MLA Sample Paper

Wayne Chung
English 1302
Tom Grimes
An analysis of style and technique in
Bobby Ann Mason's Big Bertha Stories
Bobby Ann Mason has been called everything from a
minimalist to "dirty realist" and even "K-Mart realist," all
labels about which she says:
I'm not sure what is meant by minimalism. I'm not sure
if it means something that is just so spare that there
is hardly anything there, or if it just describe
something that is deliberately pared down with great
artistic effect, or if it's just a misnomer for what
happens in any good short story, which is economy.
(Lyons 458)
To be sure, Mason's style is pared down, with most extra words
and information removed. She follows a long line of writers who
believe "less is more." In the short story "Big Bertha
Stories," however, Mason breaks the typical scope of the so
called realistic story by creating a text which delves into the
making of myths and which ends with an ambiguous dream by the
main character.
"Big Bertha Stories" is written in the present tense, a
style that Mason believes gives her stories a "sense of
immediacy"(Lyons 460). This style, she claims, removes
traditional narrative authority from the text. Mason says "when

an author [narrator] speaks in the present tense you get the
feeling that s/he doesn't know any more than you do about what's
happening"(Lyons 460). In contrast she says that the past tense
creates the assumption that the narrator "has sorted events out,
has a perspective on them, [and] has judged them in some
sense"(Lyons 460).
In "Big Bertha Stories" the use of the present tense allows
the reader to experience the action of the story as the
characters themselves experience it. Rather than the usual
filter we get from a traditional narrative we are presented with
a camera-eye view of the events. Information and events are
relayed in a mater-of-fact style, which effectively removes much
of the narrative attitude from these sections. Mason then adds
the character's attitude, in this story Jeanette's thoughts, to
create point of view. For example, on the opening lines we see
that: "Donald is home again, laughing and singing. He comes
home from Central City, Kentucky, near the strip mines, only
when he feels like it, like an absentee landlord checking on his
property" (655). The fist lines read much like a movie script,
an influence, which Mason quickly acknowledges. We see the
present action of Donald's return followed by information
telling us where he comes from and finally Jeanette's attitude
toward his return. The second sentence is a marriage of present
tense distance and character point of view.

In "Big Bertha Stories" the uncertainty of the present
tense mirrors the uncertainty of the plot. There is no clear
resolution in this story and, though Jeanette clearly changes,
we are left unsure of whether any changes will last. Since the
events in a past tense story have already happened, the attitude
of such a narrator will inform us as to the present situation of
a character as it relates to the past. For example, in "Heat"
by Joyce Carol Oates we see that the narrator relates the story
of the twins murder to her own life. We see her own
unreliability through the way she pays out information. In "Big
Bertha Stories" the present tense voice does not allow us this
same grasp. Not only does the present tense allow a sense of
immediacy, but it also causes a sense of ambiguity, especially
in "Big Bertha Stories". In choosing the present tense for this
particular story Mason chooses to leave us with an anti-
resolution. In this case, the lack of clear resolution gives us
the sense that the Jeanette's life has not completely changed
for the better, though she might like to believe it has.
The present tense also creates the enigmatic ending of the
story. As Jeanette dreams we see the dream itself, not her
remembrance of the dream, as we get in John Cheever's "The Death
Of Justina," which is told in past tense and allows for a
narrative filter or "slant" on the events in the dream. This
present tense effect allows the reader to interpret the dream as

