¶ … Dubus's ordering of events in the story? how would the effects be different if the story were told in a chronological order?
It is important that Dubus begin the story with the recounting of Matt burying his son. There is something potent and symbolic about a parent burying a child who dies as a homicide victim. The reader is set up to expect that Matt will want revenge, or the reader will at least want to know how Matt is going to process the experience. At this point, the reader does not care about the killer's motives as much as knowing how Matt, the father, will behave.
Dubus orders events in a way that helps the reader sympathize with Matt. Parts of the story are in chronological order, enabling the reader to make sense of the events and their unfolding through time. However, the important issue is the emotional content of a man who lost his son. Introducing Strout and his point-of-view in the middle shows that it is Matt's perspective, not his, that matters.
If the story were told in an exactly chronological order as a journalist might have told it, then Matt could easily be depicted in a negative light. As it is, the reader feels more connected to Matt than to Strout. The reader knows Strout as the murderer who has been let off too easily. When Matt holds the gun to Strout's head, there is a sense of relief.
2-how well planned is Matt's revenge? why does he lie to Richard about sending him out west?
Matt's revenge is planned well enough that the reader knows what is going to happen. He has a gun, which is one sign. Dubus offers literary foreshadowing, too, as Steve, the older son, states, "I should kill him." The bulk of the story builds up to Matt's eventual murder. Although Dubus describes the revenge killing through Matt's eyes, as if he was in a dream state, it is clear that there was premeditation involved. After all, Matt and Willis had discussed the issue before. The reader has felt Matt's grief. At this point, the reader wants Matt to exact his revenge because the reader believes, as Matt does, that the justice system will fail. Matt lies to Richard about sending him out west because he is not a cold-blooded murderer. He is also somewhat cowardly, in the sense that the lie protects him from having to say what he had really wanted to say about the anger he feels.
1-how does your response...
Seeing Sourdi and Mr. Chhai through her eyes, Nea seems progressive, and the reader continually roots for her if the reader has progressive values. Although it seems that Nea is a static character, she is not. She simply sticks to her values, and comes to realize that she cannot depend on her sister in the way she had hoped. As a reader, I find Nea to be a fulfilling and inspiring hero. I also feel she is an ironic hero because she sees herself in the role of rescuing her sister, when it is usually the male task to rescue women or at least, the job of the older sister and not the younger one.
2-what is the effect of the story's being told from Nea's perspective? how might the story be different if it were told from the mothers point-of-view?
Telling the story from Nea's perspective is what makes "Saving Sourdi" as potent as it is. If the story were from the mother's perspective, the reader would have been bored hearing the static gender norms and expectations of daughters to conform to those norms. If the story were told from Sourdi's point-of-view, the same issues would arise. Nea, whose name is akin to "neo," for new, represents new and progressive value systems. Although she is proud of her traditional Asian heritage, she is also independent enough to force an identity that transcends patriarchal gender norms. She does so of her own accord, and is disturbed by Sourdi's ready and willing conformity.
1-discuss the story's point-of-view and its effect on you.
This is a story told from a baby's first person point-of-view. The effect is potent, not only because readers are not used to babies giving their perspectives, but also because the overarching imagery of war and the symbol of innocence represented by the narrator become powerful motifs.
2-what is the significance of the settings? why are they crucial to the plot?
Setting is crucial because the story is about wartime. It is about the end of innocence that wartime entails, and about the fact that warmongering and violence destroy innocence and goodness.
1-write a sentence that captures what you think is the story's theme. explain whether the theme is explicitly…
