Short Stories Reflection - HSC English Extension

Between the Lines

The premise begins with another early morning in the life of a white collar worker, Allan. Set in the 1950s, Allan waits before the crack of dawn to catch the bus to work. The following notions prevalent in the Cold War era are addressed throughout the story:

·         Waiting/Loneliness – resulting from the events of the bombing of Hiroshima, western society in particular became increasingly unsettled with the possible reciprocate reaction of such an event. With growing concerns for the USSR developing their own nuclear weapons, society felt anxious at such ominous thoughts, with the notion of waiting for such an event to happen again being a terrifying possibility. Loneliness also became apparent through societies increased apprehension and subsequent isolation, at such aforementioned ideas. Examples of these idea inherent in this story include:

-          “waiting” at the bus shelter. Lonely and cold environment adds emphasis.

·         Media’s role – the media also had a significant impact on how the general populace felt about such events that occurred during the Cold War. For example, newspapers written in western society would have uplifted intentions made by US and diminished the ideals of the USSR. Examples of this in ‘Between the Lines’ include:

-          “portentous events” happening in the far east. Media implies a threatening situation.

·         Political tensions – whilst not all of society would have been self-aware of the specifics of how the USA and the USSR were increasingly hostile with each other, some members of society would have been holders of such knowledge. As the communist regime began to spread throughout the world, fear would have precipitated as capitalist precepts began being challenged. Thus politics during this time were of significant importance and had a significant impact on the people involved. Examples of this notion is represented in the story through:

-          “’falling domino’ principle” describes the situation in which communism is most certainly growing. 

-          “consequences of the loss are just incalculable to the free world” presents a tone of fear.

·         Upheaval of ideologies – as different paradigms and ideologies surfaced through the challenging of old archetypes, the importance and questioning of such new and old paradigms came about. Society would not have had a full understanding of these ideas, yet would have been able to make comparisons about how society has changed and what new concepts have been introduced. Allan contemplates this notion through the story, examples include:

-          “Surely a totalitarian rule will not pervade the entire South-East Asia” which presents an idea that capitalist rulings may crumble under the ever growing spread of communism.

-          “what if humanity destroys itself first?” presents an idea that Christian prophecy may be invalid if science is capable of ending the world before the return of Christ.

·         Human fragility – as technology regarding ‘weapons of mass destruction’ has advanced so rapidly, the idea that we have almost perfected killing ourselves and each other has introduced the idea that it would not be difficult to destroy the human race. This notion is explored in the story through:

-          “the bus driver … to a better place” evokes the idea that death can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

·         Hope­ – the idea that the future is brighter remained ever-present on the minds of optimists during the Cold War era, with Allan being akin to this kind of nature. Hope is presented in the novel through:

-          “fleeting moment of peace” where hope comes about only momentarily

-          “waiting … for a bus to [take him] away” presents the idea that soon he will be free of his predicament 

Hope in Hiroshima?

The setting of the story takes place immediately after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Here, Lorna finds herself battered but alive, and attempts to find answers and hope after first-hand experiencing the horrific devastation brought about by the bomb. The following notions prevalent in the Cold War era are addressed throughout the story:

·         Hopelessness – resultant of how futile human life has become and how quickly it can be destroyed, a sense of hopelessness emanated during the Cold War era as people began to doubt whether their lives would return to normal, as well as how powerless they were to regain such control. This idea is brought about during the actual experiences of Lorna after the destruction of the bomb on Hiroshima, with examples including:

-          “homes destroyed” and “remnants of a burning city” create an evocative picture of the absolute devastation that has happened all around her

-          “shikata ga nai”, a common Japanese phrase which translates to “it cannot be helped”. This idea of nothing to be done further extends on the already severe hopelessness of her situation

-          “Lorna’s tears flowed again” as she came about the realisation that there was just so much pain and suffering around her, she could do nothing with the little strength she had herself.

·         Suffering of mankind - society became increasingly inhumane during the Cold War era as events such as the holocaust and the atomic bombs on Japan had created a new sense of how evil and destructive was mankind? The story conveys such thoughts through Lorna’s personal experiences, including:

-          “Tasukete! Tasukete!”, the Japanese word for help was used to produce an image of suffering and hopelessness

-          “her arms were raw, red and mangled” paints an haunting image of how dreadfully some of the victims had suffered or were still suffering

·         Hope - throughout Cold War society, the prevalence of the suffering of mankind generated a need for hope and a need for something to possible save them. Hope is comingled during ‘Hope in Hiroshima?” through Lorna’s struggle to survive, with examples including:

-          “spiritual home” is the place that Lorna tries to get too, the “beacon of hope” that may offer her some “consolation” in these dark times.

