The+Telegram

The telegram is a pivotal part of the story. But, a telegram can give you information that either makes you or breaks you. Good news or bad, telegrams have a certain impact upon a story that indicates something somewhere is about to recieve some bombshell information/news. In the book "The telegram" seems like an interlude of some sorts. It is like telling the reader something significant is about the happen.(QBennett02)
 * What is the signifigance of the "telagram"? **

The telegram is the turning point in the book. It's like when Romeo kills Tybalt In Romeo And Juliet. The chapters before the "telegram" Have significant stories, but they were usually hapy or magically things happen that just changed the characters in a good way or taught them lessons,. The chapters afterwards didn't seem to be the same. For example, chapter six was just a competition between Joe Robert and Uncle Zeno with Uncle Zeno eventually winning. The chapter seven was about death.(harrisperiod7)

**The Big Questions: How does this chapter fit the novel as a whole / Why is it important / What should a good reader take away from this chapter?**

I am honestly not sure how this "chapter" fits into the novel as a whole. I guess it shows that Johnson isn't superman, and he isn't invincible. It also suggests very strongly that the chapters in this novel are far from in order. It is just mixed together in a confusing way to mess with the mind of the reader. This chapter is important because it shows a good reader that not all books are the same. Not all of them are in order, and not all of them make complete sense. (Matthews)

This chapter fits into a whole because it shows how Johnson is one of them forever. Even when he dies, the telegram keeps coming back, which I believe is a metaphor for the thought of Johnson. No matter how hard they try to get it out of their minds, the thought of Johnson keeps coming back. Eventually the telegram leaves in a way that suggests that Johnson almost became a part of them. It is important to show that Johnson will be remembered and that the family handled the situation nicely. A good reader should take away that the stories aren't in order and that his constant use of metaphor can be far fetched or simple. (Miller)

To me, this chapter fits into the book well because it continues to emphasise relationships between characters, as well as providing stark contrast to the previous chapter in which everyone had such faith in Johnson. I appreciate the metaphor of the telegram, which for me illustrates how when you loose someone who is especially close to you, you have to face that pain and learn to work through it in your own way. I also like, and agree, with what the previous comment says about the chapter showing that Johnson is one of them forever. When someone dies, even though they are gone they are still part of you through your memories of them. (Zoellick)

This chapter is one of the perfect examples of how Chappell uses gigantic metaphors to make a point. This chapter is mainly about how the pain of Johnson's death hangs in the atmosphere of the house for such a long time, despite their efforts to try and forget about the loss. However, Chappell conveys this message by giving a play-by-play of what seemingly happens to Jess and his family, through Jess's typical narration, however, it's clear that really none of the events described could have taken place. That leads me to believe that like the teardrop in "The Overspill," the events are simply a metaphor to convey intense emotions. So this chapter is imporant because it can be used as a reference for readers to show them that Chappell writes in "subtle" metaphors, so good readers should realize that they shouldn't get freaked out when they read about a shark-infested beard, because they know that Chappell writes even whole chapters as metaphors to represent a greater meaning. (Reynolds)

This "chapter" is different from all the others; it is not even an actual chapter (ch. one, two, three ect.). All the other chapters (besides The Overspill) are about how happy things bring the family together. The Telegram along with The Overspill talk about how sad or bad things bring the family closer, and how that person/thing is "one of you forever." No matter how hard the family tried to throw away (forget about) the telegram, it always came back. This is a metaphor describing how no matter how hard one tries, even when they are dead, the person is "one of you forever." The memories will never go away, and they will have a lasting impact on your life. Also, the telegram made each person go through a transformation. I think that this shows that something even so mad as death can make someone a stronger person and even make others relationship stronger. (Cravens)

This chapter fits the story as a whole because it shows how it is reality and how reality can deliver anything good or bad. It is important because it is a very dramatic part of Jess and his family's lives and it effects them in a big way. A good reader should take away that unexpected things might happen at any time during the book and they may be good or bad and one change like that could change the entire direction of the book.(Macadam)

