Short story response

Zac Sparks Short Story Response

A Television Drama by Jane Rule


In the short story A Television Drama, author Jane Rule explores the realms of how people react to situations and how they view their reactions. The whole story is based on how she reacted to the situation as seen on page 152, “I saw him he was sitting by the laurel hedge,” would the dots in the paper have changed? Would the cameras have climbed into their nearly exposed winter garden? Would she believe now what she couldn’t believe even then, that she stood at that window and saw a man dying in her garden?”


The two main areas the story touches on are how people react to situations and how people cope with wondering how things could have been different if they would have acted. If I had ever witnessed something tragic or horrifying first hand there would be a certain trauma that comes along with an experience like that. Then I could really start to imagine how Carolee must have felt when she saw police swarming her neighbourhood and a man bleeding to death in her yard.




I like this story because it is dramatic and intriguing. The reader’s interest is peaked when Carolee discovers the man against the curve of the laurel hedge. “There, sitting against the curve of the laurel hedge by the lily pond, was a man, quite a young man, his head down, his left hand against his right shoulder. He was sick or hurt or dead” (pg 149) It is very well written and the tone of this story makes me want to read right to the end. The story reminds me of a crime show the way the setting is all quiet and normal and all of sudden things take a toll for the worst. After reading the text I can’t help but ask myself how the story would change if Carolee would have acted differently. Ultimately I think that is the main message the author is trying to convey.