an everlasting feeling in their relationship in the sense that it feels as if they’re always meant to come back together, even if they break up again. Their relationship doesn’t feel entirely healthy, but at the same time, Jane and Harry also portray this hopefulness of a future that at times feels impossible and yet is consistently proven to be an option if they just try to reach for it. This hopeful tone is only supported and enhanced by the setting of the story. In a world where global warming is at an all-time high and it’s uncertain whether birthing a new generation onto the Earth is a reasonable possibility, Jane dreams of starting a family with Harry. Jane witnesses the melting of the glaciers in Glacier Park and sees how soon they will disappear altogether, and is still able to imagine, despite that, a world where her children can go to the park and nevertheless find it beautiful.
The refusal to simply accept a doomed fate is what makes “Endangered Animals” stick out to me. There is this incredibly human desire to hope and dream throughout the story that really invested me in the world and its inhabitants. There is a subversion of a predetermined future and a consistent desire for a better tomorrow. In their own ways, Jane and Harry fight against what’s expected of them; their resistance is quiet, shown in their thoughts and their moments of silence. Rather than a loud rebellion, I find this kind of defiance more compelling. It feels more reflective of the small actions people take every day to continue on the path they hope for. There is a tenderness to “Endangered Animals” that allows me to view the characters as what they are- human, nothing more, nothing less.
Hearing you and Noor discuss this story, and the level fo depth you were able to read into it amazed me. The level of detail you were able to unpack was amazing to see, both in the sense of seeing an analyst, and that that care level of care could be—and was—taken in the first place. This essay carries that same feeling, and uses simply gorgeous prose to do it. You highlight a tenderness in Endagered Animals, and in the same way, I think your writing has it's own tenderness. I know you mentioned that there was a story you were thinking of submitting to a few places, and I hope that you succeed there and get published.
ReplyDeleteHave a good last few days of class!
Ceyda, this is an eye-opening blog post. The amount of care you took in your analysis, and all the details and nuances that you were able to bring to light, is awe-inspiring. I do agree that there is a tenderness and complexity to 'Endangered Animals' that makes the characters oddly relatable and 'real'. In a world of environmental collapse, most stories depict the people living as heartless and cruel due to the bleak future they are anticipating--so it is interesting to see the author's choice in having more emotionally intimate characters.
ReplyDeleteThis person commenting as unknown is Ms. Walden. And first, I am so impressed with the care with which you read each other's blog post. Ceyda, I'm really going back to the sentence "By saying the words out loud, they would make the finality of it all feel more concrete and inevitable, so they don't say anything at all" and how that might reverberate to how we deal with climate disruption and why we don't ring more alarm bells.
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