> .....stories (really stripped down definition here) should represent > some event that causes a change. He's left off the bit here about how > the wave has changed things.
Right. Technically a short story should have character, setting, conflict, and resolution. "The Wave" lacks a proper resolution. And the other el- ments of the story aren't exactly super-developed (!), either.
> There's nowhere in either one of these pieces where Pete comes right out > and says anything like "Get your life in order!" or "Stop acting like an > idiot!"
We're arguing semantics now. Of course there aren't messages as such, like
the examples you presented. But how could one say that TOMMY doesn't con-
tain messages about idol-worship, or spiritual searching, or family rela-
tionships? And how could one say QUAD doesn't contain messages about youth,
or about loneliness, or about generation gaps, or, again, family relation-
ships?
> These don't necessarily add to the message, but they do provide some > extra dimension that anchors the story in the real world.
I disagree. I think both pieces *do* provide direct messages. And meaning.
Isn't that what art is all about. People create works of art that *say
something.* It's a form of deep, esoteric communication.
The messages one mines from TOMMY or QUAD might not be the exact ones Pete intended, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that the listener culls information, opinion, & clearer meaning from the piece, & is then able to apply these new stimuli to his or her own way of thinking. Pete may not provide the actual "house of meaning" for the listener, but, through his art, he does provide the transportation that takes us there.