-          “turned her back on the altar” after she finds no deliverance or immediate answers in such a place. Absent hope after she had been optimistic for so long.

-          “Red Cross Hospital”, the place that would offer her healing for her wounds and the possibility of answers, after the church had failed her.

·         Questioning of religion - as new ideas sprouted forth to compensate for the lack of religions validity, including science and the importance of intelligence, religion lost some of its strength as a source of absolute truth. This has been explored by Lorna in her thoughts, throughout the story:

-          “Where are you?” in our time of need Lorna asks, seeking a response of any kind as she searches for something to place her faith into. The questioning of whether God exists in all of this, does God have any power to stop this or save people from such an event.

-          “turned her back on the altar” completes her transformation from someone with faith, into someone absent it. She then places her allegiance with the hospital, a place where science could offer her answers.

Traffic Lights

A dissimilar family attempts to make its way through the city, in hope of reaching St Matthews church, for a promising message about hope and dealing with life. The traffic jam ahead is long and unwavering, precipitating an atmosphere of waiting and subsequent conservations to distract against such foreboding feelings.

·         Waiting – as mentioned in the reflection for ‘Between the Lines’, society became increasingly apprehensive after devastating events, including the bombing of Hiroshima. Western society in particular became increasingly unsettled with the possible counter reaction of such an event. Growing concerns over the USSR developing their own nuclear weapons brought about this notion of waiting for such an event to happen, which has been effectively explored in ‘Traffic Lights’ through:

-          “pensively tapping at the steering wheel” shows how people expressed their frustration at having to wait

-          “the collective travellers … waiting” illustrates how society is in the same view of waiting to go, to move

-          “Are we there yet?”, an example of Max’s subsequent feelings causes him to whine and become irritated

-          “surely soon enough”, shows that society has no definite hold on whether what time something may happen

·         Futility of life – the value of human life also lessened with events like the nuclear bombing of Japan causing so much death and destruction. Society has since adopted this view of human life losing its significance, along with how easy death can come to us all, in the blink of an eye. This is explore through:

-          “nothing to be done”, illustrates how society has no control over the situation they are in

-          “casualties expected to exceed 260” shows how easily death can happen to anyone. The reference to the Korean Air Lines disaster in 1983, validates the above statement of how quickly and tragically life can be cut short.

·         Death imagery – Violet’s comments are few and brief, yet challenge her father’s comments in a distinctive way, relating to atrocities of mankind. These constant reminders made by Violet highlight how the world can never forget what has happened in the past. The quotes include:

-          “toot toot train to Treblinka” and “Himmler’s hands” both relate to the significance of the Holocaust as a devastating event

-          “flowers … in Hiroshima” relates to the spontaneous rejuvenation of plants after the nuclear bomb, as a disastrous event in mankind’s record

-          “no turning back” relates to how society cannot go back to being innocent, the scars against mankind will never heal

·         Economic paradigms – capitalist and communist doctrines differed quite significantly and had different views on how money should be spent per capita. Capitalist paradigms were added to ‘Traffic Lights’ through:

-          “inner city avenues that were home to the richest, greediest and wealthiest of people” elucidates the notion that capitalist society allows for the accumulation of money and greed, contrary to communist thinking.

·         Christian allegory/Hope – as religion lost its prevalence in society as science offered new ideas, people too began to question the significance of how valid Christianity was. Yet the church still remains as a symbol of hope for repentance of sins. References to the bible include:

-          “lost sheep”, refers to the parable of the lost sheep and the significance of one’s redemption. Also links to society’s new doubt in faith, describing them as “lost".

-          “good to see the old place” relates to how mankind has turned away from God, yet it is still possible to turn back to God

Characters

Max – a talkative, young boy whose curiosity for knowledge exceeds his depth of understanding. He is the life of the family and connects them all together. Has little knowledge of the conceptual state that the world is in.

Adam – A friendly, pre-teen boy whose peaceful and comforting attitude stems from his desire for everything to be right in the world. Has little knowledge of the current state of society, which is hidden from him by his parents.

Violet – a solitary, depressed teen girl who has just realised the detrimental worldwide effect of the cold war, and the aftermath of the war in general, and how it will have an effect on her life. Relevance of name correlates the dark colour with her bleak attitude to life.

Dad – The man of the household, who decides to take the family on a road trip to an church, hopes for enlightenment as to how he should continue his life in a contented way. Acts as leader and head of the family.

Mummy – stressed in her day to day life at home. Content to escape the house yet still depressed at state of the world. Quiet in the car, but sighs at Violets remarks, implying her hidden distress at the terrible events that have happened around the world.