A Novice Lit Critic reads Tobias Wolff, Say Yes

Tobias Wolff, American storyteller, has a refined compassion for paradox as well as a grip on life's irony. His most famous book, This Boy's Life, starts with, "My father used to say that what I didn't know would fill a book. Well, here it is."(Charters pg 1355)

In an improbably intimate story, Wolff tells Say Yes with a flair for subtle, yet powerful undertones. The idea of race comes into this quaint tale early, and relentlessly.

The story begins in an obvious lover's scene, a man and a woman doing the dishes together. The fiction short is told in present time by an unseen narrator. Third-person with second-person dialogue...In this regard, the words from both parties, leaves an unbiased feel to the narrative, as these two characters wash and dry and chat.

As the story gets rolling, the male makes jabs at society's stereotypes, by simply "doing the dishes." The thoughts of our co-main character, are a chuckle, as he pats himself on the back for being so "considerate." I love this opening, as it shatters the social opinion of housework's labor force, and is smug in doing so, which to me is a contradiction. Shatter the social fabric with the stereotype itself, I was smiling at the beginning of this story.

Somehow, as all stories drift into tension and drama, the conversation drifts to race, and an ensuing conversation ends with him finishing the dishes on his own. In between the suspense of the chatter, Ann(we know her name from his lines) cuts a finger, and he rushes dramatically to bandage her up. This theme of "consideration" continues.

Of course, a disagreement about race is the tension in this story, and the tension builds with every continuing sentence. She feels he is uncompromisingly insensitive, and as we already know, he is not!

Or is he leading us on?

The persuasive arguing is standard, with one asking if the other would "marry" a black person, and of course, both saying they would. But one is leery of the other's claim, and this leads to him finishing the dishes alone, and spending the evening considering his own expressions.

In a brief moment, we as the reader can feel his wish to get past this, like a sort of starting over, and the author relays this fact with a scene of the super-clean kitchen, like when "they were first shown the house."

He continues with the housework, by mopping and cleaning, taking the trash out, and carries on a mental conversation with himself. We feel empathy and sympathy for him, as none of us want to be in his shoes, but we sure can feel ourselves in his shoes.

The climactic end comes with bedtime, as he opens up, trying to make peace, "Ann, I'm really sorry..."

Reflection and suspense are intertwined throughout this short story, and to see how and why she demands, "Lights out," be sure to check out this fine writing.

Tobias Wolff's "Say Yes" and other short fiction, in a book by Ann Charters, The Story and It's Writer. Available on Ebay, Amazon, and in many libraries and campuses.