{"content":{"sharePage":{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"27872983","dateCreated":"1285969989","smartDate":"Oct 1, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"ellagicacid","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/ellagicacid","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1343664898\/ellagicacid-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27872983"},"dateDigested":1531973889,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Tuesay Night","description":"Ella Nugent
\nTuesday Night Minimalism Response
\nWiki Question # 6
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\nThe short story "Tuesday Night" by Ann Beattie could be considered minimalist because of its multiple minimalist qualities. Some of its minimalist qualities are the description of trivial events with a larger underlying problem\/conflict that is not fully explained or given to us and the characters are shown to us through action rather than emotion and those actions are described bluntly, without any adverbs or extra details.
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\nThe whole story is made up of tons of tiny, trivial events which are explained to us more fully than the real underlying conflict: her marriage. "I made a long-distance call to a friend in California who has just had a baby. We talked about the spidery little veins in her thighs\u2026" (pg 342); "I made a piecrust, putting the dough in the sink and rolling it out there\u2026" (pg 342); "\u2026. and he leaves me to fit the towering avocado into the Audi" (pg 341); \u201cWe select a paper with yellow bears standing in concentric circles.\u201d (pg 341). She tells us about these little things that she does on her Tuesday nights and describes the spidery little veins of her friend\u2019s thighs. She describes everything from the hassle of fitting the plant into the car, to the piecrust she makes, to the milkshake she drinks, to the pattern of the paper they pick out, to the music her daughter dances to and yet the only thing she mentions about her marriage is that her husband "keeps saying that our relationship is going sour" (pg 342). As well as the description of the tiny events, she never gives us any emotion and instead uses actions to describe what she is feeling. "Then I took off all my clothes and looked in the hall mirror and decided to go on a diet, so I skipped dinner." (pg 342). The author does not tell us what the character is feeling when she looks in the mirror and yet it is made clear to us (through her actions\/decisions) that she was not pleased or happy with what she saw. When she burns the piecrust she was making, it never gives us a peek into her thoughts or emotions and only tells us that she "got depressed and drank a Drambuie". It never explains whatever she was thinking or feeling and instead leaves us to assume and infer that maybe something bigger is going on. Along with her marriage, we are also left to assume that things are going badly without her ever telling us how she is feeling. The very fact that she needs a Tuesday night on her own is an indication that things aren't going too well and with the piecrust, we can infer that she may not be depressed so much about the piecrust but about her marriage because nobody should get that depressed about a little burnt crust. A lot of things about her marriage have been left out and we are left to infer from the little things she does on her own on her Tuesday nights. This style of writing, in my opinion, is stronger because although the author does not say it outright, it is still crystal clear that the couple is having trouble with their marriage and that the main character is depressed. This way, the author is showing and not telling and it is altogether more impactful.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"27953543","body":"Thanks Ella,
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\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286214624","smartDate":"Oct 4, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"27868871","dateCreated":"1285963342","smartDate":"Oct 1, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"marinacoccaro","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/marinacoccaro","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27868871"},"dateDigested":1531973889,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"minimalism","description":"The story \u201cTuesday Night\u201d by Ann Beattie is a clear example of minimalistic writing, since only the actions of the characters are described, other than their feelings and thoughts. Us readers can sense a lack of expressions from the characters. Authors tend to rely on this type of writing when they want to keep something away from the understanding of the readers, and build up a feeling of suspense. \u201cGlaring at them, I went into the kitchen and took the mousetraps out of their cellophane packages. I stared at them with tears in my eyes. I didn\u00b4t know how to set them. Dan and Henry had made me seem like a cold-blooded killer,\u201d (page 343). Even though it\u2019s pretty obvious how the mother is feeling, there is an absence of expressions provided by the author. \u201cThen I took off all of my clothes and looked in the hall mirror and decided to go on a diet, so I skipped dinner.