Fleur
“Fleur”
Guided Question: In the beginning of the story Pauline describes herself as “Invisible.” She said she was not much to look at so no one ever saw her but by the end of the story that had changed. At the end of the story Pauline says, “In my dreams, I look straight back at Fleur, at the men. I am no longer the watcher on the dark sill, the skinny girl” (Erdrich 613). I think the passage from the story that proves Pauline is no longer “the watcher” but a person of action is, “I stood there a moment. Everything went still. Then I heard a cry building in the wind, faint at first, a whistle and then a shrill scream that tore through the walls and gathered around me, spoke plain so I understood that I should move, put my arms out, and slam down the great iron bar that fit across the hasp and lock” (Erdrich 612). Pauline’s action is significant because she knew what the men had done to Fleur but did nothing to stop them or help Fleur at the time. So I think this was her way of getting the men back for the evil things they did to Fleur, in which it also shows that Pauline isn’t just a “watcher”, but now realizes she can take action too.
Personal Response: The story “Fleur” is set in a butcher shop because that’s where Fleur worked. In the beginning of the store Fleur was considered “evil” by the people in the town because of all the stories they all heard about men drowned after trying to save her. Fleur was on the edge and to the point of getting thrown out of her town, so she went to the priest to ask for work. The priest got Fleur a job at a butcher shop, which turns out to be not the best place for her. Fleur started playing card games with some of the men from the butcher shop and begins to win a good amount of money. Finally Fleur wins the big pot of money and leaves the game, after that some of the men started drinking and go outside to wait for Fleur to come by. The men end up catching Fleur to steal all the money and supposedly rape her.
Guided Question: In the beginning of the story Pauline describes herself as “Invisible.” She said she was not much to look at so no one ever saw her but by the end of the story that had changed. At the end of the story Pauline says, “In my dreams, I look straight back at Fleur, at the men. I am no longer the watcher on the dark sill, the skinny girl” (Erdrich 613). I think the passage from the story that proves Pauline is no longer “the watcher” but a person of action is, “I stood there a moment. Everything went still. Then I heard a cry building in the wind, faint at first, a whistle and then a shrill scream that tore through the walls and gathered around me, spoke plain so I understood that I should move, put my arms out, and slam down the great iron bar that fit across the hasp and lock” (Erdrich 612). Pauline’s action is significant because she knew what the men had done to Fleur but did nothing to stop them or help Fleur at the time. So I think this was her way of getting the men back for the evil things they did to Fleur, in which it also shows that Pauline isn’t just a “watcher”, but now realizes she can take action too.
Personal Response: The story “Fleur” is set in a butcher shop because that’s where Fleur worked. In the beginning of the store Fleur was considered “evil” by the people in the town because of all the stories they all heard about men drowned after trying to save her. Fleur was on the edge and to the point of getting thrown out of her town, so she went to the priest to ask for work. The priest got Fleur a job at a butcher shop, which turns out to be not the best place for her. Fleur started playing card games with some of the men from the butcher shop and begins to win a good amount of money. Finally Fleur wins the big pot of money and leaves the game, after that some of the men started drinking and go outside to wait for Fleur to come by. The men end up catching Fleur to steal all the money and supposedly rape her.