Prompt: Write an entry focusing on an aspect of the story, Buffalo Eastward.

Response: One aspect of Gabriel Bump’s story, Buffalo Eastward, that I found really appealing was the style and tone. Overall, the style is jumbled and fast-paced, almost like the reader has no time to truly dwell on the events of the story until the very end. The story is written in a first person point of view, which adds a sense of urgency and anxiety to throughout the entirety. Near the beginning of the story, the nameless main character, also known as the Invisible Man, states that “I have problems telling stories. I get on one track and backflip to another, running in the opposite direction,” (Bump, 2). I feel like this confession also gives a glimpse into what the pacing of the story is like for the audience, as the narrator continuously jumps from present day to the past, whether he is discussing bookshops that he visits or if he begins to dwell on a failed affair with Pidge. These flashbacks happen every so often within the narrative, which, in my opinion, gives off the impression that the audience is getting a glimpse of how the narrator’s anxious mind works. This reminds me of our discussion last week about how character and plot are intertwined. This is definitely a character-driven plot, even a character-heavy plot. We, as the audience, are forced into the narrator’s mind in order to figure out his motivations, his desires, and how he feels. There is, however, a mental blockade that keeps the audience from knowing too much about the narrator until the time is right. Obviously, the narrator has some types of mental illness, such as anxiety and depression, or even ADHD or OCD. These moments of blockage cause the narrator to switch to another topic or return to the present day. It isn’t until he gets high or drunk (or both) that the audience truly gets to see glimpses of his motivations. Why is he going to Buffalo? Why does he feel the need to leave, even though his family is being left behind? Especially when the narrator finds a sense of belonging, “I felt clear and directed, anchored…Here, I belonged,” (Bump, 15), it seems that his narration finally becomes linear and clear, and we see that the narrator focuses on what the other characters tell him in their departures. He flies when Sancho tells him to take his life (in a good way, not a suicidal way). As he runs down the stairs, which is possibly a metaphor for bringing oneself back down to earth/being realistic, he overhears a couple with similar plans to run away. While he and the audience don’t have time to dwell on it, it seems as though the narrator’s new, clear, and directed outlook focuses less on the connection to his own life, but to the message that the Gatsby characters leave for him, which is to make it. I feel like the main theme of this story is that people may feel directionless and lost at times, especially when we’re at our lowest, but we will always find people who make us feel like we belong. The sense of community can ground us, realigning us to make the most of our lives instead of dwelling on the past.