Through the Story Teller’s Eyes.
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines perception a result of perceiving or a mental
image. How people perceive others is an automatic response to how that person looks,
how that person speaks, and how that person acts. Throughout the short story “Ingrid
Catching Snowflakes on Her Tongue” by Lisa Moore, the narrator’s perceptions of Ingrid
and herself are all affected by the narrator’s role as observer, her ambivalence, figurative
language and imagery.
The narrator’s role as observer enables her to perceive Ingrid in a more in-depth
way than others. The narrator’s observations help her view Ingrid as a better person or
more positive person than herself. On several occasions through out the story the
narrator refers to occasions where Ingrid has proven to be “better” than her. In the
beginning of the story the narrator realizes that she has known Ingrid since the summer of
grade five, when she saw Ingrid waterskiing and notice brave she was compared to
herself. The narrator’s perception of Ingrid was that she was a brave and athletic
individual. The narrator perceives herself to be the total opposite of Ingrid; she was not
very athletic and was not brave enough to try waterskiing. The narrator’s perception of
Ingrid being better than her did not stop when they were children but progressed through
the years to adulthood. The narrator’s husband and Ingrid were once in love, the narrator
feels tremendous amounts of jealousy whenever Ingrid comes around and for the narrator
it is a constant reminder of Ingrid’s love for her husband and what used to be.
“Sometimes when she’s visiting, my throat constricts with jealousy. It’s not that I think
they’re in love. I’m jealous of when they were.” From the narrator’s role of observer her
perception of Ingrid is that she is always one step ahead of her and in ways somewhat
better than the narrator herself....