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Post by yongkim on Dec 17, 2013 3:41:08 GMT
I would like to combine Avinash's ideas with mine and classify "No One's a Mystery" as psychological, realistic fiction. The circumstances of love present in this story are very realistic indeed. These two individuals both share the same love at the moment, yet they possess polar opposite endings. Jack is an older and more experienced man, while the narrator is an innocent teenage girl who has yet to understand what love must endure to get married and be happy. The narrator possesses the psychological behavior of denial. When Jack continually tells the girl that she will fall out of love with him in the near future, the narrator continually denies it and proposes other possibilities. This is known as a defense mechanism (denial) because she refuses to recognize reality, possibly masked by her innocence.
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Post by emwolfram on Dec 17, 2013 4:09:15 GMT
I liked Natalie's use of the word "Snapshot" story. I would call this "fragmented realistic fiction". As many people have mentioned this story shows neither the beginning nor the end of Jack and the narrator's relationship. We don't know how it started or how it will end. The lack of background makes it harder to guess what the ending will be. Jack seems like a grade A asshole... yet we do not know what drew the narrator to him in the first place. We only see his awfulness and this makes it hard to believe in the narrators girlish dreams of love and marriage. Not all love stories are happy healthy relationships. You can love someone and have a volatile and disrespectful relationship. Reading this story I wonder how many times Jack has pushed the narrator down on her knees to hide her from the world. I also wonder how many times she has let him and how many more times she will obediently hide. How long can she hold on to her dreams? Until the pop caps cut her too deep? Whatever genre this is I really like it. I find it relatable and honest. I love the unfinished feeling. Its raw and real and that is something I find (as much as I HATE this term) tragically beautiful.
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Post by garygates on Dec 17, 2013 4:17:25 GMT
I see "No One's a Mystery" as a realistic fiction exploration of modern stereotypes and thinking. That's the simplest way for me to wrap it up. What "No One's a Mystery" does is it explores modern deep-seeded stereotypes and societal ideas and presents a story that can, as Amy said, be easily viewed with a Postmodern lens. It is not concrete, as Tallent does not quite explain the entire background of these characters or what will later befall them. It is rather a postmodern musing that allows for multiple interpretations of each character's perspective. For instance, Tallent plays into the hands of modern stereotypes as she portrays the narrator, a young female, as the innocent type who optimistically believes in the fairy-tale end to her relationship with the older Jack. Why she foresees this future we do not know. It could be her upbringing, which would coincide with our general expectations or stereotypes of society, or it could be her using this idea as a side of a power dynamic purposefully. This being that the author understands what she can gain from playing the innocent teenager and thinks that playing the optimism card will reward her with the most beneficial result. Jack on the other hand initially comes across as the jaded older man who has been shaped by a failure to witness fairy-tale endings in his life. We, however, do not know his background and if society is telling him to be this way or that maybe he has something to gain, like a temporary and emotionless fling, by playing this card. I would classify this story as a realistic-fiction-postmodern-societal-musing because we are not give enough information as to assert if gender, age, or power dynamics have the largest role in relationship differences, but we know that each area holds enough truth that it can be interestingly interpreted in different ways and yield differing and rich meaning whatever way we choose to read it.
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Post by davidqin on Dec 17, 2013 4:20:30 GMT
I think "No One's a Mystery" is certainly a romance story filled with the usual themes of unrequited love and that jealous wretch in the distance who threatens to ruin it all. We're fed a very optimistic version of events by the narrator, whose view of the future clearly conflicts with that of Jack's. Still, as story tells of unfaithfulness in modern-day marriages and relationships, it may be considered a love story because it deals with the raw emotions and disappointment that the two clearly experience.
I'm reluctant to label it realistic fiction as many before me have done, unless there is the added understanding that the word "realistic" does not necessarily mean this kind of situation may occur to any of us in real life (it is an idealized version of events, after all). I know that "realistic" here represents the fact that the story occurs in a real setting and is based off of real life emotions and infidelity, but I just feel the word does not fit. There are too many connotations with the word that prevent us from truly getting at the genre of the story. In closing, I suggest the wonderfully vague "life fiction" as a substitute because the story is about life decisions and crises, as well as the direction future lives may take.
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Post by mattagritelley on Dec 17, 2013 4:31:12 GMT
The fascinating aspect of this story is that it very clearly fits two distinct genres. However, it is entirely dependent on the perspective or lens through which one views the story.
As many people have noted, "No One's a Mystery" seems to fit the mold of a coming of age story as a form of realistic fiction. However, this only makes sense when we limit the scope of this analysis to the narrator. As an 18-year-old girl, the narrator is only just beginning her journey into adulthood. As Jack implies, she has a whole world ahead of her to live her life to the fullest and, in the process, forget all about her relationship with him.
