Post Card Sketch Page

                                                           Original

A woman awaits with a bouquet of flowers in her hand for her youngest son to arrive home from the Cold War. Anxious to see her baby she waits outside a mile down the road to greet him. Her first born had also joined the army and returned home a few days ago. Paul her oldest son dressed in his army attire had followed his mother a mile down the street. Paul stood in front of a tree rifle in hand to see first glimpse of his other half.

                                                           Revision

As I stand outside with your brother to see you my love the winter breeze pierces through my wool sweater. How I dream of having you home each night I went to bed. The Cold War had torn this family apart but now it has given you back to me. With a bouquet full of your favorite flowers I express my joy in having our family reunited. Here in the snow we will stand until I have you embraced in these cold hands.

Racculia & Salvatore Writer as a Reader Response

The excerpt from This Must Be The Place by novelist Kate Racculia and the short story "Reduction" by Salem State alum Joseph Salvatore are both interesting to read.  Before I read Racculia’s excerpt I glanced over it. Visually the construction of her excerpt was very lengthy. I was expecting to read something that one would find on the back cover of a book. Once I began reading the structure became more than just lengthy. Racculia began her excerpt sixteen years before with the mention of a postcard and then transitioned into another part of her life “The Runaway”. Her work reminds me of an autobiography because it seems like she was recalling her life as a teenager. Maybe I felt this way after reading her work because it seems so realistic, a young girl running away from home to follow her dreams. I don’t know how many people do that now a days but running away to pursue one’s dream use to be done a lot in the past.  The structure also reminds me of a diary minus the date entries. It’s her overall approach to her novel that gives it this so called label.  

The short story "Reduction" by Salem State alum Joseph Salvatore has similar elements to novelist Racculia’s excerpt from This Must Be The Place. Both authors decide to begin their story at the age of eighteen which I found interesting.  I must say I enjoyed reading Salvatore’s short story more than I did Racculica’s. Vivid diction plays a major role in how he constructed his short story. Salvatore’s use of figurative language to construct his work took it to a deeper level. At first the message that I was getting from his reading was straight forward that this sixteen year old hated the way she looked because her boobs were an attention grabber and nothing else about her would captivate others. The message changed the more I read. There is more to what the eye meets literally. There were many reasons she gave for not wanting or wishing she never had breasts and in the end all those reasons made sense. His technique of using vivid figurative language brought his work to life. I was able to visualize most of the lines written which helped me understand the story better. Adopting Salvatore’s technique of using vivid language is something that I am familiar with because I use vivid language a lot. However, my writings are not as visual as his. I would like to use diction that makes my works come to life but, I don’t want it to seem as if I’m trying too hard to get that effect.

Why do both authors begin their story at the age of sixteen?

How did Salvatore come up with the idea for his short story to write about a woman who dislikes her breasts?

How and why was Racculia inspired to write this novel?