Jacklighting - Response

   Ann Beattie's Jacklighting has one of my favorite qualities in a story, whether it be in writing, film, or otherwise - it makes me want to immediately go down a rabbit hole of outside research and online digging. While the story itself was fairly straightforward in terms of understanding, the title and closing words of this story left me with questions that I wanted the answers to. In my mind, a good story is enjoyable in its initial read through, but a great story is one that makes me want to learn and interact with it afterwards.

   Before this reading, I was unaware of the term "jacklighting". After doing my own research on what this term means and its implications, the way it relates to the story's ideas made me enjoy it even more. Jacklighting is the practice of shining a powerful light into an area at night in order to stun animals for hunting, and I couldn't help but relate it to the way in which Nicholas dies in the story, but also in the way that those around him confront that fact after his passing. Because Spence equates the circumstances of Nicholas' death with the act of hunting, it shows us that he attributes some spiteful element to the event. Also, it could be said that jacklighting is analogous in some ways to the human experience of grieving; it catches you off guard, and you feel vulnerable or exposed to the people around you.

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