Responsesto Wallace and Carver

Response to Wallace:

The opening and closing - the water analogy - were brilliant choices.  Most
commencement addresses are typically quite boring.  Something needs to be done
to snag attention early on, or, failing that, something to should be provided
for the audience to chew on while waiting for the speech to end.  Even if the
entire middle of the story was boring, the audience will not be bored: either
they are thinking about the opening themselves, or eagerly awaiting when the
speech will come around and explain the opening.

While the itself was quite strong, the speech was depressing.  I expect when I
am next seated, listening to such a speech, I'd likely prefer something
uplifting and celebratory.

Response to Carver:

I find the phrasing choices of the narrator/protagonist in the flashback at the
beginning quite interesting.  Specifically, I find it interesting that he talks
about himself in third person: "She told the blind man she loved her
husband...", where the narrator is the husband!  There are a number of ways to
interpret exactly why this was done. For example, it could be used to reinforce
the fact that the protagonist, initially, felt excluded by the relationship
between the protagonist's wife and the blind man.

The distaste the protagonist had for the blind man was presented so many times
early on that it was obvious there was going to be a change, and that the
protagonist would warm to the blind man.  Knowing what is coming ruins some of
the fun.