AHWOSG Task one

Task one The subject of this extract is Dave Eggers's mother and how he and his sister are dealing with the symptoms of her illness, practically rather than emotionally. We learn through this extract how they deal with the mother being fairly incapacitated and is constantly spewing up green fluid. The plastic receptacle which is introduced towards the end of the extract is described at length by Eggers, by the way Eggers describes the details of it "moulded plastic/cream-coloured/half-moon." It seems as though Eggers is somewhat in awe of the "great find", this could be because of the impact the receptacle has had on him and his sister’s life. Eggers details at length how him and his sister dealt with mother constantly spewing up fluid before the receptacle, he does his with the use of parentheses and describes how they are running out of towels to deal with this problem. The use of the very long bracket that Eggers used to describe the actions of him and his sister gives us detail and make the reader sympathise with the author as we understand the problem that Eggers is faced with. This makes the "great find" of the plastic receptacle give a sense of relief to the reader as we can see the impact it will have on everyday lie at the Eggers house. In this extract Eggers uses the term "fluid" nine times, this repetition shows how big a part the green fluid was in the everyday goings on in the Eggers household. Eventually the reader becomes accustomed to the green fluid which might have made some readers uneasy at first. I think Eggers does this on purpose as he is trying to make us feel what it was like for him, as he had to deal with the green fluid and eventually he became immune to how disgusting it was. The mother spewing up vile green fluid just assimilates into the routine of the house and just becomes a part of life for Eggers and his siblings. The relationship between Eggers and his mother is one which is uncommon in most households and until both his parents were diagnosed with cancer, the relationship him and his mother have in this extract was probably never a though which crossed his mind. This is a role reversal with the traditional child/parent relationship. However I think Eggers does a good job of making it seem normal as that is what this life has become to him and that comes across in his writing, he does this by not constantly bringing up the fact it is he who is looking after his mother. Therefore as a consequence of this the reader to understands what Eggers is going through and he manages to make it seem relatable, as if it is not the alien proposition that may be it would be if it was suggested to a young reader that is should be them who is looking after their parent. There is no bitterness or anger in how he describes the relationship with his mother it does not seem as though he harbours any resentment in this extract for the position he has now found himself in.