Introduction
The book Moonwalk by Susan Powers has categorically portrayed the subject of bodies and identities in all manner of sense. Such is an explicit manner in which the text tries to bring out the natural being of situations, conditions and people to be seen in a real physical manner that does not exist in our case here.
Discussion
The text gives a vivid description of situations and people that makes us come up with imaginative or pictorial identities of persons within the text. The text can make a constructive difference in a manner of description of individuals in way we can tell from far who is in what position, who is doing what and who is not. For example, Evie gives a distinct description of Philbert, which is just able to satisfy the absolute identity of her husband, Philbert. Evie describes Philbert as having a facial look of a bag with his long skinny arms and legs. This identity only applies to Philbert, meaning that any person in the text with long, skinny arms and legs who are comparable to the appearance of the bag is Philbert. This indicates that, with the given description of Philbert, he can easily be identified with respect to the described physical characteristics that Philbert has.
The health condition of Margaret can equally be pictured with respect to the description in the text. The text portrays Margaret state of illness and body in an imaginative manner as the text outputs her to be very weak, old and undesirable to behold. She is seen as withdrawn from her social and physical being. Evie and Lydia prepares a meal for her, but they are in serious doubt if she will be able to eat (Power 442). All she does is to complain of her throat. On the other side, Philbert is described to be having a bad body and deteriorating health. All that Evie can see in her husband is a bad health which she associates to his beer taste.
The text puts an imaginative character trait of the characters within the text. It portrays this through an inductive way of allowing the reader to make general assumptions on the behavior and habit of people but at the far end be able to distinguish them based on their said character traits. It is these differences identified in the behavior of the family members that are used to identify them and give their identities. A good example is the description of Philbert’s habit such as playing the radio in the van and even later at Margaret’s home. Evie is bored with it but has to tolerate it which also depicts her as being tolerant. In this case, the text is also able to portray the relationship between the family members in the text. It tells of an earlier hatred between Evie and Lydia and as well the love Margaret had for daughters when stated that Margate felt the warmth broth of the soup in her stomach on seeing her two daughters cooking together in the kitchen when in real sense she had not taken the soup.
Conclusion
However, even though the text is used to portray bodies and identities, to some extent it is exaggerated. Explicit explanations of identities and situations have to some level given us what is not possible in real observable situation.
Works cited
Wolff, Tobias. The vintage book of American Short Stories. New York. Vintage Books. 1994. 426-444. Print.