\u201d (Page 342). The ideas are easily presented, but in the other hand, their reasoning is not. When the women looks at the hall mirror and decides to skip dinner, we can assume that she is not satisfied with her image and probably thinks of herself as a fat lady. Since no adjectives are used, it\u2019s hard to picture images like this in our minds. It seems the author is willing for us to fill in the blanks of the story with our own imagination. In order for us to predict what\u2019s the reason for the actions performed by the characters, focusing in each small detail and interpreting every little action is extremely necessary. \u201c\u2026I made a piecrust, putting dough in the sink and rolling it out there, which made a lot of sense but which I would never let anybody see me doing. Then I read Vogue. Later on, I took out the yoga book I had bought that afternoon and put it in my plastic cookbook holder and put it down on the floor and stared at it as I tried to get into the postures,\u201d (page 342). Even though her actions are carefully written, they are partially vague at the same time. When the lady remembered what Henry used to say about marriage, she quickly realized that the trees which leaves were falling represented autumn, which means that things are beginning to die and fall apart. As a reader, I could predict that she would get a divorce from Dan since she was comparing the conversation she had with her ex husband about divorce with her recent one. Also, when Dan forbids their daughter to put red food colorant in heart shaped cookies she was baking to school can be interpreted that the love in the house was slowly dying. Dan can\u2019t express his love and affection no longer. Minimalistic gives a better result in short stories or poems, since when used in novels they turn the story boring and monotonous due to the little amount of descriptions.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"27870107","body":"Thanks Marina,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1285965187","smartDate":"Oct 1, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"27834975","dateCreated":"1285908739","smartDate":"Sep 30, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"cecyrodriguez","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/cecyrodriguez","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27834975"},"dateDigested":1531973889,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Minimalistc \"Tuesday Night\"","description":"\u201cTuesday Night \u201d by Ann Beattie exposes the relationships between the characters, but it seems though that the real emotional focus is the relationship the main character has with the others. The story describes Henry and her daughter getting along pretty well, and Dan, Bobby and Henry getting along smoothly. But what happens with the main character? We don\u2019t know what happens between her and Henry and it seems to be constantly affecting her life and her daughter\u2019s.
\nThe story continues to go on about her life and everything that goes around it. Even if it seems like it\u2019s all normal and routine like life, she starts making decisions that leads us to go through what\u2019s going on in her head. Things we can only infer. What does she feel, what makes her depressed? The story slowly gives hints to why her depression is, like her weight. \u201cI have been subsisting on red zinger tea and watermelon trying to lose weight. Dan and Henry and Bobby are all thin. Joanna takes her father in her build.\u201d (Page 341) Here she shows a concern, but doesn\u2019t say it directly. It leads you to believe that she is uncomfortable with her body and has every right to, because everyone else is fine with theirs. It then leads to her Tuesday Nights, the night she has absolute control and freedom. She decides to go on a diet, and then all her problems seem to fall down on Tuesday nights. Her relationship, her feelings of emptiness, her insecurities, and the whole build up of what leads to a depressed life.
