"Buster's Gift" and "Russ the Provider"

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Originally Posted by Jean-Baptiste

Is this how you've been spending Spring break, reading short stories?

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Somewhat. Plus Hamlet, Macbeth, and "Bartleby, the Scrivener"; trying to catch up a little bit for class.

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Originally Posted by Jean-Baptiste

As for installing subtleties into this story, I think I was simply starting from a solid foundation--and the subtleties just appeared where they were needed.

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That was the general impression.

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Originally Posted by Jean-Baptiste

Please tell me if there's a possibility that they could sound a bit contrived.

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If they were "contrived" they could hardly be called subtle! :)

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Originally Posted by Jean-Baptiste

As for analyzing every detail, I would hope that the little details do aid the whole in such a way that it is unnecessary to abstract them for meaning.

As it is, there was no particular symbolism that I was going for in the details; the only thing I had to do was weed out the incongruities, and the rest that fit seemed to really fit.

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Quite so. I didn't suppose there was some huge underlying scheme going on; the details just seemed to give a good deal of unity and, to a certain degree, subtextual content.

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Originally Posted by Jean-Baptiste

I really appreciate your comments, Jamesian. You've made my day! :) :D :)

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Glad to hear it. It's a good story.

Yes, I've been reading some plays this week as well. I've read Much Ado About Nothing, and The Importance of Being Earnest. Two slightly less tragic plays than Hamlet and Macbeth. :p

I'm glad with what you say about the subtleties. I guess what I meant about being contrived is that subtleties can often come off sounding incongruous, as though they've been made up especially to steer the story in an unnatural direction. But I see what you mean that contrivances can't really exist in the midst of sincere subtlety.

I have some questions for you, if you don't mind. What do you think of the characters of the father and mother? Are they present enough in the story? I mean, are they developed enough as characters with respect to their actual roles? I definitely want them to take a backseat to Buster and Edna, but do you think I may have gone over that mark? Also, does Buster's age seem plausible? I was concerned that he was a bit too young for the thought processes he goes through, so I tried out making him a bit older, but that brought up different, worse problems. So I wonder if this is an inherent flaw in the story, or if I'm simply worrying about things that don't matter.

Thanks for all your thoughts, friend.