This chapter (that isn't really a chapter) fits in a strange way compared to the previous chapters. The beginning chapters included a garden/bridge, the father acting like a 5 year old, Johnson being horrible at baseball, Johnson's scandalous situation, a hilarious prank, a mysterious and absolutely outrageous beard, Johnson deciding to go to the army, Johnson comes home (there is no time inbetween deciding to leave and coming back?), Johnson falling in love, and then abruptly finding out that he is dead? It becomes apparent that the sequence of these events may be off? But this chapter shows that the telegram is symbolizing the mental affects of losing their very loved friend, Johnson. The telegram kept 'coming back' signifying that, as hard as you try to forget the emotional and physical pain of losing a loved one, it keeps coming back. The telegram was the "ghost" haunting the family reminding them of their sad loss. Each person had their own way of their mental emotions (the telegram) getting to them. (Puskas)

This section fits well with the rest of the book because it can be easily compared to The Overspill, another italicized section.The Telegram is similar to The Overspill in that it shows the family going through an emotional experience. Also, in both "non-chapters" there is an unrealistic portion that contains a long metaphor. In the overspill, the event that rocks the family is having their yard destroyed by the despised factory opening the river flood gates. Then, as the parents cry over their loss, the tear from the mother's cheek becomes larger and larger, engulfing the whole family. The metaphor from this experience shows that sadness can help bring a family together. Similarly, in The Telegram, the entire family is in grief after receiving a telegram concerning Johnson's death. No matter how many extreme measures are taken to get rid of the telegram, it continues to return. The family tries hiding it and violently destroying it, but to no avail. These measures can be compared metaphorically to the lengths that people will go to to try and cover up their grief, without really dealing with it. But, the family finally destroys the telgram by confronting it individually, just as people must do with grief to truly move on from it. This is a very important section in the book because it deals with issues that people deal with everyday, but explains these difficult issues in a way that makes them easier to understand. (M Usey)

To me, this section fits very well with the book, but at the same time, it doesn't. This book, i feel is less of a novel, and more of a book of short stories, that can all be arranged in whatever way they want. I feel like the telegram was one long metaphor and, seeing as this book is crawling with metaphors, it fit very nicely. If this book is supposed to be somewhat realistic, then clearly there is no magical telegram that stalks them. It is showing that no matter how hard the family tries, they simply cannot forget how much Johnson meant to them. No matter how hard they try to remove his memory from their minds, they simply aren't capable of getting rid of him. This chapter shows how seriously this family takes their relationships with each other, and the same theme is apparent in other chapters as well. While the different story lines in each chapter don't fit together, the theme is always the same, people are more important than fancy things, or outside appearances. This family judges based on the heart, and the heart only. (Swayze)

This chapter is indeed the turning point of the novel. Johnson Gibbs dying is a big hit to the happy family. The story almost seems to take place in a fantasy world. Everyone is always smiling, happy, and goofy. This chapter brings us back to the real world. Even though it is sad, it is necessary to the story. A good reader can pick out that the telegram is not actually remaining, but instead never allows the characters to forget about it. What I pick up from the chapter is, no matter how much they would try to forget the fact Johnson is gone forever, the idea still remains, and the more they continued to pretend the telegram did not ever come, the more they would seen to think about it. Even though they were still upset, they finally just had to accept the fact. (Dorothy Spratlin)

**Important Quotes (and commentary)**


 * Yet in all these weeks we never talked about it, never mentioned it at all. That seemed strange to me, that the telegram brought us so much pain and fear and we wouldn't speak of it.
 * It doesn't seem so strange to me. I mean something like that doesn't necessarily need to be talked about very much. It happened, and there should be some kind of mourning period before it gets talked about. What is peculiar is that they didn't talk to each other in general after receiving the telegram. Maybe it is part of how they mourn. I don't know. But I do know that it is weird that they won't talk to each other. (Matthews)

//"And with that sound it disappeared from my sight forever, tumbled spiraling down a hole in the darkness. I watched it go away and my heart lightened then and I was able to rise, shaken and confused, and walk from the room without shame, not looking back, finding my way confidently in the dark."//


