Response to Richard Bausch's "1-900"

        Richard Bausch uses many literary devices in his short story, most of which I have seen before, but in a slightly different way. To begin, the entire story being posed as a dialogue between John and Sharon enforces this realness that I can appreciate, but at the same time, with John’s dialogue being farfetched at times and having nothing to do with actually phone sex, shows a contrast that I have not seen in most short stories. With his dialogue, the reader can really tell that he is having emotional issues as well as personal issues in his life. I think this is a great aspects to incorporate in stories, to have characters show emotion through dialogue, not just by simply saying it.

For example, the last paragraph on the bottom of page 54 tells me that John really does want someone to just talk to and get to know. He also may have a few odd qualities about him based on what he is saying, but his ultimate goal is to continue a fluid conversation. 

When he tells Sharon that he and his wife are separated, this also gives the reader tremendous insight, as divorces cause massive emotional issues. But again, this was not something that was simply stated, it was inferred by the text and the way John talks to Sharon. 

Another aspect that kept me reading was the proclivity that John had to say things that were completely unexpected to a phone sex operator. His idea of not wanting phone sex to begin with was strange, rather he simply wanted a conversation and believed that because he was paying for it, it was OK to talk about anything he wanted. The brief mention of his wife and him having a run at cocaine and some other substance threw me off at first, but after reading it again, I realized that it fit in well with the strangeness of the entire piece.

I found it interesting, and something I look forward to using in my future pieces, that Bausch could keep my attention with this awkwardly strange topic. Although the reason it did keep my attention was because the dialogue showed more than just words, it drew out the emotion in John and Sharon in a way that made me want to continue reading to figure out how this emotionally detached man would end up, although on the phone, with this random woman in Washington D.C.