Reading Response for “Events at Drimaghleen” by William Trevor

           I found most of my enjoyment from this story to come in weird, unexpected ways. I hope I’m not the only one who found it hilarious in certain parts, particularly in the beginning. I enjoyed the formal tone, such as in “On the farm, discussion was rarely apt; there being no profit in it; it followed naturally that grounds for disagreement were limited.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the seriousness of this statement because it’s a fancy way of saying the couple didn’t talk much. I also laughed (yes, out loud) to the assumptions the couple goes on when they’re driving to the Butler’s. They map out this whole scenario in their minds up to a year from the present without knowing what really happened.

I enjoyed the little details given at the beginning as well, such as the string that Mr. McDowd ties around his coat to go out to the cows. The details helped me picture this couple very average farm folk. The most intriguing aspect of this story is the realness of it. There’s a very harsh reality implemented throughout that I think the formal tone lends well to. It presents everything as is without a bias. One example of this is before the couple leave to find their daughter, the narrator says “The breakfast was placed on the table because no good would come out of not taking food.” I could relate to this well because when I’m distressed, I tend to think: might as well eat something. Everyone eats their feelings now and again, and it provided a good pause for the author to tell us more about the McDowds. The brutality of the scene at the Butler’s is something I appreciated because it spared no gruesome details. We get full emotion and the text reads like an emotional trance: “Mrs. McDowd screamed, and then she was aware that she was lying down herself, clasping Maureen’s body. A moment later she was aware that her husband was weeping piteously…” Phrases like “lead body” and “blood on the ground already turned browned” caused a chill up my spine, but a welcome one. I love creepy stories and I didn’t expect the story to take this turn.

I was thinking of what was said in class about not writing violence for the sake of violence. I wasn’t sure how you could write about real violence while having a purpose for it. I think this story is a good example of how violence is used to make a point. It is used to expose the naivety of the couple, the reality of the media and journalism in general. It shows what happens when city clashes with country. I could relate to what the Hetty Fortune and her partner were doing because I’ve worked for a newspaper before. Although they might have not been out to get the couple, they might as well have. The newspaper romanticizes their daughter and the events, at the same time treating her like a lunatic. I like that the author decides to include the article in the paper rather than summarizing it because we don’t know exactly what the couple talked about so it’s interesting to see what the newspaper has to say first. When we get the couple reactions afterwards, that’s when I kind of went “oh, shit.” The couple traded money for something they could not fully comprehend and it ended in a disastrous way. All of this sets up for no possibility of a happy ending, but as weird as it sounds, I loved that about the whole piece.