\nThis story is minimalist because there are insignificant details like, \u201cAnother Tuesday night, I went out and bought plants. I used my American Express card and got seventy dollars\u2019 worth of plants and some plant-hangers. The woman in the store helped me carry the boxes out to the car. \u201d (Page 343) This isn\u2019t related to the emotional part of her life which uncovers minimalistic writing and more of what goes trough her head. Amy Hempel could say that these parts of the story aren\u2019t as important as to the things we can infer like, she and Dan don\u2019t have a healthy relationship and as time goes by it gets worse. We can also infer that she is extremely bothered by the fact that Dan and Henry team up sometimes leaving her look like the villain. Finally we can infer that she isn\u2019t an attractive woman. This method can achieve a stronger type of writing, because it feels more realistic. It feels like a movie is playing and you have to uncover what happens little by little, till you get it. Not all the cards are put down on the table. You see a passage of her life, which is the part when everything is already falling apart, and from the past there are just glimpses.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"27870039","body":"Thanks Cecilia,
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\nWebster","dateCreated":"1285965066","smartDate":"Oct 1, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"27834755","dateCreated":"1285907873","smartDate":"Sep 30, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"luisuarez","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/luisuarez","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1302804674\/luisuarez-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27834755"},"dateDigested":1531973889,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Minimalism","description":"Minimalism, a type of writing, is often used by Authors to leave something out of the story, in order to make it more interesting and to catch the reader more into the story. In the story \u201cTuesday Night\u201d, by one of the most admired and experienced authors of English writing Ann Beattie. The style used in this short story, is obviously a clear example of what is a Minimalist story, for we can see that the author base the story and the characters in actions, rather than feelings. This method, can sometimes be beneficial for the story, but can also be confusing in some cases. But in the story \u201cTuesday Night\u201d we can see that the author successfully conveys the idea of Minimalism. An example in the text of the story, is in one of those Tuesday Nights she was alone, she says \u201c\u2026 Then I took off all my clothes and looked in the hall mirror and decided to go on a diet, so I skipped dinner\u201d (pg 342). This shows that the main character is having struggle with \u201cpersonal image\u201d and she is unhappy with her figure, and decides to skip a dinner. This shows that the author decides to leave out details in her feelings and what she thought of herself, this is a clear example of what is an ideal minimalist. Also, the lack of details and feelings in this story shows that the author adopts a minimalist style throughout the short story, and only gives necessary information, not unnecessary or extra. An example of simplistic and \u201clack\u201d of detail is, \u201cAnother Tuesday night, I went out and bought plants. I used my American Express card and got seventy dollars worth of plants and some plant-hangers\u201d (pg 343). This example shows the \u201clack\u201d of details and the use of Minimalism, because it vaguely describes how she got to the plant store, the vehicle, or any type of details. We can see in this example that there are also lacks of reason, for it randomly says that she went out to get plants. Therefore it doesn\u2019t tell any reason or details on why she did some things. Another reason why this story is Minimalist, is because the actions and the words of the main character, aren\u2019t fully expressed nor explained, therefore the reader must get caught in the reading in order to comprehend the true meaning of the story.
\nThis method is good in this case because it makes the story more interesting, and \u201cbetter\u201d to read, because as a reader you need to infer some things in order to get caught into the story and enjoy it. Therefore, this method makes a stronger writing, especially in this type of short story. In a story that is longer, Minimalism is not the best way to go for it makes a story confusing, and there can be a lot of more interpretations of the thing you\u2019re not mentioning. Therefore Minimalism works successfully on a short story.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"27869957","body":"Thanks Luis,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1285964948","smartDate":"Oct 1, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"27832321","dateCreated":"1285902245","smartDate":"Sep 30, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"cristinarojas1","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/cristinarojas1","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27832321"},"dateDigested":1531973890,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"minimalism in \"tuesday night\"","description":" \u201cTuesday Night\u201d by Ann Beattie is a short story which takes the disappointment of a woman whose life is falling apart and coats it with a series of unimportant, ordinary, every-day life kind of events. If Amy Hempel were to read this story she would agree that it does use minimalist writing. In a way there are two stories being told, one is a simple sequence of events in a woman\u2019s daily life, while the other is an in depth yet unwritten version of her life which the reader is left to interpret on his own. It\u2019s a story about what is behind her actions, about what you know is there but you can\u2019t see, or like in the main character\u2019s own life were she knows something is wrong but doesn\u2019t seem to want to face it. The minimalism is constant, even in the handling of the main character; the entire story is about her yet we are never revealed with any information about her, not even her name. The other characters are also barely mentioned, we know their names and what their relationships are however, we know nothing about their persona or their background. The actions in the story are taken with this same approach, they tell us what is going on in a very nonchalant kind of way yet these few and \u201cordinary\u201d happenings carry a very deep significance with them, as if they were each hand picked for a reason. \u201cThen I took off all of my clothes and looked in the hall mirror and decided to go on a diet, so I skipped dinner.