“ A little puff of air revived me. It seemed to come from the hedge; and, when I opened my eyes, there was a glint of light through the tangle of boughs and the dead leaves.” (The Other Side of the Hedge sections three and four).
What good lines! These lines are rich in meaning and set a foundation for the rest of the story. First off, the narrator lays down too tired to go on. He prays that he might give up. Remember however that in other parts of the story he is very adamant about how he must continue on the road and persevere, but there is something inside of him that is maybe telling him something different. Maybe he actually does want to quit despite what he says.
Also, it seems that he is drawn towards the other side of the hedge despite himself, “In my weak morbid state, I longed to force my way in, and see what was on the other side” (Section four). The “puff of air,” gave him a taste of the other side and he couldn’t resist. The narrator went into the hedge despite the seemingly taboo views of the hedge. He made sure no one was watching, “For we of the road do not admit in conversation that there is another side at all.” He seems to belong to “those of the road.” That leads you to think that maybe he isn’t as trustworthy as you might think. Something is going on here. I could go on and on, but it would be beyond the scope of the blog. Here’s my ending statement: excellent read, and it just gets better the closer you look at it.
P.S. I commented on Will's "The Other Side"
I agree! There is so much tension with the speaker. With that line it seems that he wants the rest and wants the giving up. But he seems conflicted, perhaps horrified by the giving up because it seems unnatural or uncomfortable to him (due to social constructions, dun dun dun...). A self versus society kind of ordeal, maybe?
ReplyDeleteI really like this. I agree. When I read this, I thought of someone going through the motions, whether it be dealing with a spiritual situation or just life in general. The struggle he faces would have to do with if he is willing to leave the comfortable monotony that he is in or to look for something else.
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