The first story, "True Trash," a deceptively easy going coming-of-age tale, accustoms us to the author's bold leaps in time. Set mainly in a summer camp on an island in Ontario's Georgian Bay, "True Trash" gives us a leisurely account of teen-age waitresses' fitful interaction with the "small fry" and counselors at Camp Adanaqui.
But it is only in a flash-forward of 11 years, when the former schoolboy camper Donny has dropped the last syllable from his name and grown a beard, that the story begins to take shape. During a chance encounter with him in Toronto, Joanne, a former waitress at the camp, begins to put together the missing pieces in a real-life True Romance story -- or rather, as one of the waitresses called this type of magazine, True Trash. "The melodrama tempts [ Joanne ] , the idea of a revelation, a sensation, a neat ending." But she is too sophisticated now for such a pat, "outmoded" story, and withholds from Don a revelation that would make him seem a True Trash character.
Kat...enjoys a slick rise to the top, though hers, in "Hairball," is more easily explained. "When knives were slated for backs, she'd always done the stabbing." What would otherwise be an all-too-familiar tale of comeuppance in the dreary world of fashion magazines is given an uncanny aura by the presence of a benign tumor, dubbed Hairball, which Kat has preserved from an operation and given a place of honor on her mantelpiece. "The hair in it was red -- long strands of it wound round and round inside."
| This well crafted story concerns a contemporary woman in her
thirties who undergoes significant personal losses; in fact, she seems
to lose or lack an identity. Over the years, Kat, an "avant garde"
fashion photographer, has altered her image, even her name, to suit the
situation and the times. She has had two abortions and "learned to say
that she didn't want children anyway." The story begins when Kat undergoes surgical removal of a rare and peculiar ovarian tumor containing hair, teeth, bones (the clinical term is a dermoid cyst ); Kat dubs it "hairball " and stores it in formaldehyde on her mantelpiece. We learn that Kat's relationship with her married lover is going sour, that he will replace her as creative director at work. She fantasizes that she has given birth to "hairball" who she sees as the "warped child" of their failed relationship. Physical symptoms accompany Kat's growing emotional confusion. Hairball becomes the vehicle for an ultimate bizarre act reflecting Kat's personality disintegration. She has gone from being Katherine to Kath to Kat, to K, to being "temporarily without a name." | |
| Commentary | This story addresses the emptiness and superficiality that is pervasive in some segments of contemporary Western culture, and particularly it addresses the impact of the culture on the modern woman--the woman of the eighties and nineties. The narrative tone is almost satiric and masterfully reflects the lifestyle portrayed. The piece shows how women may subvert their own needs and best interests by the way in which they interact with men. Further, the story reminds us that abortion and surgery on reproductive organs can never be taken lightly, by patient or by physician. The implications, even when not consciously acknowledged, may be profound. |
Ledibel Rivera
ReplyDeleteWhile reading Hair Ball and True Trash I noticed how the author Margaret Atwood used irony in both of the stories at the end. I njoyed reading both of them. In the first story Hair Ball I found really hilarious when Kat found out that she was getting replaced in her fashion shob by the guy that she is having an affair with. I also had a good laugh at the fact that Kat wasn't so good at fashion anymore and the way that he reacted to the news. At the end Kat took her "hairball" which she thought of as her child to Gerald's house in a box of truffles. While reading this i just kept imagining his wife's reaction to the box.
In True trash at first it was a hard short story for me to read. I recommend that you read this story in one sitting because if you don't you will easily get confused. At the end of the story i thought that Donny was going to bump into Ronnette but instead he bumped into Joanne. While they were having lunch i learned that Ronnette's baby's father was Donny and thats why she didn't want to tell Joanne. This was shocking to me because i honestly was not expecting it. While reading Margaret Atwood made it seem as if Donny was to young and immature for Ronnette that's why when i found out that he was the father of her child i was kind of hoping that Joanne would tell him ut she didn't. I really wish that Joanne would have told Donnyabout his child and that the story would have had a different happier ending but i enjoyed both her short storied none the less
Great comment, Ledibel. Good advice about "True Trash". Yes, it's hard to believe that Donny fathered a child.
DeleteOut of both stories, I liked "True Trash". I underestimated the value of the stories because of the cover of the book. But when I actually started reading the story, it caught my attention from the beginning, it was hard to get a grasp on the setting at first because I was under the impression the boys spying on the waitresses were older, and not young children at summer camp. But after I had the grasp on the setting, the story really took off, and I really liked how the narrator wasn't just Donny, but it was from the perspective of someone looking in on all of the characters, an outside source. The surprise ending made the story, where we realize that Donny is the father to Ronette's child. Also the mystery of what ever happened to Ronette ties in perfectly, and this was honestly one of the best short stories I've ever read in a while.
ReplyDeleteWith "Hairball", the story took off from the beginning, I could invision everything the story was describing from the beginning, down to "Hairball" and him sitting in his formaldehyde home. I loved how Kat sent the tumor in a fancy box of chocolates, effectively ruining Ger's marriage because I would have done the same thing. :)
In "Hairball" i really enjoyed how well the story was described. I could see everything happening in my mind. I particularly enjoyed the ending when Kat sabotages Gerald's marriage by disguising a hairy tumor in a box of chocolates. It was a great suprise ending that says a lot about kat's character.
ReplyDeleteI thought "Tru Trash was a great story as well. The fact that it was set in a summer campmakes I seems like a sweet preteen story but it is very scandalous. When I found out that Donny fathered Ronnette's child I was shocked and I liked that twist in the story very much. I thought both of the stories by this author were very good and I liked them both.
Marissa Santana
ReplyDeleteThese two short stories written by Margaret Atwood were very good. The first story that I read was True Trash and at times it could be very confusing. I would I have to say that I agree to Ledibel’s comment about reading the story all at one time. There were times while reading that I didn’t even understand what was going on. Such as I really didn’t think that Donny was the father of Ronnette’s child; he didn’t know and once I found out it made a little more sense to me. Margaret Atwood did a great job at developing her characters. I think that by reading these two stories that she wrote it was good for me because I know that I am not the strongest at developing characters or putting in good descriptive details. I especially like how she uses the metaphor of the hairball. When you think of the title of the story, the first thing that I think of is a cat. The way that they lick their self to clean up and when they have too much hair in there body then they cough it up. Thinking of the tumor and how it had hair, bones and teeth. The story has a very humorous outlook on what is happening to Kat but this is actually something that is very serious. When someone has to go through what she did it can be very hard and painful. Kat has grown emotional confusion especially when she fantasizes that she had “Hairball”. It can be hard to realize what happened. With what had happened she has changed various things about herself. Such as her name she switched it to four different names, Katherine to Kath to Kat then finally to K. I thought overall that her stories were very good and fun to read.
Like always, being the typical student that I am--I took Margaret Atwood's writing capabilities for granted. I didn't have any particular reason for why I didn't want to read the book. However, when I finally took the time to read these two stories I felt Atwood deserved credit where it was due. The story "Hairball" has incredible description which helps me get a vivid image of everything that is going on in the book. I thought it was kind of a weird concept that Kat calls her tumor "hairball." For this same reason though, I appreciated Atwood for opening my mind to different ideas. The first story, "True Trash" was also an interesting one but it was extremely hard to follow. Although this story was fairly short, I read the story in small incriments and was eaily distracted so I didn't actually finish this story until two days later after the story. It was hard for me to rememeber what was going in because I allowed some days to past before finishing it.
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