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Yours is a short story published in The New Yorker by Mary Robinson. It describes a family who celebrates Halloween, despite it being neither mentioned directly nor indirectly. There are mentioned that the night weather in Virginia is still warm; thus, it can be guessed that there is the end of October. The family consists of Clark and Allison, where Clark is almost twice older as Allison. It is mentioned that Clark is a doctor and painter in his free time, and Allison is engaged in charity. There is mentioned that Allison had known that she was dying for several weeks before the plot’s time of action; it is not mentioned directly, but one can guess, again, that she has lethal cancer. The story has a style close to Postmodernism, with its bright symbolism and other attributes, such as the open ending and grim atmosphere.
The pumpkin is the first symbol in this story, which is also the symbol of Halloween. Jack-o’-lanterns, made on holiday, are mentioned in conclusion as watching on Clark who is talking on the phone (Robison). One can remember that Halloween is dedicated to death and to those who are dead. Thus, its pumpkin symbolizes death and, perhaps, the connection between living and dead. Clark and Allison make jack-o’-lanterns from pumpkins together, which symbolize their connection. The final scene, where jack-o’-lantern was watching at Clark, symbolizes the eventual death of Allison. Perhaps it is the reason for Clark’s call, despite the story tells nothing about Clark’s state of mind and emotions, offering the reader to guess, which is the trait typical for Postmodernism.
The second symbol is a terrible letter to Clark from his daughter, where she directly accuses Allison. She wrote that he is an old fool, implying that Allison wants to deceive him for her own profit (Robison). As Robinson mentions in Yours, Allison volunteers in the children’s day-care center. By reading the story, one can see that she is friendly and polite with Clark, encouraging him that his pumpkin is no worse than hers. In that way, according to the story, Allison is kind, honest, and eager to help, which directly contradicts Clark’s daughter’s slander. The story, narrating from Allison’s point of view, tells that this letter is both the worst and the funniest thing. This letter may symbolize public opinion in general and how wrong and even stupid it can be, which, again, brings the story to Postmodernism, which rejects the absolute value of public opinion.
The last symbol is the situation of Allison itself: she is supposed to die, but she seems to have no worries about it. When Clark comes to comfort her, seeing that she is sitting in the bathroom with her pulse beating hardly, she rejects him (Robison). She says that he would better not see her without clothes, immediately changing the conversation’s subject. During the story, Allison did not think about the inevitable death, talking with her husband, doing routine, and volunteering as usual. She has the courage to face the death and be ready for it, and the problems, such as slander from Clark’s daughter, only amused her.
Overall, this short story is similar to Postmodernist literature, characterized by symbolism, a non-linear plot, unusual descriptions of usual things, and an open ending. All they are present in this work: the symbolism of Halloween’s jack-o’-lanterns is the first example mentioned throughout the story. Another symbol is the letter, the symbol of public opinion’s stupidity. The story describes the usual situation, the celebration of Halloween, but does this in an unusual way, with many hints and symbols. The plot is non-linear: the situation when Allison found out that she is dying had been before the main plot’s events. Lastly, it has an open ending and overall grim atmosphere, expressed by pumpkins.
Works Cited
Robison, Mary. “Yours.” The New Yorker. 1982. Web.
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