Jeanette dreams it. This passage is, as in the beginning,
almost devoid of character attitude: "That night, she has a
nightmare about the trampoline. In her dream, she is jumping on
soft moss, and then it turns to a springy pile of dead bodies"
(670). Once again we get a camera eye view of the dream as it
occurs. By choosing to use this removed point of view and
narrative style, Mason sets to reader up to be confused as to
the meaning of the ending. Unfortunately, this lack of clear
meaning and the introduction of an abrupt dream sequence leaves
the reader too confused to make much sense of the ending. This
is the main reason the story does not achieve resolution, and
the work itself fails to close properly.
When the dream sequence from Cheever's "The Death Of
Justina" is contrasted with that found in "Big Bertha Stories"
we can see where the present tense fails to illicit the proper
response. Mason uses the present tense for a sense of immediacy
and this is the main reason this dream sequence does not work
and creates a frustration in the reader. Cheever's story is
told in past tense, which allows us to get a grasp on the
unreliability of this particular narrator. The absurdity which
precedes the dream sequence properly sets up the dream sequence
and the use of the unreliable narrator allows the reader to
believe the weird nature of his dream. This absurdity is
underscored, as are many similar images and lines, by the fact

that the narrator denies any understanding of the dream, though
clearly the reader knows why he had the dream. As the narrator
asks "What could be the meaning of this?" we do not believe him
because other images and ideas from his conscious mind, such as
patriotism and class warfare, are tied together by his dream.
Cheever's narrator dreams of a supermarket where immigrants
graze over unlabeled packages while being over seen by brutish
figures (550). This ties in with several key thematic elements
in the narrative: for example, the character works as an
advertisement writer (551). He calls his boss "satanic" (543).
On two occasions he speaks of this confusion and disappointment
in the American Dream (545). All of these key elements in the
story are recalled by the dream sequence and therefore Cheever
successfully incorporates a dream into his story.
The use of present tense combined with the narrative
"camera eye" view of events in "Big Bertha Stories" does not
allow the reader to get Jeanette's perspective on the dream.
Beyond this, the dream does not completely tie the thematic
elements of the story together, nor does it recall the only
supernatural aspect of the story in reference to the myth of Big
Bertha. One possible connection is the internalization of
Donald's violence by Jeanette and a signal of the deterioration
which still exists in Jeanette's life. These meanings, however,
are inferred after several close readings of the text rather

than apparent in the language itself. The effect of this dream
sequence is enigma, and confusion on the part of the reader
ensues. We leave this story with feeling that it is incomplete.
The plot and story of "Big Bertha Stories" seems very
straightforward. Donald, a Viet Nam veteran, can not escape his
nightmares about the war and often takes long leaves from his
family. This problem contributes to the disintegration of his
family. Jeanette and Rodney are left with the economic,
emotional and physical loss of their husband and father.
The story gets a bit tricky when we start to understand
that Jeanette judges her own relationship and social standing by
outside standards. As Donald takes the family to the shopping
center, Jeanette feels "almost like a normal family" (657). In
her worldview, "normal families" shop, go to church and don't
tell "Big Bertha Stories," in short, they are the opposite of
Jeanette's family. When confronted by any abnormal situation,
the Snake man and his tarantula for instance, Jeanette
immediately feels as if her family is somehow failing to adhere
to normalcy. When the Snake man tells her "If you drop a
tarantula, it will shatter like a Christmas ornament," she feels
her own "family disintegrating like a spider shattering" (656).
Jeanette seems to understand by the end of the story that
she thought of Donald primarily as a husband, a
provider, someone whose name she shared, the father of

her child, someone like the fathers who come to the
Wednesday night all you can eat fish fry. She hasn't
though of him as himself. (669)
This revelation corresponds with Donald entering the V.A.
hospital so he can rid himself of his demons and become a
"normal" husband. As we read this passage we are shown that
Jeanette uses outside standards of how normal husbands and wives
act to view her own unique situation--a point illustrated
throughout the text well, though Mason seems to feel it
necessary to drive the point home in the above told passage.
Here Jeanette realizes her main flaw, though this revelation
does nothing to change her actions.
The way outside judgments affect Jeanette runs thematically
through the story. The therapist, her parents and the men in
the diner all taint Jeanette's view of Donald. Jeanette angers
as the therapist wants her to talk about her own personal
experiences, because she believes she is seeing him to talk
about Donald's problems. In fact the therapist is the only
person in the text who sees that Jeanette's difficulty is with
herself rather than her husband.
The outside world infiltrates Jeanette's inner state of
mind, just as it does with her husband, whose destructive job as
a strip miner constantly reminds him of the devastation in Viet
Nam. The simplest example of this concept occurs as Jeanette

