Lily Zelov
F Block
Mr. Dilworth
9/7/14
No Family. No Friends.
I walked
down the city street, observing each person as I passed them. An old man sat against a building, his
withered hands partially covered by tattered gloves. He held a sign that read, “Spare some change
to help an old man. No family. No friends.” I had seen this sort of thing before, day
after day. There was always a bum
holding up a sign next to a soda cup that contained one dollar, maybe more, if
they were lucky. I had seen men and
women sleeping in boxes, young people curled up on a street corner next to their dogs. None of this was new to me, yet I stopped and
watched this old man, shivering in the brisk winter air, a red hat covering his
scraggly hair and beard. With my hands
shoved in my pocket, I fingered my leather wallet, wondering if giving this
poor fellow money was worth it. Would he
use my money to buy food, a jacket, maybe some new markers for his sign? Or
would he go to a liquor store, spend every last dime on booze, and drink until
he passes out on the very same sidewalk I was currently standing? I looked up and watched as a trim young man
in a pinstriped suit and heavy overcoat strolled right by the bum, gave him an
obvious look of disgust, checked his Rolex, and briskly walked out of my sight. I looked back at this man’s sign. “No family. No friends.” My mind was teeming
with questions. Did he have a family at one time? Did some tragic accident
leave him alone in the world? Did he have a wife? Children? No friends? Had
this man just been antisocial, or had he outlived everyone he knew? Had he done
something terrible that left him stranded on the streets of Philadelphia? As I
thought of all these questions, I had a realization: we do not get to know
everything. Frankly, we know hardly
anything. I hadn’t a clue about the
lives of the people that were passing by me at this very second. But in that moment, I decided that we, as
humans, need to make an effort to know as much as we can. I wanted to know about this old man. I wanted to hear about his life, his struggles,
his failures, and his triumphs, who he loved, and who he lost. I wanted to make an effort to know as much as
possible.
I sat down next to him.
Lily-
ReplyDeleteThis story is extremely thought provoking! I loved how you made an observation about human nature throughout a creative writing piece. I feel very moved by the conclusion you created. I believe your main character's thoughtful inquiry about the man served as the epiphany of your story because it ultimately caused him to make a decision.
Lily-
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Brooke said. Your character analyzing his/her options as to what to do or what to think evoked feeling for me. As the main character was thinking, it brought joy to read about a character who wonders about these people who need help in the world. I believe the epiphany of this story was the very last sentence where the main character sat down next to the man; it was my "ah-hah" moment in this story. Overall, i love the topic of the story and how it teaches us a lesson in life.
I think the thing that makes this story so well thought out is that the conflict is based around a simple choice that we can all relate to. It brings out the emotions of both doubt as well as hope. which are powerful in short stories. The epiphany is definitely at the end. I would say that this is the most powerful sentence, "I had a realization: we do not get to know everything. Frankly, we know hardly anything. I hadn’t a clue about the lives of the people that were passing by me at this very second. But in that moment, I decided that we, as humans, need to make an effort to know as much as we can."
ReplyDeleteLily, I liked how your character thought through a process, and you made the process very evident: "should I give money?" to "why does he have no family/friends?" to "we don't get to know everything," to "I want to make an effort to know." This evoked a feeling of sympathy for me, I felt bad for the man. The epiphany in the story is when you realize that people don't know a lot, but it's important to you to know things about people.
ReplyDeleteGreat story. It was great how you asked so many questions. Whenever we pass homeless people on the street, we kinda just avoid eye contact or ignore them. Your story really makes me think what would happen if I sat down and actually asked him about his life. The cliffhanger at the end was good too, sometimes I don't like these, because they kinda leave us with a "thats it?" kinda feeling, but I really liked yours because I could imagine the conversation in my head
ReplyDeleteLily,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great story because you made it so relatable. Everyone at one point or another faces this decision. You said what most people think and I really admire the truth to your writing. The epiphany is definitely at the end when you had said the main character sat down next to him, not what I was expecting. Wow great work I really loved it!!