In “The Safe” by Tim Gautreaux and “Running out of Music” by Constance Squires, both authors demonstrate the power of connection utilizing symbols, conflict and characterization.
The sewing machine in “The Safe” and the records in “Running out of Music” both illustrate unification through art. Art, an expression of human imagination, can connect people by conveying certain emotions, such as awe, in individuals. Comparably, the gold plated, sewing machine also transmits similar emotions. After the junkyard discovers the antique, it was a “while before anyone thought about value.” (Gautreaux 15). Alva yields a long description of the machine, mentioning the cleverness of the design and how the handiwork must have been from the factory’s most …show more content…
Alva is stuck in the junkyard and leads a miserable life. He’s filled with curiosity, but his workers and others aren’t. He’s also left with a business that “nobody but Alva knew how to run” (Gautreaux 3). When the safe arrives to the junkyard, Alva’s curiosity sparks, which leads interest to what’s inside. He begins to imagine the inside of the safe, and later asks Snyder about the safe. Lucinda confines with her family on bases, leading to not knowing how normal life works outside the military. When Nately returns from Amsterdam and spills his plans about a band in Europe, Lucinda has a realization about how in five years she could be anywhere. She thinks about her life, where the military forces her to move and how she “always envied people who stayed put, who had one constant place to tie their memories to” (Squires 15). Lucinda struggles with the idea of the environment that surrounds her, and although she believes to have an advantage over people outside of bases, they did have a part of their homes in their personality. Alva and Lucinda labor with the pain of being stuck with developing relations. Alva, who seems to have an inquisitive mind in a dark bland world, begins to find a interest he explores with the mystery that surrounds the safe. As the safe slowly cracks, Alva more and more becomes outgoing, by questioning the contaminants inside and thinking of using Claude to sniff the safe. And although Lucinda struggles with not being able to call one place her home, her connection with Nately is the one thing that allows her to strive and be stable and to create new memories
The sewing machine in “The Safe” and the records in “Running out of Music” both illustrate unification through art. Art, an expression of human imagination, can connect people by conveying certain emotions, such as awe, in individuals. Comparably, the gold plated, sewing machine also transmits similar emotions. After the junkyard discovers the antique, it was a “while before anyone thought about value.” (Gautreaux 15). Alva yields a long description of the machine, mentioning the cleverness of the design and how the handiwork must have been from the factory’s most …show more content…
Alva is stuck in the junkyard and leads a miserable life. He’s filled with curiosity, but his workers and others aren’t. He’s also left with a business that “nobody but Alva knew how to run” (Gautreaux 3). When the safe arrives to the junkyard, Alva’s curiosity sparks, which leads interest to what’s inside. He begins to imagine the inside of the safe, and later asks Snyder about the safe. Lucinda confines with her family on bases, leading to not knowing how normal life works outside the military. When Nately returns from Amsterdam and spills his plans about a band in Europe, Lucinda has a realization about how in five years she could be anywhere. She thinks about her life, where the military forces her to move and how she “always envied people who stayed put, who had one constant place to tie their memories to” (Squires 15). Lucinda struggles with the idea of the environment that surrounds her, and although she believes to have an advantage over people outside of bases, they did have a part of their homes in their personality. Alva and Lucinda labor with the pain of being stuck with developing relations. Alva, who seems to have an inquisitive mind in a dark bland world, begins to find a interest he explores with the mystery that surrounds the safe. As the safe slowly cracks, Alva more and more becomes outgoing, by questioning the contaminants inside and thinking of using Claude to sniff the safe. And although Lucinda struggles with not being able to call one place her home, her connection with Nately is the one thing that allows her to strive and be stable and to create new memories