The Buffalo Accent

Regionalism

Why is it so cold here? Like, why? With a groan I lurched out of bed. The word ‘lurched’ sounds a bit pretentious, but really, that’s what happened. Think Jaba the Hut. Think the living dead.

I went to the computer to check the temperature. I blinked the sleep and disbelief out of my eyes as I stared at the screen. -4 degrees with the wind chill. ‘Oh,’ I think, ‘balmy.’

The phone rings in the other room. Now, there are only two people who would call me at 6:15am. Since my mother is visiting “rest homes” in Florida, the only possibility was my neighbor, Tommy Burtuziak. I think that’s how you spell it. I’m probably missing 7 c’s or 8 z’s, but it’s close enough.
“Eh dere, Steef. Dya see all dat snow out dere?”
‘No,’ I think, ‘this hypothermia is all in my head.’
Tommy, or “Daaaaammy” as he says is really a sweet old guy. I mean, I’m just cranky because I have this sense that my balls might literally freeze….off. Now of course its not good to sterotype, but with Tommy I can’t help it. He is Buffalonian Polish through and through. Yes, he has a yard bordered with big rocks painted white, and yes, he has statue of the Madonna. Hey, I’m not knocking it, I’m not even Polish and my parents had the same shit in our yard in the house I grew up in.
Anyway.
“So, ehhhhhh,” he collects his thoughts, “dya need any help wid da dthing o’er dere?” See what I’m saying, how many people ask if you need help like that? He just talks funny. But hey, I probably sound prissy to him. Who knows?
“Uh, no, I think I’m good over here. Thanks though.”
“Ok, den. Don’ forget, Steef, dere’s dat church bazaar at St. Deresa’s” – he means Theresa’s – “and ya know Judy Golsinski brings dem pastries wi’ da crème and tings in da middle. You knooow da ones.”

I wont forget.

Edith Wharton vs. Henry James...in a steel cage match

The two works of Henry James and Edith Wharton appear seemingly unrelated, but under closer review, have a considerable amount of similarities. Most obviously, James’ is an essay that discusses and analyzes the various approaches of fiction while Wharton presents a short story that centers on the effects the confines of society has on people’s actions. So how can a short story and an analysis be comparable when the two genres are so distinct in character? It is not in the context, but in the execution of Wharton’s writing do we find parallels to the theories that James describes.
In The Art of Fiction, Henry James’ major assertion is that in order to create successful fiction, and author must be able to capture the experience of their life with both natural ability and through study of craft. Souls Belated is the tale of a woman who has to battle the conventions of her time to which she bases her decisions. They relate in that both discuss the importance of individual experience. It is almost a dissertation in it: the theory and the application. In that way, it is like the ideas of Robert Frost that believed that through experience and observation contained truth.
However, that is not to say that Souls Belated is an actual account of Wharton’s life – that would be a gross misinterpretation of James’ writing. It was through Wharton’s personal experience growing up in a well-to-do family and the conventions that went along with it to create a story using similar ideas.