Summary Of Jason Helmandollar's Backwards Fall
Professor Yee
Creative Writing
3 April 2013
Craft in Jason Helmandollar’s “Backwards Fall” Jason Helmandollar’s “Backwards Fall” interests me because of the subject of the story. It is something I have always been sadly fascinated by because my grandpa had Alzheimer’s and it was so hard to watch such a wise man basically start acting like a baby. I want to study how the setting, description, speech, and action bring this story alive. This story has different sections of time, so I will discuss each element within each section. The first section, when the female is 62, seems like the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. At first, the reader may think this lady is just old and can’t remember a simple song. The setting in this first section …show more content…
Don't you remember?" She raises a finger to correct him, pauses, looks off into nowhere with her eyes unfocused. The finger moves to her bottom lip. "But, I …" He watches her for a time as her face voids of all emotion, all evidence of thought. He thinks of the Grand Canyon, which they visited shortly after he retired from the factory on disability. On his first day without a job, he cashed in almost all their chips and bought a motor home. They drove it all over the country – but first, to the Grand Canyon. They called it The Big Adventure, their three year jaunt from one ocean to the other and back again. They felt so young during that time. He un-mutes his program and, like he does every minute of every day, tries to breathe through the pounding of his heart. "I heard they have mules you can ride down into the canyon," she says. "You think that's true?" Her hand is resting on the table between them. He reaches over and grasps it. In his mind's eye he sees her body rocking forward and back as the mule traverses the rocky trail, her reddish-gray hair lit from behind by the desert
Creative Writing
3 April 2013
Craft in Jason Helmandollar’s “Backwards Fall” Jason Helmandollar’s “Backwards Fall” interests me because of the subject of the story. It is something I have always been sadly fascinated by because my grandpa had Alzheimer’s and it was so hard to watch such a wise man basically start acting like a baby. I want to study how the setting, description, speech, and action bring this story alive. This story has different sections of time, so I will discuss each element within each section. The first section, when the female is 62, seems like the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. At first, the reader may think this lady is just old and can’t remember a simple song. The setting in this first section …show more content…
Don't you remember?" She raises a finger to correct him, pauses, looks off into nowhere with her eyes unfocused. The finger moves to her bottom lip. "But, I …" He watches her for a time as her face voids of all emotion, all evidence of thought. He thinks of the Grand Canyon, which they visited shortly after he retired from the factory on disability. On his first day without a job, he cashed in almost all their chips and bought a motor home. They drove it all over the country – but first, to the Grand Canyon. They called it The Big Adventure, their three year jaunt from one ocean to the other and back again. They felt so young during that time. He un-mutes his program and, like he does every minute of every day, tries to breathe through the pounding of his heart. "I heard they have mules you can ride down into the canyon," she says. "You think that's true?" Her hand is resting on the table between them. He reaches over and grasps it. In his mind's eye he sees her body rocking forward and back as the mule traverses the rocky trail, her reddish-gray hair lit from behind by the desert