\u201d (Page 342) It is a minor happening in this woman\u2019s life; nevertheless it facilitates the reader to infer how unsatisfied she is not only with her body but, with her entire life. The story its self is very simple, it leaves out the true reasoning behind her divorce and new relationship with Henry, as well as her relationship with Dan and where they stand as a couple. It leaves out the true scope of pain she is suffering through and gives a very blurred idea of how she feels about herself. \u201cI was going to get my birth-control-pills prescription refilled while I was there, but I decided that would be depressing.\u201d (Page 342) Getting her prescription might be depressing for her because her relationship is not working anymore, she may not be having sexual intercourse with Dan and getting the pills would just be useless. Then, when she is actually turning the light off, on her way to her room with Dan, it is obvious she knows Dan will breakup with her, yet we don\u2019t know exactly how much emotional content is involved in that thought, and how she feels about it. The author leaves room for the reader to interpret the narrator\u2019s feelings. The story ends without an actual resolution leaving the reader almost obligated to come up with his\/her own conclusion. But in order to infer an ending, we are forced to go further in the story, and get profoundly related with the character\u2019s feelings in order to conclude what will happen with them. This method of writing makes \u201cTuesday Night\u201d a stronger story because it allows the reader to have a deeper connection with the story, it gives the story a sense of obscurity were the reader fills in the blanks, playing an active role in the story, in order to understand what is truly happening. It is a great method to use in short stories and even lyrics because it uses concise and simple ideas to express a deeper and bigger subject.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"27869861","body":"Thanks Christina,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1285964813","smartDate":"Oct 1, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"27824847","dateCreated":"1285893642","smartDate":"Sep 30, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"gmurphy3","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/gmurphy3","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27824847"},"dateDigested":1531973890,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Minimalism ","description":" \u201cTuesday Night\u201d by Ann Beattie could be considered a minimalist story because the characters are described through actions and not feelings. This story is made up of scenes in which we are not fully told what is going on. The narrator describes the world around her by telling readers about the character\u2019s actions and using very few extra details.
\nWhen the narrator is talking about something, she does not give readers any insight into how she is feeling. However, readers can interpret her feeling based on her actions. For example, when the narrator is talking about the time her daughter Joanna was taught the words to \u201cI\u2019m a Women,\u201d she says, \u201cI thought I\u2019d lose my mind when she went around the house singing for two weeks.\u201d We don\u2019t know what the narrator is feeling, but we can draw the conclusion that she is either annoyed with her daughter\u2019s singing or horrified that she knows the words to the song. Another instance that shows the story\u2019s minimalistic style is when the narrator mentions her brother and says he \u201cmakes a fool of himself in front of Henry by bringing out his green yoyo, which glows by the miracle of two internal batteries.\u201d The narrators tone is slightly sarcastic, so we can interpret that she finds this situation amusing or that she is extremely ashamed of her brother\u2019s actions. We can also assume that the narrator is not happy with her life. The story does not mention it, but we can see it in her actions. First of all, the fact that she needs Tuesday night all to herself is a sign that she is stressed out. When she goes to the drug store she says she thought about refilling her birth control pill prescription, but \u201c[she] decided that would be too depressing.\u201d She does not tell us why it would be depressing, leading us to assume that something must be wrong with that part of her life.
\nAnother aspect of this story that shows it\u2019s minimalism is that readers are only told what we need to know and nothing more. No extra detail is told to give the story greater depth. When the narrator mentions Henry\u2019s \u201csleepie\u201d, she does not give us any details about her whatsoever. She is only mentioned to explain how she affected Joanna. Also, when the narrator mentions that Dan says their relationship is \u201cgoing sour\u201d, she does not say why or what has happened to make Dan feel this way. And when she says that it isn\u2019t true, she does not explain why, she merely states the facts.
