Week 1 : Alejandra Garcia

River of Names is an engrossing short story. The transitions between the narrator's present life and her traumatic past are engaging, you're following the narrator through her recollection abruptly like a long night’s nightmare. Tragic events shape the narrator's life not dates or milestones. Author Dorothy Allison has even emitted details from the narrator’s present life. We know that they have a partner named Jesse, however, we do not know of the narrator's name or age. Nonetheless, the narrator's struggle with her past is manifested through both her actions and words. In the beginning, she reveals how she lies to Jesse and this has created a wall between them.  The numerous mentions to Jesse’s chin also alludes to the narrator's struggle with breaking from the chain of violence in her family. She is constantly holding back, “I think of all the times my hands have curled into fists, when I have just barely held on” (12). In the last flashback about the narrator’s sister punching the baby’s mattress, the sister says “I wasn’t going to be like that. I always promised myself…We an't no different...” (11). This flashback helps better shape the internal conflict of the narrator. These insights into the narrator's fears and conflicts helped me move past the shock value of the events and better understand the narrator's present state.