IOutlineC - Moons of Jupiter

Intro:

• Moons of Jupiter story
• Situated near the beginning of the story when Janet first talks to her father in his hospital room
• First reveal and development of the relationship between Janet and her father
• The story that incited her success this story unlike those before it aimed to include the complexities of a regular novel in spite of its condensed format
• The stylistic choices in which it was written, tracking back and forth from the future, to the present to the past.

• Munro manipulates time in order to juxtapose stereotypical short story structure and also express human complexity in the way that people typically don’t think linearly while also characterizing the relationship between Janet and her father through implicit communications.

Chunk 1 (1-7):

• First section focuses implicitly on the flourishing of relationship between the main characters
• Can be seen through the writing and beeping of heart monitor expressing life as a bunch of jagged lines (fluctuations like a rollercoaster) and a ticking timebomb (waiting for life to end)
• Perhaps defines life as a few jagged lines as opposed to one flat line
• Physical display of the room shows that her father’s most intimate and vulnerable sides are literally exposed, similar to his exposure of emotions in this tough time
• “I tried to ignore it” shows Janet’s ignorance to the situation and foreshadows the complexities of their relationship in her composure (where perhaps she should’ve showed more care)

Chunk 2 (8-30):

• Munro employs periphrasis at the very beginning of this section, tracing back to the events from the previous day, as starting in the middle of the story she is now beginning to build context for the reader
• Through her intentional way of retelling of previou events, the reader can infer that the narrator has seen her father in a similar state before, in addition to the father and her having a special, not very effusive relationship
• Munro then returns back to the present day to characterize the daughter and the father as being proactive, wanting to hear a selection of alternatives before reaching decisions (In tying with Munro’s style of capturing the essence of human life)
• Adds tension to the plot by stating that without the operation the father would only have 3 months to live, and that to in a bedridden state.
• Develops this theme of emotional intelligence as in spite of his situation Janet is trying to put a positive spin on an otherwise negative situation.

Chunk 3 (31-40):

• From advancing plot, Munro traces back to characterize and build context.
• She uses personal language to allow the reader to feel exactly Janet would be feeling at that time
• She then goes on to describe the relationship between Janet and her father as being not effusive and of too much approval but instead of tacit affection.

Conclusion:

Munro defies the typical conventions of short stories by employing periphrasis from the very onset of the story to build plot and context simultaneously - in a seamless fashion. This is effective in creating a story that is both centered and continually moving forward.