You can hear the boats go by #3

Title: You can hear the boats go by

Author: Emily Perkins

Text type: short story

February 2020

You can hear the boats go by written by Emily Perkins. This is a short story about two very different people that live similar lives. Dorothy and Edward once together now separated end up bumping into each other at the supermarket and see each other again for the first time in years. Both quickly forming their own opinions on the old memories that come flooding back.

Throughout this short story, I found the character Dorothy stood out to me the most. I felt like I related most to Dorothy especially with the way she was very self-conscious of what others thought of her “she glances to check who has noticed her clumsiness”. I really felt I closely related to her on a personal level with how she always needed reassurance from others to help lift her self esteem “its the way you look at me; she said, voice wavering”. I myself am a very self-conscious, self-critical person especially when it comes to how people view me I’ve struggled with ED and body issues so I felt this really hit close to home for me, mainly with how Dorothy felt if she gains weight and becomes ‘fat’ she’ll lose the one she loves and won’t be liked because of her appearance. It is getting much more common in society for people to become more self-conscious especially because you have all these social media people you see across all your feed daily. Young people feel as though they have to meet those standards, and if they don’t that they are ugly, unattractive. I think standards on people needs to change we shouldn’t have to try to meet standards of Instagram models, people we see on the covers of magazines that get photoshopped, edited to be what they want not what they actually are. We should have standards of our own. Love the way we are. As for Dorothy she believes starving herself will help her waistline and if she has a good waistline then people will like her “Dorothy, of course, would never eat breakfast at all” which is incorrect but this is what society has made her believe is true.

Through this short story, I took the message away of self-love, how people don’t necessarily care what you look like but care more about who you are on the inside. By being confident with who you are and love you for you, others around you will be able to see that. That you’re happy with who you are and you can encourage people around you to be the same. Love who you are and not judge someone on their appearance. Dorothy was so self-conscious she didn’t care how she acted, just as long as she was pleasing to the eye that’s all that mattered to her “he didn’t tell her that it was probably her personalities he had a version to not her waistline”. I used to believe looks meant everything it didn’t matter if you had a terrible personality just as long as you met the standards that society has created for people to look like. I also took the message and understanding away that people can, and do go through the same things as you. From bumping into your ex in the supermarket and being super nervous and making a fool of yourself “what does Edward think when he sees Dorothy spilling walnuts all over the floor?” its normal people do it every day, and stressing over it is absolutely fine people are in the same position as you every day.

Within this short story, Dorothy had the challenge of having to see Edward her ex again after not seeing him in over 4 months ” it’s four months since he moved out”. Dorothy having to deal with all the emotions that come flooding back the good and bad ones “until now she has kidded herself she was over him”. I felt like I had sympathy for Dorothy when she bumped into Edward again. I know and can relate to how it feels when you bump into someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time. Especially if your not necessarily on good terms with them either it can be and is a very awkward and a scary moment especially as Dorothy had to continue to shop for her groceries “Dorothy chooses the rest of her groceries carefully, imagining how they’ll look to him in their plastic bags”. Bumping into someone who you haven’t seen in a long time within your local supermarket is a normal thing in society sometimes it can happen to people on a daily basis. I know for myself that I have bumped into someone in my local supermarket that I wasn’t on good terms with and I wanted out of there as fast as I could, but trying to make polite conversation and a light smile when passing by them to not be rude. Dorothy took the approach of making light conversation with Edward to be polite even though all her feelings and emotions came flooding back.

“You can hear the boats go by,”. I think that the title of the text worked well with the short story, as the title is a lyric to the song Suzanne by Leonard Cohen which creates an illusion within the text. The illusion that Dorothy is the one the song is about. The song Suzanne is based about a ”crazy’ person who Edward believes for him is Dorothy. The song was played in the supermarket when Dorothy and Edward bumped into each other again “did you hear all the Leonard Cohen in there?” Dorothy later reiterates how she hates Leonard Cohen, this is because the song has meaning to her. Meaning of Edward and her relationship, how they had some good times but many bad ones also.

This short story is suitable for anyone in my words. I believe it’s a very up to date relatable short story for people in late teens and early adulthood. This is because they might be able to relate to it more so, as they would’ve had more life experiences, especially when it comes to relationships and friendships. And with age, you grow to know more about the emotions and feelings behind losing someone who you thought you loved at one stage. A more matured audience/readers would enjoy and be able to work with and understand this short story more than a younger audience would be able to. I know for myself that I am able to relate and understand the short story and be able to relate to both Dorothy and Edwards side of the story from caring how much someone thinks of me that I will revolve my whole life around it, making sure every little thing I do will impress my peers around me from the way I dress right up to what I eat, but then some days not caring at all like Edward does he does what he does to please himself not the people around him ” he always thought of himself, with some satisfaction, as a cold-blooded person”. some days I will not let anyone or anything get to me I just do me and do what pleases me and makes me truly happy. I think in society that people get too caught up in thinking about how they need to be the same as everyone else and not be their own person and do things that they truly like to do. People get judged and criticised on the daily over the internet and in-person which scares others that might want to come out and express who they actually are. I used to feel ashamed of the way I dressed and felt out of place if I didn’t keep up with the trends and would buy clothes and accessories to make me fit in so I felt like everyone else. Which the thing is no one ever feels the exact same as another person everyone is individual and unique.

I really enjoyed reading and going over this short story. I felt as though it gave the audience a real insight into the two very different lives that people live. How very different Dorothy was to Edward and what it is really like bumping into someone who you haven’t seen in a very long time “I saw my ex at the supermarket tonight”. I feel as though this short story is very relatable for many people and that everyone would be able to think back to a time where they had an awkward in-counter with someone and be able to relate it back to this story.