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Jon Loomis ■ Deer Hit 153 UNIT 2

10 like a bride . Wr estle it into the bac k of the car 10 SIMILE The speaker compares the doe to
like a bride. Wrestle it into the back of the car —
the seat folded down. Somehow, you steer IDEAS IN LITERATURE a bride, which may mean the doe represents
the wagon out of the ditch and head home, an early love or important relationship. The
night rushing in through the broken window,
11 night rushing in through the broken window, speaker carries the injured doe in a moment of
vulnerability and an attempt to save it.
headlight dangling, side-mirror gone.
25 headlight dangling, side-mirror gone.
Your nose throbs, something stabs 11 REPETITION The speaker once again
calls attention to details that allude to horrific
in your side. The deer breathing behind you,
12 in your side. The deer breathing behind you, dismemberment (this time, dismemberment of
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs were used with this sample chapter.
shallow and fast. A stoplight, you’re almost home
shallow and fast. A stoplight, you’re almost home
the car) as well as the nighttime.
and the deer scrambles to life, its long head
13 and the deer scrambles to life, its long head
appears like a ghost in the rearview mirror
30 appears like a ghost in the rearview mirror 12 REPETITION Identifying the repetition of the
sounds that the doe makes focuses the reader
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and bites you, its teeth clamp down on your shoulder back again and again to the doe’s pain and
and maybe you scream, you struggle and flail distress.
till the deer, exhausted, lets go and lies down.
13 SIMILE The simile comparing the deer to “a
ghost” is a direct connection to the supernatural
Your father’s waiting up, watching tv. and horror genre that surprises a character from
14 35 He’s had a few drinks and he’s angry.
He’s had a few drinks and he’s angry.
a limited perspective (or from a blind spot).
Christ, he says, when you let yourself in.
15 It’s Night of the Living Dead. You tell him 14 REPETITION Like the speaker, the father
It’s Night of the Living Dead. You tell him
character is also under the influence of alcohol
some of what happened: the dark road, (making a comparison between the two
the deer you couldn’t avoid. Outside, he circles
the deer you couldn’t avoid. Outside, he circles characters’ actions).
16
40 the car. Jesus, he says. A long silence.
the car. Jesus, he says. A long silence.
15 REPETITION The speaker notes that the
Son of a bitch, looking in. He opens the tailgate,
father references the 1968 horror/science fiction
drags the quivering deer out by a leg. film that is noted for its themes of violence, gore,
What can you tell him — you weren’t thinking, and supernatural reanimation.
you’d injured your head? You wanted to fix
17 you’d injured your head? You wanted to fix 16 REPETITION Like the injured doe in line 16,
what you’d broken — restore the beautiful body,
45 what you’d broken the father walks in circles. The father is more in
control than the deer, but both use this pacing
18 color of wet straw, color of oak leaves in winter?
color of wet straw, color of oak leaves in winter?
19 The deer shudders and bleats in the driveway. motion because they lack control of the situation.
The deer shudders and bleats in the driveway.
Your father walks to the toolshed, 17 PERSPECTIVE The speaker reveals why he
comes back lugging a concrete block.
20 comes back lugging a concrete block. transported the deer in the first place and alludes
to the prevailing emotions of guilt and shame that
21 50 Some things stay with you. Dumping the body he feels after reflecting on the experience.
Some things stay with you. Dumping the body
deep in the woods, like a gangster. The dent
deep in the woods, like a gangster. The dent
18 REPETITION Straw and oak leaves are both
in your nose. All your life, the trail of ruin you leave.
in your nose. All your life, the trail of ruin you leave.
elements of nature that remind the audience of
the setting of the narrative.
19 REPETITION The final noise that the speaker
recognizes is one that he recalls as a “terrible
bleat” from line 18.
20 CONFLICT The narrative resolves in what the
reader can assume is a violent death of the doe.
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21 PERSPECTIVE The speaker reveals a deep
C RITICAL APPROACHES sense of regret, guilt, and shame for the “trail
Psychological of ruin” he has left in his life. He compares the
The speaker experiences a series of traumatic cognitive chaos and the possible division of dumping of the doe’s body through a simile to
a criminal act and notes that the experience
events, the effects of which linger throughout consciousness, as an inherent characteristic of continues to linger with him in the present
his life. Literary theorist Michelle Balaev writes traumatic experience and memory. The idea that moment.
on literary trauma theory, which is used by traumatic experience pathologically divides
scholars to explore how meaning is created identity is . . . a metaphor to describe the
through texts that feature extreme emotional degree of damage done to the individual’s sense
stress. Topics of interest in this field include of self.” Loomis’s choice to represent the
how authors use intertextuality, repetition, narrative in the present tense and using the
fragmentation, and language manipulation. distance of the second-person narration may
Balaev writes that other critics “consider the illuminate how the speaker has processed
responses to traumatic experience, including trauma.
Jon Loomis Deer Hit 153

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