jumps on Rodney's trampoline and a neighbor tells her "you'll
tear your insides loose"(670). Someone with confidence and
direction would ignore such a wives tale, but Jeanette allows it
to modify her behavior. We are told that she stops jumping so
much, even though she obviously enjoys it (670).
Because the men she works around are "normal" men,
providers, successful drivers of Cadillacs, and flirtatious
womanizers, Jeanette expects that a successful father/husband
will provide both material and emotional needs. In her mind
however, the material provisions take precedent. In fact,
Jeanette only feels like she has a "normal" family as Donald
takes her shopping, brings Rodney a present, brings money home
for the family(656). She fails to realize that the Big Bertha
Stories are myths which, for Donald, create emotional support.
Jeanette wants a normal man who does normal things. Donald, as
we see in the course of the story, is not a normal man.
Jeanette refuses to deal with situations which are ugly or
painful which is one reason her marriage is failing and when she
does deal with these situations she looks to an outside
authority to enforce her view as being right. Her use of the
Therapist is solely to discuss Donald, and when she is
confronted by questions about her own thoughts she avoids them,
resenting Dr. Robinson because he "seems to be waiting for her
to make something out of" her ordeal with Donald (661). She

also resent being treated as if she is "the one who's
crazy"(661). Instead of relying on her own mind to make
decisions she is maddened by the fact "that [the therapist]
won't tell her what to do"(661).
A second authority to whom Jeanette turns is her own
mother. Although Donald never acts violent towards Jeanette, it
is Jeanette's mother who warns her about this possibility. As
with her daughter, the mother also gets her information from an
outside authority by reading "in the newspaper that a veteran in
Louisville held his little girl hostage" and "had a shootout
with the police and was killed" (658). As with the Snakeman,
the trampoline shouter and the therapist, Jeanette's mother
manages to taint her view of Donald to the point where she
becomes afraid of him.
Part of the reason Jeanette feels the way she does is
because she associates material and superficial items with
emotional support. She forgives Donald's long absences because
he often brings money and food, which alloWS her to avoid using
the food stamps she must take on welfare (655). Her favorite
thing to do is shop (669). Later, as Donald comes to see his son
at Christmas time, she is angry because Donald "never bring[s]
him anything"(664). As Jeanette cries in bed beside Donald she
mistakenly thinks that his problems are cause by the fact that
Donald does not "care what [Jeanette] looks like anymore," again

she mistakes emotional content for materialism as represented by
superficial ideas (6).
The men who flirt with Jeanette also give her money, along
with sexual notes. She is flattered by their invitations to
ride the "Delta Queen" mainly because she "knows how expensive
that was"(662). As she allows the electronics salesman to take
her out in the Cadillac she is struck by his "flamboyant"
behavior and is drawn to the "automatic windows. . .stereo
system, and lighted computer screen" (663). Jeanette realizes,
however, that the salesman is "really not very interesting" when
compared to Donald (663). Jeanette is seduced by her material
desires until she realizes that Donald is more emotionally
fulfilling despite his inability to provide for his family.
Jeanette is horrified by the Bertha stories because they
are grotesque and violent. She projects this horror onto
Rodney, whose "nightmares" are alluded to, but never explained
or explored. We are told that Rodney draws pictures of his
"nightmares" but are only privy to one drawing of "Big Bertha's
titties" which are "two huge circles, filling the page, with
three tiny stick people in he corner"(663). This image is less
than horrific to the reader, and the effect is that we doubt the
authenticity of Rodney's "nightmares." This is especially
interesting because Jeanette sees Donald's nightmares as

