I cannot decide whether I should feel bad for Asbury in "The Enduring Chill" or if I should be laughing in his face. Obviously he feels that death would be a good thing. He was expecting it, and he wanted to teach his mother a lesson. He was happy when he came home, and his mom saw death in his face because he hoped that introducing her to "reality" would "assist her in the process of growing up" (547). But at the same time, I felt that he was the one who needed to grow up! I think this story is incredibly similar to "Everything that Rises Must Converge" because of the situation between the mother and son. (In fact, I feel that most of her stories are incredibly similar. Just like Todd was saying before, these stories are made up of the same elements just in a different order.)
I suppose I feel both sad and happy that Asbury did not die. Was the fact that he has undulant fever a mercy or a punishment? I want to think it's a punishment, but maybe this will give him some "significant experience" in life.
I also feel that there is a lot of intuition at play in this story, but I'm not quite sure how much of a part it plays in it. The only part that I can pinpoint is right before Asbury finds out he is not going to die. As Dr. Block comes up the stairs, "[Asbury] had a sudden terrible foreboding that the fate awaitig him was going to be mor eshattering than any he could have reckoned on" (571). I think that all of his "forebodings" and "insights" are the same thing as intuition. Does anyone else think this is at all important, or am I kind of stretching?
Sorry that this is so jumbled. I had a hard time with this story and am not quite sure what to make of it yet. Maybe I'll gain understanding over the weekend. :)