A Pear Drops Down as a Crow Flies by
A narrow sidewalk paved with red blocks is stretched along the street. If I follow the sidewalk, I come to pass under a dark gray tone cement bridge. Up on the bridge, there is a railroad which has been not in use for a long period. A big pine tree stands next to the stairs of the bridge silently. When I look at both sides of the street, there are so many alleys which almost look like an ant's nest or a maze. After ten at night, there are no cars and all the stores are closed. Without yellow feeble street light bulbs, the light of moon and stars is the brightest. Without the chirping sound of crickets, the place is in the total silence.
This countryside was a calm and peaceful place. It really was. It was a place where I always walked along with my friends in my childhood after school. It was a place where I used to pass by on my bicycles to visit my friend's home. However, it didn't take long for me to change my mind related to this place. It really was a swamp.
November 10th, 2012. On the rainy Saturday night under the gray railroad bridge, two police officers stood me up and one of them said, "Wait, wait. May I ask you several questions?" I was walking back home with my earphones plugged in my ears after drinking a couple of beers with my old friend. I replied taking off the earphones, "What did you say?" Then the police officers started to pour some questions on my ears. "Did you see a woman while you were walking? What were you doing about fifteen minutes before? Why are you passing this street this late at night?" While being pushed by those aggressive voices, I heard another voice coming out of the radio in the police car. "A man wearing dark clothes, black cap and holding umbrella."
I felt something was going wrong. I realized I had no difference with the man described by the voice in the radio and the two police officers were still staring at me. This abrupt situation blew my mind and I said for myself, "What on earth is happening to me? I must prove my innocence right now, but how?"
The only thing I could do was just to repeat my truthfulness in front of those doubtful eyes. I said, "I'm not the one, how can I make you believe?" However, as I insisted over and over again their eyes became more and more confident. Thus, I closed my mouth. "Let's go to the police station and prove it there if you are innocent," one of the police officers said.
I cannot get rid of the memory of the oppressive feeling I felt in the police car. My mind felt full but empty at the same time. When I arrived at the police station, about twenty or more eyes were looking at me as a criminal. One of them said, "Why did you throw that bricks to the woman?"
"What?" On hearing the name of the crime, I couldn't but laugh at that ridiculous absurdity by myself. "Why should I?" However, nobody in the police station believed in me. Driven to the corner through the whole night, I felt the weariest feeling in my life. But it didn't end that day. For a long time, I had really hard time because of the case and finally got out of it only after I sat down on the lie detector chair. The machine was the only one among the investigators that believed in my truth.
The gray bridge and police cars remind me of this terrible experience. Until now, I cannot get rid of the bitter taste while thinking of it. There is a Korean old saying that says, "A pear drops down as a crow flies by." This is talking about the coincidence of the two separate events just happened at the same time makes it look like the event of cause and effect. I completely feel related to that crow.
1.What did you like best about this essay? Be as specific as possible.
ReplyDelete: The transition of mood was so great that I couldn't take my eyes off with anxiety he might have had at that moment.
2. Did the writer describe the place clearly? List any parts that were not clear to you.
: according to how the author described the street and bridge in the first paragraph, it gives me chill and tension. However, the very first sentence in paragraph two made me little bit confused because it says good things about the place.
3. Did the writer appeal to the different senses? List two sensory details that you especially liked.
1) While being pushed by those aggressive voices, I heard another voice coming out of the radio in the police car. "A man wearing dark clothes, black cap and holding umbrella."
2) When I arrived at the police station, about twenty or more eyes were looking at me as a criminal. One of them said, "Why did you throw that bricks to the woman?"
4. How would you describe the mood or the atmosphere of this place?
: I can feel anxiety, fear, and tension based on his descriptions. He used many direct quotes and I think it makes his essay much more vivid and people focused on how the author developed the story.
5. Why do you think the writer chose to write about this place?
: To the author, that place is where he felt the weariest feeling for the first time in his life.
6. How could the writer improve this essay when he or she revises? Make only one suggestion.
: if the author uses more personifications and similies, it would be better.
201101787 Gitae Shin
1. I like the contrast of the mood-between the first paragraph and the third paragraph. It's very catchy as it shifts so fast and unexpectedly.
ReplyDelete2. I think the writer described the place quite clearly, but the place is not easy to grab. I cannot imagine well the railroad with alley nearby.
3. I like the sound of cricket as it emphasizes the silence.
Also, I like 'yellow feeble street light bulbs' as it strengthen the mood which is to come.
4. Chilly and tensioned. When the story goes on in the police station, I feel the narrator resent.
5. I guess it is the place that changed its meaning in the writer's mind. It was a peaceful place but it became the background of unforgettable, dreadful memory.
6. I think the last paragraph is too direct: "This is talking about the coincidence of the two separate events just happened at the same time makes it look like the event of cause and effect. I completely feel related to that crow." I think it would be good to use the place mentioned in the first paragraph again so that it can be focused on and give the same idea.
201003163 Yousun Jung