The meaning of life can be a tricky thing to figure out. Sometimes your day to day life can seem so meaningless. Doing normal activities and passing the time. But what are the most important things in life? And what if you don’t complete your life’s goals? These are questions the main character in Miguel Syjuco’s short story “Be Here Now”, asks himself when his everyday life changes suddenly which causes him having to adapt as fast as his life is changing.
The short story is about a photographer, returned from a place of war and death, to his fiancée, Jenna, and new house. But something isn’t right. He seems restless and affected by the horrors he has seen. As the days progress, they unpack their things in their new home. But every night the protagonist pretends to have to do work, so that he doesn’t have to talk to his fiancée about getting married. He checks his email, he watches YouTube videos and browses Facebook. When he receives his next assignment from his editor, he deletes it. The story ends with Jenna calling for the main character and saying that she was wondering why he wasn’t with her.
The story starts with in media res, which is a characteristic feature in short stories, and we are thrown directly into the lives of the characters, without any knowledge of the situation. The point of view in the story, is a 1st person narrative from the photographers’ perspective: “I check my email. I’m relieved and disappointed there’s nothing.” (p. 3, l. 51) This helps us understand his actions, as we can follow his thought process which is very dominating throughout the story. This gives us a subjective perspective of everything, his fiancée Jenna, their relationship, and everything else. Furthermore, this helps us identify with the main character and sympathize with him more.
Det er gratis at oprette en konto