Aleina Alvarado
David Martinez
English 102
3 May 2017
Leda and the Swan
If you were to strip Eric Puchner’s story “Essay #3: Leda and the Swan” down to its bare bones, you could essentially outline the plot as follows: Girl falls in love. Girl gets a boyfriend. Girl tries to navigate the turbulent waters of being a teenager with boyfriend troubles, sister troubles, and family troubles. Girl recounts all of this in an essay to be handed in to her teacher. Boiled down to such a minimal synopsis, the story seems like it would be overdone and cliche ─ this is a tale that’s been told over and over again. But it’s not. In spite of this rather commonplace plot ─ or perhaps because of it ─ Puchner manages to reach a level of depth and sensitivity wrapped…show more content… It adds another layer to the story, allowing Natalie the space and opportunity to express her own thoughts and reflections in her unique way. Therefore adding more depth to her role as Leda. The intended audience of the essay, Mr. Patterson, is also a figure that plays a somewhat central role, despite only appearing a few times, and mostly just via a quick address or reference by Natalie. The fact that she’s choosing to share such personal details with Mr. Patterson makes me think that she wants him to understand ─ or at the very least, to know who she is, as she expresses in the last line. This adds to the sense of sadness in the story, the fact that Natalie is spilling her secrets to a teacher who doesn’t know who she is, the fact that she wishes he did. It suggests that there’s no one else who she can spill her secrets to, now that her boyfriend and her sister are gone, her father is still dead, and she’s left alone and very lonely with her alcoholic mother and her distant stepfather.
These are only some of the things that make up the incredibly unique character in this story. The voice entertains and captivates, but above all, it manages to convey an old poem in really fresh ways. It transforms a conventional storyline and Greek myth into a unique, original story, and also conveys emotions and themes in a way that’s not overly sentimental or