"trivial" while she sees Rodney's "tittie" dream as a nightmare
(658).
The most disturbing characteristic we see in Jeanette is
her inability of empathize with Donald's memories of Viet Nam.
We are told that in the past "she always said the wrong thing in
her efforts to sooth" Donald (657). The same is true in the
present action of the story. When Donald broods about Viet Nam,
she responds by asking "Wasn't Viet Nam a long time ago?"(657).
This lack of empathy corresponds with all of his attempts to
relate the carnage he witnessed in Viet Nam. Her lack of
empathy stems from the fact that "She didn't want to hear about
Viet Nam. She thought it was unhealthy to dwell on [Viet Nam] so
much (658). Not only does Jeanette reveal that she does not
want to reflect on Viet Nam, but through the course of the story
it becomes apparent that she won't think of any painful memory
or event for very long.
Much of the time, when Donald tries to explain Viet Nam to
Jeanette, she changes to subject. As Donald tries to explain
that during his strip-mining job he is constantly "looking for
those tunnels where the Viet Cong hid"(665). He tries to relate
this unknown aspect of the tunnels to something Jeanette can
fathom--Mammoth Cave. Unfortunately, Jeanette again says "the
wrong thing" as she points out "Mammoth Cave's one of the
natural wonders of the world"(665). Donald clearly needs an

outlet to allow him to release the horror he witnessed during
the war. Because she constantly avoids his discussions, he
tries to reach her by drawing out his story, to which she says
"Why are you going through so much trouble?" (660). Jeanette
misunderstands the meaning of Donald's drawing. He is telling
her what the reader understands--that he can not get her to
listen to him so he chooses a nonverbal form of communication to
help him get the message to her. Jeanette keeps subverting
Donald's attempts to deal with the war, which drives him away
from his family, and finally to the VA hospital.
The main characterization of Donald, which is not filtered
through Jeanette or her mother, is that he is obsessed with
making his wife, and by extension his family, understand what he
witnessed in Viet Nam. Donald feels that he had a part in
"ruin[ing]" Viet Nam, which is why his job as a land "reclaimer"
is very important to him (657). Donald tries six times over the
course of the story to get Jeanette to understand his experience
in Viet Nam, but it isn't until the final time, as he is
explaining about Phan, and how her village was destroyed that
Jeanette connects with him. By the third time he has decided
that she "will never understand" and his discussions turn more
animated and violent as a result. What allows her to connect to
him is the way he tells her that the last story "don't mean
nothing"(667). This last story centers around the beauty of

Viet Nam and his relationship to Phan, a girl he describes as
beautiful," and "gentle," like she had "grown up out of the
jungle" (667). The story also reflects his shame and guilt at
having blown the jungle and Phan's village "sky high"(668). The
jungle, the people, and especially Phan disappear, leaving
Donald no closure to the experience. When Jeanette asks "is
that the end of the story?" and Donald tells her "I don't know,"
we get a very real sense that Donald will always search for a
closure to his violent experience in the war. Not
coincidentally, this story is the triggering event for Donald's
decision to enter the VA hospital.
Jeanette's mother, the therapist, and the social worker are
all characterized through what they say to Jeanette as opposed
to what the do in the story. Jeanette's mother is a gossip who
plants the first seeds of fear in her daughters head. It is she
who takes Rodney to church, where he hears that his father is a
messenger from the devil"(669). The therapist and social worker
both play much the same role. Both characters encourage
Jeanette to start doing something for herself, rather than
waiting for something to change. The therapist tries to get
Jeanette to realize that the families problems are not all a
result of Donald's behavior, and the social worker encourages
her to escape reality by reading. Both of these suggestions are

