Last year during freshmen year, I tried out for volleyball during the beginning of August. The tryouts were as soon as we went back to school from summer vacation. During the summer, I was worried that I would not get into the JV team but didn’t spend my time practicing before the tryouts. Although I wanted to practice, I felt too lazy to go outside. Also, I wanted to practice with friends rather than by myself. The week passed quickly and I started to panic the day before the tryouts. I regret my decision, but couldn’t do anything because it was too late. In the tryouts, I wanted to leave but one of the upperclassmen made us stay there. Although I made it into first cut, I failed in the second cut. There were some indications that I didn’t notice that I would fail. I knew that the other people were trying hard and practicing before the tryouts, but I ignored it. Also, because of my lack of confidence, I wasn’t able to be aggressive and was scared to hit the ball. I only thought and worried about my mistakes. I wasn’t able to notice how hard people were trying and failed as a result.
In The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant, Wetherell foreshadows that the protagonist will not be successful at impressing Sheila Mant. In the story, as the protagonist went up to her, Sheila didn’t seem to care or have any interest in him. The author wrote, “She didn’t seem to see me at all.” (Wetherell 36). This foreshadows that Sheila had no interest him at first and he would have a difficult time trying to impress her. It seemed like she had an attitude towards him because she had a “very dubious expression” and “she let herself down reluctantly into the bow.” (Wetherwell 37). Sheila was not interested in the boat she didn’t even bother to help him paddle the boat. Additionally, the personalities of Sheila and the protagonist clash in the story. When Sheila talked about the musician she liked, the protagonist “had no idea whom she meant.” (Wetherell 37). For the protagonist, fishing was his favorite, but Sheila hated fishing and thought that it was dumb and boring. The protagonist and Sheila Mant had distinct personalities and interests, which led to an unsuccessful result.
Daisy~ I think this is one of the most focused weblogs you've written so far! Did this story spark more of your interest than the others? I like the way you've chosen very precise and short excerpts from the text and melded them into your own sentences to make observations about the text. If Tobias Wolff is correct in his claims that short stories should be as familiar to us as a memory, then would it be accurate to say that you've experiences something similar and therefore are better able to empathize with this character? That Wetherall has tapped into something you can relate to in your experience in his story about a boy with divided interests?
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