Alex Lemme - "Men Under Water"

Ralph Lombreglia incorporates elements such as the connection between characters and compelling visual descriptions in his story "Men Under Water".
The connection between the two main characters Gunther and Reggie, the narrator is outlined as a sort of necessary symbiosis as well as a budding friendship. Gunther often refers to Reggie and lauds him for his creativity in sentences such as "Sensitive and Gifted" and " You're turning your back on a brilliant future". On the other hand, Reggie seems to be initially taken aback by Gunther's heinous actions towards his Pakistani tenants but seems to settle and accept his previous mistake in the quotes "Nothing, Gunther, I always say, not a thing, you're a prince" that is still on the sarcastic side, very Holden Caulfield. Throughout the narration, however, both these characters seem to grow closer to each other and in the end Reggie states "I know I did, you huge oaf" affectionately when Gunther thanks his input in obtaining funding for their movie. The reader is brought through the slow acceptance of both characters in each other's minds.
Visual descriptions such as "The smooth expanse of his completely bald head" and "He held the catsup bottle in one fist like a chisel or a caulking gun" involve the reader directly with the scenes in the narration. Especially toward the end of the story, this imagery is important in sections such as "Then I make out Gunther, his legs and arms wafting gently like seaweed fronds" help indicate the newfound respect the narrator has in his work partner. He sees him as a creature of grace, no longer the man "the shrimplike color of new Play-Doh" he described at the beginning of the story.