Dammit, Kitty

I think that "For the Family in the Car Passing By" starts with a conflict that basically summarizes the story: Earl is dissatisfied with the presence of his wife's cat. Though Earl does not come to love the cat - unlike most stories about an undesired pet - I do believe that there is some change in Earl as a father and pet-owner.

I started reading this story passively, trying to multitask to get homework done and found that I had to direct my entire attention to the story, going so far as to remove myself from a noisy room so that I could devote my full attention. I found that this story was filled with excellent detail and conflict, making it hard to put down because you aren't sure what's going to happen next. I liked the twist on the age-old "cat person or dog person" in that Earl refuses to accept the cat as his while Crystal seems attached to Jerry,  showing that there is often a grey area in matters of conflict.

The transition in the middle of the story is abrupt and caught me off guard: it seemed as though it was a time shift into the future rather than the past, making me think that they were getting yet another cat at the expense of Earl's sanity. It was only after Crystal's brother and sister-in-law gifted her with a fluffy white kitten did I realize that this was a flashback. I think this could be easily rectified by showcasing something from the flashback in the first three pages of the story so that the reader can recognize the jump into the past, i.e. walking past the family photo in the kitchen, describing the cool May weather.

I normally use the title of the story as something to foreshadow the events to come. The title immediately made me think of "Videotape" by Don Delillo, which was really only because of the involvement of a family and a car. My interpretation of the title came after the story: you got your inspiration for this story from a car passing by with a family inside? I'm not sure but I was definitely expecting a whole different story from the title.

Your ability to weave description blows my mind; the detail you put into setting and characters really creates a realistic depiction of this imperfect family. There were times when these descriptions were to your detriment, distracting away from the plot with blocks of text to set up the scene. I don't want to see any of that description cut out but it dragged on in places that seemed to be describing mundane marriage life. I know like I'm going to sound like I'm contradicting myself but I still like it because it really does paint the whole picture of a real family. So kudos to you.

I enjoy the ending because it highlights Earl's humanity. I've never seen a cat get hit by a car and therefore cannot validate the flailing around of its body but it provided a dark humor to the situation because, the sick dog-loving bastard I am, fur flying around as the cat attempts to revive herself was only slightly amusing so I don't feel that it took away from anything at all. Earl's struggle with his hatred of the cat and the love of his family is what makes him hesitate in putting the cat out of her misery. I'm glad that you didn't show him pulling the trigger because it provides an open ending for the reader to interpret: will Earl put the cat out of its misery or will he kill the cat out of spite?