English Outline

Life is a collection of moments, and some memories last forever. Brian Evenson

demonstrated this in “Windeye,” a story of a man who faces mental challenges because of the life-long memory of his sister. In spite of the fact that his mother insists that the sister did not exist, the protagonist stuck to this belief until his old age. The basis of the protagonist’s problems is the intense love and unforgettable memories he shared with his imagined sister. A great portion of his childhood memories is centered around his sister and their exploration of the windeye. Windeye, the corruption of the word window, is a portal that causes the disappearance of the protagonist’s sister. The popular portal fantasy, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, illustrates a similar story in the same sub-genre where a girl travels through a rabbit hole and experiences a fantasy world which chronicles her changes from naive child- like responses to more adult-like problem solving reactions. In “Windeye,” Brian Evenson utilizes the portal trope to develop conflict and outcomes while exploring the themes of time and memory. In both stories, the use of the portal trope creates a distinct world that is separate from reality; however, the outcomes are different, and ultimately, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland presents the theme of growth while “Windeye” explores time and memories. The use of time factors allows the reader to travel back to the origin of the story in “Windeye” and experience the beginning of the central conflict. It is in his past that the protagonist develops strong childhood memories of a sister, which is the cause of his future mental challenges. In the present, the narrator is old and rickety as he uses a cane to walk but is still reminiscent of the past (Evenson). He holds firm to the belief that he might have a chance of meeting his sister again and thus contemplates the future and the sister’s appearance. The plot of “Windeye” is composed of distinctive life moments: the past, the present, and the future, which offer a clear and complete description of the events. The theme

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of time allows the reader to understand why the protagonist profoundly feels that his sister exists. In essence, it is time travel that gives the story a picture of the events that lead to the current situation.

The portal fantasy is a fictional literary device where a character enters into a

fantastical world through a portal or a hole. In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Carroll uses a rabbit hole as a physical portal to move through time. Comparably, Evenson utilizes the windeye, a window that can only be seen from one side, as a physical portal. When the sister touches the windeye, her brother believes that she enters into another reality through the portal as Alice does. In contrast, the protagonist also experiences a new reality as he is forced through a mental portal which challenges the memories of his childhood.

Unfortunately, he starts living in a cold, collapsed world filled with judgment and medical treatment since no one believed in his sister’s existence. This new reality has rejected all of his childhood memories which are entwined with the memories of his sister. It is mysterious that the narrator begins to question his own beliefs—either he lives in reality of his mother and doctors, or the world that he remembers so vividly in his mind. The use of portal trope offers two assumptions of his later lived reality. On the one hand, the sister never not exist, and the windeye does not exist either; the protagonist has mental challenges, and after his mom affirms that the sister never existed, he snaps back into that reality. On the other hand, the sister may exist but never returns from the windeye; the protagonist’s memories are

accurate, and he lives in a world where everyone else is misinformed. In Contrast, Alice does not have the confusion about distinction between dream and reality. For example, her exploration of evidences like strange creatures and her body change lead her to believe that Wonderland is not reality. She eventually wakes up from the dream and proves her assumption.

In a typical portal fantasy, the characters understand the concepts of the world either

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throughout the adventure or after their return home. During her adventure in Wonderland, Alice has explored her true identity and become more mature in the end. Contrarily, in “Windeye,” the protagonist has never renounced the childhood memories of his sister even when he reaches adulthood. Although he has been under medical treatment for years, he continues to insist on his belief and holds on to the hope that his sister will return in the future as Evenson affirms, “If he stopped believing, what hope would be there be for her.” The fact that he imagines a sister in the first place is a clear indication that he is a lonely child and seeks a way of comforting himself. There is no mention of a father, and the mother may be neglectful since she is unaware that he plays with an imaginary sister. This loneliness evokes the protagonist’s desire to have a friend or a younger sibling; the desire creates the imagined memories which carry the intense love for his sister. Thus, the unforgettable memories are his only hope of surviving the mental challenge of living until he meets his sister again in the future.

Carroll gives intricate details of the adventures of Alice in an imagined world that allows the reader to become part of the fantasy. According to Carroll, Alice was trapped in the pool of tears, and “just then her head struck against the roof of the hall: in fact, she was now more than nine feet high, and she at once took up the little golden key and hurried off to the garden door” (16). The reader experiences the dangerous situation and shares the anxious feeling with Alice. Evenson, on the other hand, makes clear descriptions of the protagonist’s psychological activity which connects his childhood memories to the outcome of his firm belief. In his mind, his sister is not dead, but she is not living in real life either; there is a difference between these two status according to him. She lives an immortal life in his memories as he expects to see her as a young girl in the future. Additionally, he vividly remembers the games they played in their childhood, the discovery of the windeye in the house, and his attempt to save her. For instance, as he recalls, “He wrapped his arms around

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her legs to keep her from falling” (Evenson). Body language is a symbol of physical

communication; it creates an illusion that the sister indeed exists. In the process, it is

inevitable that the readers share some of the tender feelings the protagonist has for his sister. As a result, when the narrator starts thinking of the future and any chances of ever seeing her again, the reader empathizes with him.

Conclusively, the use of portal trope in Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland and

“Windeye” results in different outcomes; while Alice embraces a new conception of the

world and becomes a mature individual, the protagonist of “Windeye” continues to embrace the memories of his sister and has never wavered in his belief regarding her existence. The memories and his intense love for his sister is a source of strength that allows him to survive in his collapsed world. The use of time and memories as a theme in the story effectively enables the reader to develop an in-depth understanding of the complexity of unfolding events. In this way, the author brings the reader closer to the story which improves the intensity of the narration. Ultimately, while Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland illustrates an imagined world that reflects reality and affects personal change, “Windeye” gives the reader an opportunity to gain insight into the main character’s personal challenges of choosing his reality and provides an understanding of people who face mental challenges caused by loneliness.

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Works Cited

Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; Through the Looking Glass. Barnes & Noble, Inc., 2015.

Evenson, Brian. “Windeye.” PEN America, 9 Oct. 2009, pen.org/windeye/.