However, when limited to an analysis of Jack, the story can be viewed as a tragedy. As explored in the other prompt, Jack experiences an evolution of power. While he is initially portrayed as the all-powerful character, his weakness is eventually shown through the constraints his wife provides to his relationship as well as the psychological struggles his younger mistress induces upon him. The tragic aspect of this story is Jack's inability to overcome the difference in age between himself and the narrator. His pessimism jades his vision of reality-- he could, in reality, leave his wife and run away with the narrator. Yet, the real reality penetrates his feeble mind, which is very tragic. Sometimes we insist that, regardless of how attainable our ambitions may be, reality will always hold us back. This relatable aspect makes his weakness even more tragic.
So, if I may, I would like to call "No One's a Mystery" a Tragic Realistic Fiction.
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Post by carolinedorman on Dec 17, 2013 4:39:11 GMT
Although I agree that “No One’s A Mystery” fits in realistic fiction, the genre, realistic fiction, is simultaneously too limiting and too broad. It narrowly defines a story as being made up but grounded in reality. At the same time, realistic fiction says nothing about the content of the literature. With this being said, I believe “No One’s A Mystery” fits into the genre “romance grounded in reality”. The narrator maintains a romantic lease on life despite her lover, Jack’s, realistic and rather depressing assertions. The story does seem to follow the classic coming of age story, yet I think it speaks to more than simply growing up.
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Post by elizabethmeyer on Dec 17, 2013 4:41:40 GMT
I would have to agree with everyone that called this story an example of realistic fiction. To me, fiction means extreme creativity and otherworldliness. Magic doesn't have to be involved, but the story should be one that has elements of the "real world" in it while still begin fantastical. Realistic fiction, on the other hand, isn't just made up stories, in my definition; it's about as close to non-fiction as you can get without having to tell a real story with facts and figures. It's real world people doing real world things in the real world. They can still be amazing things, like would most often appear in other fiction, but they are far more...ordinary, I guess I would have to say. I recognize that "fiction" generally covers all made up stories, but for me, any story about real world people doing real things is specifically realistic fiction. Therefore, such a story as "No One's a Mystery" about an older, married man having a secret affair with a much younger girl is realistic fiction because they could very, very easily be real people; they are most definitely in the real world; and their situation is just as real as the world around them.
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Post by gracepark on Dec 17, 2013 4:51:19 GMT
Genre: the silver lining.
From the beginning, this story hints at so many ominous symbols that all point towards the same thing: the tragic end between Jack and his hopeless admirer. Just read the first couple sentences: "For my eighteenth birthday Jack gave me a five-year diary with a latch and a little key, light as a dime. I was sitting beside him scratching at the lock, which didn't seem to want to work..." The fact that the lock that would treasure the memories of them together is broken foreshadows the imminent break in their relationship. Tallent only emphasizes this ill omen by creating this deep division between the narrator's vision of the future and Jack's. Jack's rather realistic approach towards their relationship and the girl's fantastical image serves as this so called silver lining that covers the thin line between sweet and sour.
Therefore, as Natalie mentioned, Tallent really does portray this short snapshot of the moment in the relationship. The girl is hopelessly in love -- dirty truck, bleached Levis, muddy boots and all -- the boy, though aware, briefly wants to believe in the blissful life that the narrator paints. But in the end, it's just the same old story.
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Post by adamgrace on Dec 17, 2013 5:04:25 GMT
As soon as I finished the story I was immediately reminded of films like "Silver Linings Playlist" and "Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind". Both of these movies are, while being love stories, similar in a sense that you really don't want to see what happens next. The lovers in the films go through immense mental breakdowns because of each other, and yet are still in love. Throughout the course of the stories both of the "soul mates" find each other and fall madly in love. I say madly because it's unfortunately true. They're insane. The movie, thankfully for some, ends just as the soul mates begin to love each other again. If it were to go on any longer we would see the emotional and mental disintegration of both characters. I think I'll call these stories "Idylls" as they, at first, seem pleasant and beautiful. Yet under the surface we gather that all is not how it seems, and everyone is a mystery.
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Post by keelycorrigan on Dec 17, 2013 5:10:53 GMT
** Edit: I realized after I wrote this that I had "Happy Endings" in mind, rather than "No One's a Mystery." My bad. I still stand by my commentary, but just with the correct story title subbed in.
My angst against this question and—not against, but kind of against- “No One is A Mystery” finds its foundations from this piece’s almost cliché transcendence of genre. It is not a formulaic or textbook style example of any cut and dry specific style. I agree with Emily and Natalie when they write of the vignette-like quality of the piece, but I’d also posit that it reads as a soliloquy. Though not explicitly written in second person, the diction and shorter, informal syntax of the piece suggest a person to person feel.
But, I don’t believe that this is a complete vision of the piece. It has aspects of romance and tragedy, love and death. To me, this story about relationships only fits nicely into the genre of stories about relationships, which is almost all of literature. Back to square one, or…?
Honestly, and tangently, I really liked this piece because of its superficially simple style, yet internally nuanced and complex emanating questions. It is written in a relatively easy colloquial style to read, but it probes at very sensitive places of our human, romantic, sexual, emotional psyches. I have come to the conclusion, however, that the most complex way to view the story is not through the confined lens of a genre with bias-baggage but through envisioning it as a tale of humans. On paper, or in pixels, this sounds rather stupid because isn’t’ every story a tale, in one way or another, about humans? What I mean is that when we think complexly about the characters in the story, we the story less and less as a formulated piece of genre but as a condensed or vignette version of someone’s perceptions of a particular topic: love.
