A Critique of the Short Story Say Goodbye
This paper is shows a critique of the Short Story Say Goodbye. This critique would concentrate on the writing style of the author. It would also provide some insights from the proponent of this paper on how the story can be related to the way a person live his life. The author of the story had appropriately given a title to the story that he had written. It captures the essence of the story and the emotional feel of it. Any reader who would read this story would be able to relate to it because the author had been able to show how people treat life.
In the first part of the story, Eileen McCoy is a typical woman who takes everything for granted. She does not worry too much about her life because she knows that her best friend Liz is there to take care of her. Eileen did not also feel that there would be something wrong with her life because she had been with James for the past thirty-six years and from the story they had a happy life. Although Eileen loves her husband, she did not know that something was coming until they went to see the doctor.
James McCoy, on the other hand, is a very good example of how the people behave when they feel something wrong with them. In real life, there are some people who evade the topic of having a check-up. Since James was putting off any check-ups from the doctor, he was not able to have his diagnosis early. As a result, it became too late for a treatment that could have prolonged his life. Regrets are always realized when it is too late and this is what the author had shared with the readers. It is well written and the reader can relate easily to how the story was written.
The author ended the story in a very good way. The reader can really feel the emotion of the two characters at the end of the story. Although the characters did not actually say goodbye, the author did not show how Eileen would have said goodbye to James. This is an open ending where one would imagine James in his deathbed and how Eileen would make the most out of their lives. It is a good strategy to keep the readers think even after the reader had read the story. The theme of the story is given straight to the readers and even though the story is not long, any reader would remember it.
This is because what the story provides the reader is a lesson that every person should know which is “Live life to the fullest and appreciate what you have. ” The story could also change lives and open the eyes of the reader. Having a “James McCoy” as a friend or a family, the reader can actually tell someone they know to watch out for their health because you only have one life. A person’s life is always linked to someone and every life is important. If the person wants the people they know dearly to stay happy then he or she must always take care of how they are.
A person can make another one’s life miserable by just being ill and when a person is gone, the one who suffers most are the one’s left behind. A well-written story deserves praise and what matters in a story is the content and not the length. It is good to read short stories such as this one because it is a story which could be happening right this moment. There are people out there who have just been learned things that could change their life forever right this moment. Sharing this story with other readers could help them change how they see life and appreciate it more.
