Critic for Jack Trammel's The Sleeping stones

“The Sleeping Stones” by Jack Trammell is a short story about a soldier’s wife who is hoping her husband’s return after the Civil War. Although this story contains a sad environment and sad tone with anticipation, it made me read it continuously with pleasure. There are many reasons that this story catches my attention.

One of the main reasons that the story did attract me was the elements of short story which have made the story more naturalistic. The theme of this story is an important because even if it is due to war or not, many women have to undergo number of hardships and desperations when they lost their husbands leaving kids along with their mothers. The setting of the story took place in a farming village in Kentucky which is the home town of the author. As I think, the fact that he was grown up in Kentucky has influenced him to set up the story in the certain location. He may have familiarity with springs which are colder for a normal spring in other areas. This makes the story even more natural when I read it. Even though the plot set up in America, this is not an unfamiliar plot for a Sri Lankan who experienced war for several years. I’ve seen many wives who have lost their husbands due to the war and struggled for the survival with her children likewise in the story. The characters of the story have well developed using different characteristics in the society.  Ella who was the protagonist reminds me one of my neighbors who loses her husband when Ella hugged her child when he asked, “Does this mean that Pa is going to be home?” Using dialogs for the character development is my favorite technique in this story because I feel tired when I read the stories which are too descriptive in a constant manner. According to my view, dialogs keep characters alive. The author has used similes appropriately to enhance the creativity of the story which sometimes made me laugh a little, “a somewhat overweight and short man, with hair that struck out wildly from one side of his head like a snake lashing out.” Moreover, the simple dictions, which can understand through the context, he had used helped me to read continuously without wondering what some words mean. The writer has used the familiar symbols in order to provide clues about the story. I love that way because those symbols make me argue with my own mind to guess what is going to happen in the story.

To sum up, the author, Jack Trammell has done a wonderful job writing this story which keeps me concentrated. It is an awesome story which has decorated with the elements such as plot, setting, theme, characters, symbolism and style. These accessories have enriched the quality of the short story “The Sleeping Stones” conquering the minds of readers.