\nMinimalistic style is useful in short pieces of writing like short stories and poems. It gives the readers an interesting view of the story because it requires a lot of attention to small things that we usually wouldn\u2019t think twice about. However, it would not work very well for longer pieces of writing like novels because it hampers the reader\u2019s ability to fully understand every aspect of the story. In novels, readers need to be as connected to the characters as possible.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"27869685","body":"Good work Grace,
\n
\nThanks,
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\nWebster","dateCreated":"1285964581","smartDate":"Oct 1, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"27824065","dateCreated":"1285893007","smartDate":"Sep 30, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"alabuda","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/alabuda","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27824065"},"dateDigested":1531973890,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"minimalism","description":"The story \u201cTuesday Night\u201d by Ann Beattie can be considered minimalistic because of its lack of description and feelings, but also because of its informal \u201cjumps\u201d between the facts and events. While starting reading the story, we see the main character talking about Henry and a child. The paragraph lacks descriptive information about either person. We finally understand the connection between the three characters as we read that Henry and the main character got divorced. \u201cThe only bad thing he [Henry] has done to her [the daughter] - and even Henry agreed about that \u2013 was to introduce her to the sleepie he had living with him right after the divorce.\u201d (pg. 340) .We still are not quite sure if Henry really divorced the protagonist, but that\u2019s the most reasonable thing that one can assume. The story does not describe the \u201csleepie\u201d, probably because of the lack of importance of the person. The author smartly leaves out the adverbs throughout the story. The readers must assume the feelings of the characters depending on the text and their way of comprehending it. The protagonist never uses other words to describe her relatives, loved ones; she always implies names, which gives the reader a sense of a barrier between him and the characters in the story. \u201cJoanna was delighted that she could be picked up after school by Dianne, in Dianne\u2019s 1966 Mustang convertible, and that the two of them could visit until Henry came by Dianne\u2019s to pick her up.\u201d (pg.342). The names of the characters are mentioned repetitively, which gives the reader this sort of formal and cold feeling while reading the story. The paragraphs jump from one subject to another without any description or explanation. The very first paragraph introduces to us Joanna and Henry, while the following one starts off with the relationship of the men that the protagonist knows. The change is rough and without any explanation. The reader has to fill in the blank, connect facts and characters, in order to understand the story. There\u2019s not much dialogue present in the story, however we can see some of it towards the end. The protagonist uses only\u201dhe says\u201d, \u201cshe says\u201d and \u201cI say\u201d terms while introducing the dialogue to the readers. One can say that this is also a characteristic of a minimalistic writing. The author mentions only the aspects that have to be mentioned in order not to lose the reader, but to keep him focused on the text and interested in what is going on. One has to read this story very carefully, because if one loses the stream of thoughts and facts, the story might seem to appear very confusing.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"27869519","body":"Thanks Agnieska,
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\nWebster","dateCreated":"1285964295","smartDate":"Oct 1, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"27822163","dateCreated":"1285891168","smartDate":"Sep 30, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"fabig1","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/fabig1","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1229012865\/fabig1-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27822163"},"dateDigested":1531973890,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Minimalism!","description":"The short story by Ann Beattie, Tuesday Night, is a very minimalists story in that it is purely focused on just the actions and not the feelings and emotions of the characters in the story which makes it a superficial story that doesn\u2019t go into the details. \u201cShe was in the hallway outside the living room, listening\u201d is a clear example of minimalism because it doesn\u2019t go deep into what is actually happening, it is just telling you the actions without any background description or what is she listening. We can infer what she is listening to and how, but the author leaves it to the reader to decide that, that is why it\u2019s a minimalist story. Most of the details are left out because they are not important in Beattie\u2019s eyes because she wants the reader to plug in their own details and come out with their own inference, like the ending in the book ,\u201dThe Giver\u201d, you never know if he got back or where he got back, the author leaves it to the author to decided that. Also, her major problems are expressed in her everyday life and are kind of hidden behind them, and that\u2019s what a minimalist story is all about, not what is written on the page, but the deeper meaning that is not shown there. It makes this story much more interesting and strong because you have to read in much deeper than you read any other story in order to really understand. Sometimes we only know what one character thinks and we don\u2019t know what the other character thinks and the author again, leaves it to the reader to decide if the other character feels the same way or a different way, like when Dan says \u201cOur relationship is turning sour\u201d (Pg 346), we don\u2019t know if the woman feels the same way or a different way.
