“It passes time, gives us something to look forward to. I close
my eyes and put my hand on the map. So many towns, so many cities to
choose from. Some places are sure bets but more than once I’ve gone with the
long shot and been right. You can’t imagine how many times I’ve been right. Usually
the name will come to me fast, the way the numbered balls pop out during the
lottery drawings, but this time nothing comes: no magic, no nothing. It could
be anywhere. I open my eyes and see that Wayne is still waiting. Edison, I say,
pressing my thumb down. Edison, New Jersey” (Diaz 139-140).
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| Photot taken from: https://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/creating-a-photo-of-a-light-bulb-powered-by-the-mind--photo-14058 |
After reading “Edison, New Jersey” by Junot Diaz I still couldn’t
figure out why he chose this place out of any other place. In the story, he
mentions Lawrenceville, Sayreville, Perth Amboy, and Spotswood. I researched
Edison, New Jersey and found out the history about it and that it was named
after Thomas Edison, the man who invented the light bulb and the city he
invented it in. To me this story showed the narrator’s progress from being in
the dark with no direction in his life, stealing from customers and even the
store, reminiscing of his girlfriend to having the light turned on and realizing
that he needs to do change his life. Edison, New Jersey was the special place
because the author Junot Diaz may have known the history of Edison, New Jersey,
thus making it symbolic to the narrator’s life.
I really liked how you connected the narrator being "enlightened" to the setting of the story. After learning that the lightbulb was invented in Edison, it makes sense that the journey the narrator takes is one going from the darkness to the light.
ReplyDeleteFrom the name Edison to the narrator's life was all an symbolic meaning. Edison...Thomas Edison...Inventor of light...Light that takes away the dark situations the narrator couldn't see. It's a beautiful symbolism.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you research the background of Edison, New Jersey. The connection between the town with its history and the symbolism of the story is actually pretty cool. I love how the author hid that in there, I didn't even realize the symbolism until the end.
ReplyDeleteReading this really changed my mind on what the symbolic meaning of Edison,New Jersey doing the research really helped make the story more clear to me. After reading this short story I was left a little confused on what the over all meaning was this blog really clears it up. I liked how you related the story to Thomas Edison, I thought the symbolic meaning from going from darkness to light was genius
ReplyDelete