completely ignored by Jeanette until Donald enters the VA
hospital.
Rodney is a prototypical child. He is desperate for a
father figure in his life and is obviously very impressionable.
He may be the most sympathetic character in the story, but for
all the wrong reasons. Naturally we sympathize with his
situation;he's poor, he's fatherless, and he fears being
abandoned. The ritual of hiding from Donald every time his
father returns becomes an affirmation of the fact that his
father will not abandon him. After all, Rodney waits until his
father searches all over the house for him, to rush out and hug
his father's knees (656). The boy is impressionable enough to
believe that his father is a "messenger form the devil" not only
because his grandmother says so, but because he recognizes
something is wrong with his father, possibly because Jeanette
constantly points out the violent, disturbing nature of the "Big
Bertha Stories." His "nightmares" are interpreted by Jeanette
as a result of Donald's stories, but in reality they are caused
by his unstable family life.
Donald substitutes myth-making for affection. Big Bertha
is first a way for him to connect with his son and a method of
coping with the deterioration of his family life. He tells the
stories as a way to get his son to forgive him and as
entertainment. The myths that he creates around Big Bertha help

him find a common ground between him and his son as any story or
myth creates a bond between speaker and listener. To Donald,
the stories are his fairy tales, and most of this time the
incorporate element which any young boy would be interested in:
war, action, and supernatural heros are all incorporated into
the stories. Jeanette hates the stories because they remind her
that she does not live a normal life.
The stories also help Donald to alleviate the tension
created by his illness, and avoid the emotional conflict caused
by his absences. Nowhere is this better illustrated in the text
than as Jeanette is crying beside him he asks her is she wants
him to "tell [her] a Big Bertha story?" rather then hugging her
(660). Donald avoids talking about his wife's depression by
presenting the myth of Bertha, just as he avoids his son's anger
by telling the stories.
As the plot of "Big Bertha Stories" moves forward Donald
finally has to deal with his problems. As his mental health and
marriage disintegrate, so do the stories. We see that "in the
story, [Big Bertha and] the rock and roll band give a concert in
a place that turns out to be a toxic waste dump, and the
contamination is spread out all over the country. Big Bertha's
solution is not at all clear" (664). Bertha is not longer able
to stave off the deterioration of Donald's family which
parallels Donald's breakdown. When the myth fails as a problem

solver, Donald must face the fact that his wife is afraid of him
and that he must change something about his life.
Another function of the Big Bertha Stories is to find a way
for Donald to legitimize the violence he witnessed in the
destruction of Viet Nam, a place he thought was beautiful, and
the violence he witnesses each day in strip mining. They are a
way for his side to win the war much the same way movies such as
"Missing in Action" and "Rambo" allowed American to claim a
fictitious victory over the Viet Cong by allowing heros to
return to Viet Nam and defeat the communists. When this all-
powerful legend is connected with the war in Viet Nam it always
in a context of winning the war, and doing so without blowing up
all of the beauty of the country. The stories serve as a way
for Donald to share the carnage and violence with his son,
without sharing the experiences.
Because Bertha is a strip mining machine, the thematic
element of strip mining pays a major role in the story. This
element is tied together by the way Jeanette refers to the V.A.
psychiatric unit as "strip mining" and further tells Donald
"That's what they'll do to your head. They'll dig out those
ugly memories" (668). Her view is the opposite of Donald. He
sees what he does as "reclaiming the land" which relates more
fittingly to what the VA seeks to do(665). Jeanette would have
her husband altered, like a cat, or like the strip mines, which

