I love short stories like "Emergency Room"! I don't know where to start analyzing, so feel free to enjoy the ramble:
Georgie wasn't lying when he said "[he] save lives (285)". Isn't it crazy how the guy that is most tripped on LSD is the only one to save lives in the emergency room? Not only did he save the life of the patient by simply removing the knife in his only good eye, he took the life of one rabbit to save the lives of eight baby rabbits. Also, he plans on saving the life of Hardee so, it won't be lost in the war.
There is some underlying theme of sight mixed with real vs. hallucination. This is first exemplified with Georgie continually mopping the floor that is supposedly covered in blood, which after I continue to read realize that both him and the narrator are seeing things. Considering the narrator "worked two doubles with eight hours off in between" (278) it's no surprise that he is on LSD. The most obvious example is the patient, with one fake eye and another that has just been stabbed. Suddenly, they leave the emergency room and just start driving. Here, I got really confused. Ultimately, they get lost and end up at a fair, and here again Georgie does not see the rides. Then on the way back, they must stop because the car didn't have any headlights, so he could not see to drive. But it's obvious he was not seeing much anyway. Foreshadowing seems to present itself when the narrator imagines they were in a military graveyard, all the while it was a drive-in movie. The narrator is in need of help with his perception. Later he says something that is very interesting: that he understands "how a drowning man might suddenly feel a deep thirst being quenched. Or how the slave might become a friend to his master" (283). I believe he is stating that he comprehends the last will of people searching for an escape. Georgie mentions this need to escape earlier when he states that there is so much goop insdie of us, and "it all wants to get out" (274).
There is also a underlying religous theme and a time theme both with very light touches mentioned in the story. Georgie says he want to go to church to worship, but I find it ironic that they work at a Catholic hospital that plays the Lord's Prayer on a loudspeaker nightly. Throughout the story, the narrator gives the reader a constant update on how much time is left in the shift, expressing their burning desire to leave. It seems as though everyone in the emergency room is extremely selfish and has no care in the world about the patients. Sentences like "the eye man was on vacation or something" and "I've got my own life and the protection of my family to think of" (277) really worry me. Especially thinking about things that I have seen on television with multiple people dying while waiting for aid in emergency rooms.
Overall, great story about the daily lives we live--sometimes we get lost on purpose, only to return to our place of entrapment.
Speaking of entrapment--there is "Home". This reminds me of the many talks we have had in class about what to do after college when the dream job does not land on the doorstep. The narrator "ran out of money and [she] wasn't in love, so [she had] to [go] home to [her] mother" (410). Even at the flea market, she sees items that could belong to her past friends, maybe meaning that they are back home like she is. One statement found on 418 defines this story: "They wantto go home to die" (418).
The mother-daugther relationship in this story is one that resembles relationships across the world. When the narrator states that "[Their] telepathy always frightens [her]" (417), I definitely understand what she is saying. It's funny, because I do not completely understand the daughter's wild ways, but I know the way she feels towards her mom. It cannot really be described. The mother is truly hurt by her daughter's ways, but is stuck in her own. She does not give up knitting or the watching of television, but it is quite sad when the mother goes to church alone. There is alot of guilt in this household because of their different ways, and the mother takes it upon herself to harbor the guilt by paying for the daughter schooling, paying for her escape.
I loved the quote from Phillips in the interview when she said "scars can represent trauma, but they also represent healing"! That is probably the best thing I have ever heard. I definitely needed to hear that. I can relate to that in my life right now. Cancer is a huge source of pain in this story. The mother suffered from breast cancer, of which too much of her breast was removed in the surgery, and Daniel her past and present lover has pieces of shrapnel stuck in his arm from war that have started tumor growth. The interview was great.
Both stories were great and represented entrapment and escape in the workplace, household, and battlefield.
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