Honky Tonk, written by Barry Yourgrau, is a story about an angel who allegedly fell in love with a girl . The girl was supposed to have died in an accident that broke her neck and due to the love and admiration of the angel, she was reportedly brought back to life. The angel, likewise, chose to leave the heavens and opted to become an ordinary man so he could be with the girl he loves dearly. Apparently, they ended living in dismal conditions in a trailer which allegedly brought them to seek entertainment in honky tonks. Eventually, the girl was noted to have implicitly left the angel and ran away with another man. In the end, the angel’s loneliness and broken heart led him to write and sing songs which allegedly became his salvation.
One finds the story to be sad; especially as seen from the perspective of the angel. Upon reflection, one could deduce that the angel has given up almost everything, especially his heavenly powers and privileges just to be with the girl he loves; and only to be left in the end. It simply means that life on earth emphasizes the temporal nature of things – which, even love was fleeting. In the end, the story apparently unfolds through the angel’s finding solace in music. Here, readers could empathize with the angel and could actually see that music could indeed serve as a redeeming and saving factor through the elation that could be experienced from singing and composing music. Thus, even though the story exemplified a predominantly lonely overtone, readers are provided a glimpse of hope and anticipation for optimism in the near future.
Works Cited
Yourgrau, Barry. "Honky Tonk." Yourgrau, Barry. A Man Jumps Out of an Airplane. New York: Barry Yourgrau, 1984. 57-58. Print.