 * This quote is important because it talks about how Jess finally accepts the fact that Johnson is dead. It says that he can move on, but not that he is happy about that. At the end it says that he can walk away ,//finding my way confidently in the dark,// which is saying that he can find his way through the darkness or sadness. (Miller)

"Everyone took it away, but it always returned to its place on the table, propped there to stare at us."
 * The telegram is always going to be there in their heads and hearts no matter what they do. They will always remember Johnson and he will always be there with them, but they couldn't stand the pain and sorrow it brought them. (Sanders)

"The telegram had the power of becoming smaller, shrinking to the size of a postage stamp or to a mere speck, a mote."
 * This sentence is a good one to study the metaphorical use of the whole chapter- Chappell almost makes it completely clear that his intentions for the chapter were to make it a metaphor. It clearly states that it had the "power of becoming smaller," which I believe shows that the telegram could be forgotten, and it's said of course using a metaphor, and even one that I could see using to describe something that lacks significance. (Reynolds)

//"It was an agonizing rite to undergo, hardest of all for my mother."//
 * We never really heard about a memory of Johnson and the mom, yet the mom took it the hardest. I think this shows that no matter how few memories you have with someone, it is still very hard to loose someone. (Cravens)

“It was on the table there and none of us would so much as glance at it. But of caurse we kept gazing at it as if it were the only light on in the darkest night of the world.”

~ This just explains that the more they would attempt to forget about the telegram and pretend it wasn’t there the more they would think of it and the news it had brought to them. (Dorothy Spratlin)

**Moments of astonishingly good writing**

At last the telegram began to change shape. Slowly wrinkling and furling inward, it took the form of a yellow rose, hand-sized with layer on layer of glowing yellow petals. It seemed to hover an inch or so above the tablecloth. It uttered a mournful little whimper then, a sound I had once heard a blind puppy make when it could not find its mother's flank. And with that sound it disappeared from my sight forever, tumbled spiraling down a hole in the darkness.

//"There was an outburst of weeping at first, especially my mother wept, but later there was no more. A flinty silence descended upon the house, there was a hard gray feeling in us. Inside my throat it was hard as steel; I thought that if I rapped my chest with my knuckles it would ring like a suit of armor. We wandered about dazed and mechanical."//


 * I found this writing amazing because it has great imagery and metaphors that show exactly what I figured a family would react in that situation in a very unique way. It helped me to picture what was happening in a different way and it really set the tone for the rest of the story. (Miller)
 * I agree with Hamilton that this was a very discriptive piece of writing. I couldn't exactly feel his pain because I have never had a family member die, but it was incredibly close because of how Fred Chappell described the pain and sorrow that the family was going through. (Sanders)

"It felt hot in my hands when I carried it, not like paper at all but like a burning slime."
 * I think it's rare that authors can convey a physical feeling using descriptors, but with this sentence, I can feel the paper liquifying on my hands into hot lava. (Reynolds)

//"The telegram had the power of becoming smaller, shrinking to the size of a postage stamp or to a mere speck, a more. Then I would find it in my pocket or in the bedclothes. Often it seemed to have lodged itself in the corner of my eye, a yellow spot that would not go away and caused my eye to burn and water. That was the worst physical pain, when we couldn't wash it out of out eyes even with weeping."//


 * This line is very powerful to me, and probably to most people who have ever missed someone very much. You try, as hard as you can to get rid of this feeling of longing, longing to see them again, or to speak to them again, or simply to just hear their voice again, even though you know you can't. You try as hard as you can to forget. But you simply can't. Sometimes, the feelings will shrink down to a minuscule size, barely there. You may even forget about it, but only for a moment. Then you begin seeing things that remind you of that person everywhere, a song y'all used to enjoy, a celebrity you would fantasize about, and that speck of memory grows larger. But even when that feeling is small, it's there. And no amount of tears can make that feeling go away, because no tears can bring the person you love back. (Swayze)

“It was then I found out that I could pray in despair and the despair might only deepen, that I could form the words and cling to the meaning of them even though my spirit had shriveled within me to a pinpoint.”

~ I love this quote because of the general wording, and descriptive words. It is a great way to explain the discoveries Jess is making without letting the reader forget how much pain he is in. (Dorothy Spratlin)