I often put the music on my phone on shuffle to see what will happen-- sometimes it's spectacular and revelatory, and at other times it's horrific-- and today a song came on that I had forgotten about. The lyrics detail those kinds of tiny, particular details about a person, and I feel like I could know the subject, not just the idea of her. Perhaps it's an issue of personal preference? Or maybe I'm uncomfortable with the perceived certainty that comes with imagining/picturing of "a war veteran," or "the butcher down the street," or even "the punk rock kid at the coffee shop."
I'm not really sure what my answer is, but I'm sure it probably boils down to personal taste, so if anyone wants to weigh in here, that would be cool. Instead of an answer, I'll leave you with the lyrics of the first verse from the song I talked about.
She makes a lot of abstract art
She haggles for the cheapest price
She never orders take-out food before ten o'clock at night
She's really into snowmobiles
She owns a lot of nice flashlights
She cares for all the stupid cats that never found their way home
She shaves her legs with Ginsu knives
She quotes a lot of Annie Hall
She misplaced her virginity back in 1995
She's what's keeping me alive
She's the pizza of my eye
Without her near me I would not survive
Love the lyrics, Whitney, especially the line about "owning a lot of bright flashlights." What does that say? A lot, I think. I've also been thinking about our class discussion regarding our reluctance to describe people we know. A reason for this, we concluded in class, was our worry that we might offend with a characterization. But there are so many ways to describe someone diplomatically but still revealingly.
ReplyDeleteI agree that specific details about a person builds a specific kind of relationship with someone else, just as more broad descriptions or information about a person builds a different, more general kind of relationship to someone. I think the little details (she never orders take-out food before ten o'clock at night) make us feel like were in on a secret, or we know something about a person that few others know. That build a very personal/ special connection to someone. On the other hand, knowing someone as Buck, the conservative, hunting, gun right activists who always holds the door open for the ladies, builds a different kind of relationship with someone. You might know those general things about Buck, but you might not know that he once knocked some guy out for harassing a gay couple. The kinds of information that we both, know, and reveal determine the kind of relationship or distance that you want your reader to have to the character. I think every detail is important, vague or specific, and we use those details as tools to further the plot, or maintain a specific style, or mood. I think it all depends on the story that you want to tell.
ReplyDelete