Response to "I could tell you stories"

NOTE: I started this post this past weekend (hence why it says Sunday August 26) but decided to come back to it after class today.


"Red Sky in the Morning," was the reading for this past Friday and from what I hear, sparked some great in class discussions. I was absent on Friday and after the discussion we had in class Monday (today), it makes a lot more sense.

There are many different ways for us to interpret "I could tell you stories." In my opinion, when the middle-aged woman says this, she means that a lot of things have happened to her and the young man (who is in fact her husband) that are interesting. Some people in class thought that she really didn't have anything to say, or it meant that there was so much to tell, but I don’t think that is the case. She could tell you stories but it wouldn’t lead up to the experience. And instead of going on further to explain them, the women closes her eyes and falls asleep leaving the author to wonder why she didn’t. The woman leaves this air of mystery and allows the reader to jump to whatever conclusions they want to.

“A story, we sense, is the only possible habitation for the burden of our witnessing," was an important quote that we broke down in class today. When I first read this I didn't understand it, but after we talked about it, it makes perfect sense and I think it's very true. The first part, “A story, we sense, is the only possible habitation...” basically means that the story is never as good as the real thing and its hard to recreate it. Listening to stories really is not the same as being there, but it’s the closest we come to the experience. The second part, “…For the burden of our witnessing.” means that it’s our duty to tell the story of our experience. We have a responsibility to share those moments with someone else, so that they too can be a part of it.