Heather Chau on "Men Under Water"

I find it interesting how the narrator always seems to mention the physical appearance of Gunther. He's always introduced as this massive ball of flesh of a man, and his appearance seems to be an important aspect of his character, although I'm not quite sure what it does. Many of the previous short stories we've read don't really include details about the character's appearances.

I also find it interesting how the power dynamic shifts in the middle of the story, when Willie and Joseph come over. At first, we see the narrator as Gunther's sidekick. It's obvious from the way Gunther handles himself at the Acid Rain mansion that he knows how to handle people, which we can especially see in the scene between him and Luke. He blatantly commands Luke to "sit down", and from what the narrator has said these people aren't a joke (given his wife doesn't want him there). We also see that the narrator can handle these situations too, but he's seen as "Gunther's sidekick".

However, when Joseph and Willie come to Gunther's house, the narrator becomes more of the leader while Gunther gets drinks and cries in the kitchen. The narrator is the one pitching the ideas to the two men, which I found surprising since Gunther was kind of introduced as the head man between the two.

I also find the pool scene interesting because the relationship between the two men seem almost telepathic there. They are completely understanding each other's thoughts through simple hand motions, whereas previously it's shown that it's not completely so. Previously, there's misunderstanding between the two: Gunther misjudges the narrator's mood at the beginning of the story at Peter Pan diner and then later, on page 329, the two words that the narrator is thinking. And yet, in that scene, through simple motions they understand everything that the other is saying, even paragraph-long thoughts.

I'm not quite sure I understand the relationship between the two. At first it seems like boss-underling, then coworkers, then a power couple, and finally it feels somewhat like soulmates. Gunther doesn't even seem to see the narrator as a worker under him anymore, but more as someone he needs. He even offers to give all profit earned from the money to the narrator just so he'd stay. It's a very strange relationship.