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Post by sammywong on Dec 17, 2013 5:41:32 GMT
Realistic Fiction. Because it's fiction..and very realistic-like.
^Jokes. But I don't understand the need to create your own genre for this piece when realistic fiction is readily available. Do you know how common cheating is? Very common. It hits the worst of us, it hits the best of us. Even our presidents are no exception. Do you know how common cheating with somebody much younger is? Very common. Even our best golfers are no exception. This story is not real, or at least there is no evidence that can allow us to assume that it is. Realistic Fiction seems to capture the essence of this story quite well when you acknowledge the fact that no genre is going to be able to scoop up all that a story offers.
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Post by chrisb on Dec 17, 2013 5:50:11 GMT
I'll take the odd, made-up genre route. My genre: "A Chapter from Out of the Dust."
It's been a while since of read Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust, and I'm not sure what made me think of it. One thing I remember about the novel is the general content of each chapter. Most chapters were not plot-driven. Instead, each would focus in on a certain freeze-frame and supplement that scene with subtle commentary.
Tallent's "No One's a Mystery" is far from identical to Out of the Dust. After all, Hesse's novel is written entirely in free verse, whereas Tallent's story is written in prose. Regardless, both works create a mood that helps to define the genre of "No One's a Mystery." The story, itself, is a freeze-frame. Jack and the narrator do not arrive at a conclusion by the end. Rather, the story is a development of a single scene. Each line of dialogue delves deeper into the ideological conflict of hope and realism. Although we, as the reader, desire progress or resolution, we are not satisfied. All we are left with are the wheat fields of Wyoming, much like each chapter in Out of the Dust leaves the reader with nothing more than the dry fields of Dust Bowl Kansas.
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Post by allegra on Dec 17, 2013 5:51:08 GMT
alright, what really gets me about this story is the last little tidbit "'I'm not wrong,' he said. 'And her breath would smell like your milk,
and it's kind of a bittersweet smell, if you want to know the truth.'"
He's disagreeing with the narrator but simultaneously agreeing with her and it throws me off so much. I get the sense Jack knows he's wrong for being with a younger girl and even worse for leading her on- of course he's going to stay with his own wife and he knows the narrator will be heartbroken, like the broken pop tops on the floor of his truck, but he doesn't know how to end it and now the manure on his shoes has dried, so to speak. He's already done the deed and he has two options, but one is more logical than the other. I'm going to label the genera as realistic drama because it contains a very emotional set of circumstances. I believe it. It's realistic. It has power. Realistic drama.
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joelk
New Member
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Post by joelk on Dec 17, 2013 6:14:56 GMT
Initially, I’d like to say this work is tragic realistic fiction, but I have a few issues with doing so. Yes, it’s realistic, but at some point a genre becomes so broad that it ceases to have any meaning. I think that realistic fiction is one of those genres (even though “fiction” itself is yet another). To take the postmodern stance, how do you define real? There is no real, there is only language. If you buy the truth in the language, then it’s realistic fiction. Or, more concretely, how much of the novel needs to be realistic--what percentage of things need to be based in fact or governed by natural laws or science--for it to qualify? It's a broad and fuzzy line.
Furthermore, tragedy seems too strong a word for this story. It’s “cute-poignant,” certainly, but let’s not forget how much time we spent trying to figure out what “elevates” something to tragedy. Personally, I don’t see those elements in this story.
Rather, I’d call this story a sort of utopian/dystopian novel crammed onto two pages. The utopia is the playful relationship somehow perfectly hidden from the wife, but the dystopia emerges when we see that Jack is not serious about the relationship (or, at least, I don’t think he is, based on his final statements of disagreement). It reminds me a bit of the most recent utopia-turned-dystopia novel I’ve read, Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. There are “cute” and playful moments to that story, and there are also emotionally distressing circumstances revealed later in the novel (sorry for the awkward wording, but I don’t want to give it away—although I would not recommend this book), but the reader leaves remembering the relationships between the characters without being overly sad about how they ended.
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Post by racheladele on Dec 17, 2013 6:40:37 GMT
I would like to place "No One's A Mystery" into a genre along the lines of "realistic fiction reverse." As many have commented previously, this story has a creative and fictitious element but portrays a plausible relationship and situation, making it realistic fiction. The reason I think it is "reverse" is because in many situations and stories, such as WAYBWHYB, the older male character has to manipulate the young female character to abide by his wishes. Often the relationship opposite of No One's a Mystery can make a better or more heart-wrenching story, but this short story uses an uncommon version of a relationship between an older man and a teenage girl and shakes it up. The dynamic in No One's a Mystery makes it into a "reverse" of both our expectations of the characters and the roles they play. I think it is appropriate that we read the two stories (this and WAYGWHYB) one after another, because it allows for contrast of the two sets of characters. I find it very interesting that Jack is the realistic one in this story, and his words almost make me pity him, in the opposite of Oates's story where I pity Connie.
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