\nThis type of writing would work at the beginning of a long book that wants to make the reader more interested in the meaning of the book and as the story unravels, he starts to tell the reader more detail which is a very good way of making a good book. A bad place that this type of writing should not be put is in a long book that has a lot of events that occur but drags on too long and the reader will get bored of it really quickly. After 5 chapters without any description or explanation of the events will most likely cause the reader to throw down the book and stop reading it.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"27869431","body":"Thanks Fabian,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1285964173","smartDate":"Oct 1, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"27821231","dateCreated":"1285890306","smartDate":"Sep 30, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"eli-picado","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/eli-picado","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1283475869\/eli-picado-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27821231"},"dateDigested":1531973890,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Wiki Response \"Tuesday Nights\"","description":"The short story \u201cTuesday Night\u201d, by Ann Beattie, shows a lot of characteristics of minimalistic writing. Minimalistic writing is a technique that allows authors to express the main conflict of the story they\u00b4re telling in such a subtle way it\u00b4s never mentioned directly. They accomplish this by just framing the conflict with descriptions of the conflict itself and the actions of the characters. This short story exposes some of the characteristics of minimalism. For example, minimalistic writing lacks descriptions of the characters. Instead, the reader has to infer the character\u00b4s personality from the actions described by the story. In \u201cTuesday Night\u201d one can infer that the main character is a caring mother that deals with the problems of the whole family. This assumption can be made when the narrator describes how she fights with Henry about Laura\u00b4s exposure to his \u201cgirlfriends\u201d. This is what she says: \u201cThe only bad thing he has done to her--- and even Henry agreed about that--- was to introduce her to the sleepie he had living with him right after the divorce: and obnoxious woman, who taught Joanna to sing \u201cI\u00b4m a Woman\u201d \u201d, (page 340). Through this, the reader knows that the mother is worried about Joanna, however there\u00b4s not an explicit phrase on the text that tells us that. Another characteristic present is that there are not descriptions of the emotions of the characters. For example, when the family is having the discussion about the mousetrap, the mother actions are described in this way: \u201cGlaring at them, I went into the kitchen and took the mousetraps out of their cellophane packages. I stared at them with tears in my eyes. I didn\u00b4t know how to set them. Dan and Henry had made me seem like a cold-blooded killer,\u201d (page 343). The reader knows that the mother feels frustrated and annoyed with the situation; however her emotions are not described in any part of the text, one infers them. At the same time, the short story allows the readers to infer a look at the \u201cwhole picture\u201d. Even if the main problem is not mentioned, one can assume that the story revolves around the way the mother is adapting to her new life style after the divorce. For example, when Joanna asks her about what she does on Tuesdays nights, she answers: \u201c Sometimes you like to play in your tent, (\u2026) Well, I like some time to just do what I want to do, too, Joanna,\u201d (page 345). With this information one can assume that the mother needs his time for herself to deal with her divorce, and that all the little events she tells in the story are related to this conflict in this way. This technique produces a strong type of writing because the descriptions of the actions allow the author to insert imagery; and allows the readers to create a good visual image. At the same time it tells the story, but not in a direct way. By inserting key events or descriptions, the author gives the readers the tools to infer the main story. This specific characteristic strengthens the value of the text, because it creates a dialogue with the reader, transforming the audience into a part of the story. This technique involves the reader in the commitment of fill in the blanks of the plot in order to give a purpose to the story.