Not
many things change in Chagrin. Yes, the store on the corner has gone from Ben
& Jerry’s to Lemon Falls, and Town Hall becomes Holly Hall once a year, but
when it comes to drastic change, our town loves its consistency. Our school has
not drifted for from the Chagrin of the 60s, evident from last year’s then and
now comparison in the yearbook. Even classes remain pretty steady throughout
the years as few new kids trickle in the system, daring to try and infiltrate the
Chagrin lifestyle. As a lifer (someone who has attended Chagrin for 13 years) I
have noticed all of these changes, or lack thereof. I have lived in the same
town, gone to the same school with the same kids, and lived relatively the same
way my whole life. Sounds exhilarating right? Some look in at Chagrin with
criticism, “fondly” referring to it as The Bubble, noting Chagrin’s lack of
change and diversity as detrimental and restricting. I never have seen a
problem with it and have in fact loved my time in Chagrin, yet after reading
Donald Barthelme’s short story, The Balloon, I began to rethink. In
addition to the similarity of the balloon to the bubble, I also found many more
similarities between the story and my own life. Barthelme discusses a balloon’s
presence in Manhattan, New York and how it covers the whole city leaving people
to accept it or wonder its existence there. He juxtaposes the different thought
process of the people in Manhattan as some felt “sheltered, warmed, as never
before” while others reported feeling “constrained, a “heavy” feeling” (3). I
believe that the balloon symbolizes conformity and an unchanging life in a city,
or in my case, a small town with citizens ready to enjoy or resent these
qualities. Indirectly characterizing two very different groups of people as
secure and stifled, Barthelme asserts that change can leave people feeling
different ways. This made me think about how I truly feel about my stable, safe
years in Chagrin. While I appreciate and enjoy living in the bubble as some
people do under the balloon, this story made me think what else waits for me
outside of my comfort zone. It makes me wonder if my bubble “sullied the…clear and
radiant…sky” or if it would turn out bleak and without promise (2). After
reading this short story and discussing with my group, I have come to the conclusion
that although I love my town and feel grateful to live here, the only way I
will truly know the answers to my questions lies in my ability to step away
from what I know and become familiar with the unknown. I must pop the bubble,
as some wished to deflate the balloon, and see what lies outside of my
protected world.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that children who live in Chagrin often live in a safe world. However, I believe that the concept of the bubble does not apply to the town so much as the individual. A person can live securely and still experience the "outside world", by volunteering to help those less fortunate, traveling on mission trips, and the like. The bubble only affects a person's perception if he/she wishes it to. Therefore, a person should only pop the bubble and completely lose security, if he/she cannot see through it. A bubble is, after all, transparent.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Blythe. One can make an effort to reach outside the bubble of Chagrin and participate in service events and other such things, but I feel that it does not equate to the full understanding of the outside world. Without having experienced firsthand any real world problems, much of the youth in Chagrin enjoys an ignorance unavailable to populations that live in less-fortunate areas. If one truly wants to step outside the sheltered life, he/she must leave the bubble behind, at least for a while.
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