Blog Post #2

After reading the story, Pagan Night, by Kate Braverman, I decided to identify the textual clues and signals that produce the "ideal reader." The story is told by a semi-omniscient narrator who only has access to Sunny's thoughts and feelings. After reading the first couple of paragraphs, you would probably come to the conclusion that Sunny and Dalton have problems because they live on the road, have no money, sell their possessions for heroine, and have an unwanted baby. However, later on in the story, you start to feel sympathy for Sunny because she seems worried for the baby's life and wonders how she will take care of the child. They both act like the baby is some kind of creature that ruined their lives. Sunny can't even decide on a name for her son so she just temporarily names the baby whatever is on Sunny's mind like Forest, Sky, or River. The narrator makes it obvious that the reader shouldn't have sympathy for Dalton because he wants nothing to do with the baby and even refers to the baby as "it." Even though Sunny seems to hate her life, she still wants to be with Dalton and wants to live up to his expectations and in doing so, she imagines different ways to abandon her baby. You never find out if she abandons the baby or not but I think she eventually will because Sunny makes unwise decisions just for the sake of making her life easier.