Best of the Week: Details, Details, details

 Because our current unit is on short stories, we took a look at the short story, "Cathedrals." One thing, as Mr. Allen mentioned, is that unlike a lot of the novels, there are different elements that play more important roles in a short story in contrast to an actual novel. One of those elements is details! The power of details in most novels is quite often overlooked, and because there are so many other powerful and bigger elements at play, that's acceptable, but for an author of a short story, details are his or her most powerful color. Neglecting the details will result in missing out on the deeper meaning along with losing the true goal of the author. 
        In "Cathedrals," the author uses details to portray mood, tone, characteristics of characters, and emotions. Without the details the short story would become nothing, but pointless words. I think it's incredible to be able to see how adding a detail like, "She was still wearing that smile," can give insight on the narrator's feelings and their relationship (Carver 214). Without even mentioning their relationship, the readers can already learn who they are and what kind of couple they are.This makes me think about the ultimate power in the words and how well placed details can do much of the talking for you. 
       I think through this short story and the realization of the importance of details, they have completely changed my methods of reading and writing. For me, with such a limited time schedule, when we have reading assignments, I tend to (at times) look over or skim over the details. However, seeing the depth of meaning a piece of writing can reach through well placed details, I'm beginning to see the importance of small words. This paying attention to details crosses over in all the fields, academic, artistic, as much as the big picture matters, in places like Math, details are also extremely important. I can see myself using details and paying more attention to them in all my classes, all my assignments, reading, and writing. I want to be able to wield the power of the details.