Chapter 8 analysis and reflection

Chapter 8 of the curious writer focuses on the methods of writing a critical essay and what is contained within them. Of the stories read within the chapter “Lullaby”, by Leslie Marion Silko captured my attention the most so I will be focusing on that. In this story it follows the experiences of a Native American woman and her family and events that take place on the ranch they live on. Throughout the story it is clear that the main character feels the pain of loss from events in her life and is trying to cope with it, as in the story she mentions how her children were forced away from her for a time and her husband feels like a stranger to her. In order to cope with this she frequently finds peace in nature by focusing on the sensory details of the outdoors. Another reoccurring part I noticed in the essay was the story telling. Not only is the essay itself presented in the format of an oral story, the main character and chapter itself mention how story telling was a major method of sharing information about the world along Indian tribes. At the end she closes her essay with a thought provoking ‘lullaby’ after meeting up with her husband who is in poor health and has memory loss. This drives home both of these points, not only by adding to the story telling, but also adding to the theme of loss.