Dreamers in a Dead Language (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Grace Paley
- First Published: 1977
- Type of Plot: Satire
- Time of Work: The late 1950's
- Setting: Coney Island, New York
- Principal Characters: Faith Darwin, Anthony (Tonto), Richard, Philip Mazzano, Mr. and Mrs. Darwin
- Genres: Short fiction, Satire
- Subjects: Single parents or single-parent families, Divorce, Idealism, Comedy, Materialism, Perfectionism
- Locales: Coney Island, NY
The Story
From a conversation between Faith Darwin and one of her three boyfriends, Philip, the reader learns of a poem written by Faith's father (“one of the resident poets of the Children of Judea, Home for the Golden Ages”), lamenting the loss of his wife but expressing the desire “to go sailing in spring among realities.” It also alludes to “a young girl who waits in a special time and place/ to love me.” This reference becomes a topic of debate between Faith and Philip.
Philip likes “old people” (for example, his former wife's dad) and hopes to talk...
[The entire page is 1694 words long]
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