Exploration 6 - Emily Shearer

1) The story that meant the most to me so far is "The Dentist" because I can relate to Curt Lemon's hatred of going to the dentist. Ironically, I am a dental hygiene major. I am not easily grossed out, but when I have to go through the process of being the patient, I do not like it. To this day, I still dread making the appointments and going to them because I don't like getting my teeth worked on or getting lectured about flossing. In the story, the dentist went on for half an hour lecturing the soldiers on oral hygiene, demonstrating the proper flossing and brushing techniques.

2) The character that I find I connect with the most is Mary Anne. Not in the way that she started wearing a necklace of tongues, but the fact that she went through something so drastic that she changed the way she is. I think that everyone goes through drastic events in their lifetime, and those events really shape the way a person can be, and they can be one person before the event and then almost an entirely different person after the event.

3) A specific narrative that stood out to me was the entire chapter of "The Man I Killed". Personally, I think that the story was a genius touch for the book. I liked how descriptive he was and how he thought about the life that the man once lived and was about to live but couldn't anymore because he was killed. It made me think about how everyone has their own stories, and this one spoke to me because the man didn't get to finish out his.

4) "And sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever. That's what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you an't remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story." I really liked the way he worded this part of the passage.