are hidden because they would give travelers "a poor image of
Kentucky" (661). Rather than understanding that Donald need to
reclaim his memories in a way that allows him to deal with his
role in the destruction of Viet Nam, Jeanette would rather see
those memories removed altogether so she can retain a positive
image of her family.
For Donald, strip mining also serves as a metaphor for the
destruction of Viet Nam. He draws the connection explicitly as
he tells Jeanette that war was strip mining, "stripping off the
top [of the culture]" (657). Donald believes if he can "reclaim
the land" he might be able to set things right, but what instead
he is constantly reminded of what happened in Viet Nam.
The main problem found in "Big Bertha Stories" is that it
does not close well. While we are told that Jeanette has
experienced a change in her thoughts about Donald, we do not
actually see what the change is. Essentially Mason creates a
false resolution, which is ambiguous at best. Because Donald is
away the main revelation is told to the reader rather than being
shown by interaction with Donald: "It occurs to her she thought
of Donald primarily as a husband, a provider. . .the father of
her child, someone like the fathers who come to the. . all you
can eat fish fry. She hasn't though of him as himself" (669).
This use of telling does not allow the reader to see any real
change in Jeanette. She ends the story by allowing the reader

to see that Jeanette has fooled herself, and adds the nightmare
as interior proof of this fact.
The reader is supposed to understand what she does not--
that Jeanette's problems don't all stem from Donald, though he
certainly contributes to these problems. Essentially Mason
allows Jeanette to fool herself into believing once Donald
enters the V.A. all her problems are solved. Once the decision
is made to enter the V.A., we are told she looks better, is able
to get a job, and starts reading again (669). In fact, Donald's
absence allows her time to reorganizes her life, by getting off
welfare, rearranging her furniture and assuming a new outlook
(669). The reason her resolution is false is that, like her
problems, her solution is created by an exterior event instead
of a true shift in thinking. We see that she believes she is
changing, and we see that Donald is dealing with his loss and
damage, but Jeanette never addresses the true nature of her own
problems.
The final image of the story is the nightmare, which is
used to evoke a feeling rather than a thought. The language
here shifts from the very straightforward style to a more lush,
descriptive style "she is jumping on soft moss" which turns to a
"springy pile of dead bodies"(670). Nowhere else do we get a
description of Jeanette's surroundings. When Donald's
nightmares occur they are told through Jeanette's POV, and not

shown by the narrative voice. We never see any of Rodney's
nightmares either. Even though the theme of nightmares exists
in "Big Bertha Stories," the imagery, which accompanies such a
theme does not. Mason chose to end her story with the abrupt
inclusion of an image that only ties in one thematic element of
the story. Contrasted with Cheever's use of dream, (as
discussed in the section "Narrative Style") which effectively
ties together more than one element of "The Death Of Justina,"
Mason's use of dream hits just one note. The reader is left
with the feeling that things are not right with Jeanette, but
the thought that occurs is "what does the dream mean?"
Cheever's narrative makes this point evident, Mason's point to
ambiguous. Why a "K-Mart" realist would choose to end this
story with such an image is unclear, and does not fall in line
with Mason's own ideas about language. The reader has to work
harder than the language and the narrative to make meaning from
this image. We have to tie the loose ends together ourselves
based on the ambiguity we feel as we reach the final image.
The failure to close this story may also be a flaw with the
narrative style Mason chooses to use for "Big Bertha Stories".
By choosing to use a distanced narrator combined with the
immediacy of the present tense, Mason may have found herself
unable to filter this dream through Jeanette's consciousness
without completely breaking from her narrative voice.

Mason uses some interesting techniques in "Big Bertha
Stories," which also pose some problems for this story. The
distance created by the narrative voice is too camera-like, and
works against the language, forcing the reader to work far too
hard at interpreting the meaning behind the story. Had the
story been told in the past tense, allowing the character, and
by extension the reader, to "sort things out, to gain a
perspective on things," this story may be far more effective
(Lyons 460).

Works Cited
Cheever, John. “The Death of Justina.” The Oxford Book of
American Short Stories. Ed. Joyce Carol Oates. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1992.
Lyons, Bonnie & Bill Oliver. "An Interview with Bobby Ann
Mason." Contemporary Literature.32.4 (1991):448-470.
Mason, Bobbie Ann. "Big Bertha Stories." The Oxford Book of
American Short Stories. Ed. Joyce Carol Oates. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1992. 655-670.