 Arrrggghhh! | A WRITER'S WIT |
Silent Disciples
Edel Rodriguez November 2, 2015, Ariel Dorfman, “The Gospel According to García”: A nameless substitute teacher enters a classroom of twelve pupils, whose teacher, García, has been relieved of his position. ¶ The author employs an effective but limiting first person plural, by which readers only know what the class tells them, namely that García is a charismatic teacher, who has left them a “gospel” of behavior, whose precepts alone will help them to survive their futures. For example, he tells them, “Never speak . . .You cannot capture anyone until you have heard his voice.” And there are others: ferret out the weakest link; never apologize if you haven’t done anything wrong. As a result readers learn all about the absent character García by way of his previous actions and words in this classroom of students who are on the verge of graduating—if only the sub will evaluate the half of twelve exams remaining ungraded, a task he seems to find more intimidating than even the silence which enshrouds the classroom, the precept García’s students seem to have most readily accepted. The exam question? Why is indifference worse than murder? This story begins in the past tense but evolves to the present as if the class might still be seated in that classroom, even to the last sentence. “We remain absolutely silent and wait.” Dorfman’s most recent book, Feeding on Dreams: Confessions of an Unrepentant Exile, came out in 2011.
Illustrator, Edel Rodriguez.
NEXT TIME: My Book World: Thomas Maier's Masters of Sex
Illustrator, Edel Rodriguez.
NEXT TIME: My Book World: Thomas Maier's Masters of Sex
READ MY ‘BEHIND THE BOOK’ BLOG SERIES for My Long-Playing Records & Other Stories. In these posts I speak of the creative process I use to write each story. Buy a copy here!
Date of Original Post:
11/13/14 — Introduction to My Long-Playing Records
11/20/14 — "My Long-Playing Records" — The Story
11/27/14 — "A Certain Kind of Mischief"
12/04/14 — "Ghost Riders"
12/11/14 — "The Best Mud"
12/18/14 — "Handy to Some"
12/25/14 — "Blight"
01/01/15 — "A Gambler's Debt"
01/09/15 — "Tales of the Millerettes"
01/15/15 — "Men at Sea"
01/22/15 — "Basketball Is Not a Drug"
01/29/15 — "Engineer"
02/05/15 — "Snarked"
02/12/15 — "Killing Lorenzo"
02/19/15 — "The Age I Am Now"
02/26/15 — "Bathed in Pink"
Listen to My Long-Playing Records Podcasts:
03/12/15 — "A Certain Kind of Mischief"
03/26/15 — "The Best Mud"
04/02/15 — "Handy to Some"
04/09/15 — "Tales of the Millerettes"
04/16/15 — "Men at Sea"
04/23/15 — "My Long-Playing Records"
04/30/15 — "Basketball Is Not a Drug"
05/07/15 — "Snarked"
05/21/15 — "Killing Lorenzo"
05/28/15 — "Bathed in Pink"
Also available on iTunes. Watch for more podcasts!
Date of Original Post:
11/13/14 — Introduction to My Long-Playing Records
11/20/14 — "My Long-Playing Records" — The Story
11/27/14 — "A Certain Kind of Mischief"
12/04/14 — "Ghost Riders"
12/11/14 — "The Best Mud"
12/18/14 — "Handy to Some"
12/25/14 — "Blight"
01/01/15 — "A Gambler's Debt"
01/09/15 — "Tales of the Millerettes"
01/15/15 — "Men at Sea"
01/22/15 — "Basketball Is Not a Drug"
01/29/15 — "Engineer"
02/05/15 — "Snarked"
02/12/15 — "Killing Lorenzo"
02/19/15 — "The Age I Am Now"
02/26/15 — "Bathed in Pink"
Listen to My Long-Playing Records Podcasts:
03/12/15 — "A Certain Kind of Mischief"
03/26/15 — "The Best Mud"
04/02/15 — "Handy to Some"
04/09/15 — "Tales of the Millerettes"
04/16/15 — "Men at Sea"
04/23/15 — "My Long-Playing Records"
04/30/15 — "Basketball Is Not a Drug"
05/07/15 — "Snarked"
05/21/15 — "Killing Lorenzo"
05/28/15 — "Bathed in Pink"
Also available on iTunes. Watch for more podcasts!
RSS Feed