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"27869327","body":"Thanks Elizabeth,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1285964026","smartDate":"Oct 1, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"27770725","dateCreated":"1285818250","smartDate":"Sep 29, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"mariangel94","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/mariangel94","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27770725"},"dateDigested":1531973890,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Tuesday Night Minimalism","description":"\u201cTuesday Night\u201d by Ann Beattie can be classified as minimalist writing because it focuses on the actions of the characters, doesn\u2019t explain these in depth, and the reader is invited to draw conclusions and make inferences of what isn\u2019t told from what is said. The narrator cruises along a series of events and actions while telling us the story; however, she never stops herself and explains what is happening or characters in depth. Instead she quickly changes from one subject to another without much description of these. When she introduces Henry and Dan, for example, she just says they are friendly and help one another but moves onto their interests and her brother rather abruptly, \u201cHenry and Dan talk about nutrition\u2014Dan\u2019s current interest. My brother Bobby, the only person I know who is seriously interested in hallucinogens at the age of twenty-six, gladly makes a fool of himself in front of Henry by bringing out his green yoyo, which glows by the miracle of two internal batteries,\u201d (page 340). She doesn\u2019t give much insight into her ex-husband or Dan and quickly moves on to telling us about her brother. Although she is the main character, she never takes the time to explain herself to us; instead, she only narrates what she does on Tuesdays and tells us she feels like she needs to lose weight. \u201c\u2026I made a piecrust, putting dough in the sink and rolling it out there, which made a lot of sense but which I would never let anybody see me doing. Then I read Vogue. Later on, I took out the yoga book I had bought that afternoon and put it in my plastic cookbook holder and put it down on the floor and stared at it as I tried to get into the postures,\u201d (page 342). In this quote for example we can see what she is doing; its almost like we\u2019re watching it, but we don\u2019t know much about her thoughts or feelings except that she gets depressed at times. Although we are not told much about the psychological aspects of some characters, or the resolution of the story fro that matter, we as readers are invited into the story in order to \u2018complete\u2019 it; in other words, we must infer and conclude what we are not told, from what we are. From the dialogue between her and her daughter, for example, we can infer that their relationship isn\u2019t a very good one. When Joanna, her daughter, comes to leave the phone to her she tells her daughter not to stand there staring at her while she talks on the phone, and her daughter later reproaches for being yelled at. We can also infer from Dan saying the \u2018sour relationship\u2019 that something has happened between them and the relationship is therefore not working. However, the narrator refuses to accept this and panics thinking he might leave her. From the several mentions of the narrator being depressed we can also infer she is not happy with her life, and for this same reason she decides to have Tuesday nights all to herself, but on page 346 she realizes these nights aren\u2019t helping, \u201cI have to face the fact that I don\u2019t do much of anything on Tuesdays, and that one night alone a week is not making me any less edgy or more agreeable to live with,\u201d because of this statement one can infer that she is the one causing problems in the relationship, probably due to her temper. Another aspect that is excluded from the narrative is a clear resolution. At this point of the story the reader is almost forced to interact with the story in order to create a resolution. The reader has to infer what happens after that moment and one probably deduces that Dan is going to break things up with her.
\nThis type of writing can be considered strong because it enwraps the reader into the story; since we are not told every single detail, one must pay even more attention to what we are being told in order to deduce the rest and this makes the writing more appealing and entertaining as well as suspenseful when we are not told the resolution. Although this kind of writing is powerful in short stories and poetry it doesn\u2019t work for novels since the lack of detail can create a confusing novel, or in analytical papers or essays in which one must explain thoroughly their subject.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"27868935","body":"Great,
\n
\nThanks Mariangel,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1285963441","smartDate":"Oct 1, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]}],"more":true},"comments":[]},"http":{"code":200,"status":"OK"},"redirectUrl":null,"javascript":null,"notices":{"warning":[],"error":[],"info":[],"success":[]}}