It's Got To Go Off
Another gun on the wall
Just an idea that was already beginning to fade
To become part of the drunkenness
I felt all grown up
But mostly I felt sick
A sense of having been dirtied and initiated
Another gun on the wall
My eyes going wide and scared
Regret
Sogging me down, burst its dam
It seeped into my legs, it pooled my heart
I'd lost my friend
Another gun on the wall
But my heart wasn't in it
Because I don't like you like that
The surface of the water breaks like glass
The depths open up to claim you
Then nothing more for a long while
Another gun on the wall
A poison in my system and I needed to purge it
Do you remember my frog heart?
It did something more amazing--it crept up onto land
I reached under her
I brought her up to me
Another gun on the wall
I had already left on my voyage
I was sailing across the sea to another country
My crocus wore its heart on its sleeve
My blood rocketed
I hit it dead on
If there's a gun on the wall, it's got to go off
Brief Explanation
For my creative response, I didn't want to focus on only one quote. Instead, I wanted to focus on the chapter and Chekhov's idea that if there's a gun that appears in the story, it must go off. I also wanted to tie in Callie's emotional states throughout the chapter. To do this, I created a found poem that grouped together her emotions.
First, for every stanza (except the last one), I had the phrase, "Another gun on the wall", repeat to remind the reader that there is a gun on the wall waiting to go off. Next, I made the first stanza talk about being lost by using the words, "fade" and "drunkenness". The second stanza was about fear. The phrase, "My eyes going wide and scared", and the word, "Regret", helped to portray the feeling of fear. I then wanted the third stanza to be dark and feel as if the speaker, Callie, was empty by using phrases such as, "But my heart wasn't in it", "The depths open up to claim you", and "Then nothing more for a long while".
For the fourth and fifth stanza, I wanted to bring the negative to the positive and almost make it seem like the speaker is revived and full of energy. In the fourth stanza, I used "A poison in my system and I needed to purge it". Then I used, "Do you remember my frog heart? It did something more amazing--it crept up onto land" because I felt that a question could change the emotion of the poem. The answer to the question helped to reinforce the positive attitude. For the fifth stanza, the phrase, "My blood rocketed" gives off energetic vibes. The last line is to remind the reader that a shown gun must go off at some point of the story and the line is also to show the reader that Callie's gun finally went off.
Quotes Used
"It was just an idea that was already beginning to fade, to become part of the drunkenness in the woods of the night before" (377).
"I had a sense of having been dirtied and initiated. I felt all grown up. But mostly I felt sick and didn't want to think about what had happened at all" (377).
"Another gun on the wall" (378).
"I could feel my eyes going wide and scared" (378).
"Regret, already sogging me down, burst its dam. It seeped into my legs, it pooled my heart" (378).
"On top of panic that I'd lost my friend, I was suddenly beset by worries about my reputation" (378).
"'Because I don't like you like that'" (380).
"But my heart wasn't in it" (381).
"The surface of the water breaks like glass. The depths open up to claim you" (381).
"There was a poison in my system and I needed to purge it" (382).
"Then nothing more for a long while" (383).
"Do you remember my frog heart?" (383).
"Now it did something more amazing--it crept up onto land" (383).
"Now I was aware of what was happening" (383).
"I reached under her. I brought her up to me" (387).
"My crocus wore its heart on its sleeve" (388).
"My blood rocketed" (392).
"I hit it dead on" (393).
"I had already left on my voyage. I was sailing across the sea to another country" (394).
"If there's a gun on the wall, it's got to go off" (396).
Work Cited
Eugenides, Jeffrey. "Book Three: The Gun On The Wall" Middlesex. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2002. 377-396. Print.
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