Response to "Television"

The short story "Television" was written by Lydia Davis.

The story is told from the first person perspective of a wife and mother.  I feel like this was an appropriate choice.  However, the story isn't your typical narrative.  There is not a clear, sequential order of events or any dialogue.  I think this is effective, though slightly annoying.  The story is about the family gathered around a television all the time.  The narrator describes the many different programs and commercials that go on.  The choppy line breaks signal the short attention span the narrator must have due to the excessive amount of television that is watched.  Also, the absence of dialogue is an effect of the how much television is watched.  This family puts forth all their energy to watching, not discussing.

Another interesting thing I noticed that was important to the story is the way the narrator described her favorite parts of television.  These parts had very much to do with real life.  For instance, when the family is watching the quiz show, their superficiality is displayed by their opinions of the boy and mother.  They don't care about the boy (the show's main focus) and they dislike the mother because she has "bad teeth." The commercials and programs that show only beautiful people have clearly made an impact on the family's psyche.  However, one spark of humanity beckons them away from the television.  They are moved by the father's tears on the television.  They get so caught up in his emotions, they turn off the phone to watch him.  The emotions being shown by the father are stronger than any other emotion on the show and that is what sparks the family's interest.  Unfortunately, this is at the expense of the father on the television, another point the author is surely trying to make.

Overall, this story was moving, convicting, and interesting.  I didn't like her style and felt that a true narrative could have conveyed the same message and point, but that is merely a stylistic preference of mine.