Original Fill-ins
No one can see me, no one would stop me, no one
could help me. They would just call the police, but it would be too late. My only
regret is leaving everyone behind. She’d have the coffee on. There was
a time during my search for a cure when I tried everything to stop including
giving up cigarettes. The smell filled the room. I loved to
drink a glass of scotch in the morning, to say cheers
to my girlfriend after we’d spent another night together. I’d
tell her now it’s going okay except for the poison. It’s going okay except for
how much I miss her and her smile. Why? Why?! I’ve never
been very good at saying goodbye. [From Joshua Ferris’s The Unnamed]
Opposites of Original Fill-Ins
No one can see me, no one would stop me, no one
could help me. They would just call the criminals, but it would be too late. My
only regret is staying with everyone. She’d have the coffee on. There
was a time during my search for a cure when I tried everything to stop
including giving up going cold turkey. The smell filled the outside.
I loved to drink a cup of water in the nighttime, to say buzz
off to my enemy after we’d spent another morning together. I’d tell
her now it’s going okay except for the poison. It’s going okay except for how much
I miss her and her frown. Why not? Why not?! I’ve never
been very good at saying hello. [From Joshua Ferris’s The Unnamed]
Questions and Answers
1. Question: Has the tone changed? Answer: I’d
say that the tone has indeed changed. The tone of the paragraph where I filled
in what I thought would make sense is pretty much that of sadness. Whereas, the
tone of the paragraph with the opposites of the original
fill-ins is more of anger and aggression.
2. Question: Has the meaning changed? Answer: I
would say that the meaning has and hasn’t changed at the same time. Both paragraphs kind of give a sense that the
speaker has given up, possibly due to being diagnosed with a fatal illness,
such as Cancer. At the same time, you might be able to say that the two
paragraphs were written/spoken by two different people based on the tone and
what was said in each,
3. Question: Has anything changed? Answer: In the
long run, I’d say that nothing really has changed. Both paragraphs give the
impression that the speaker has given up and may even commit suicide because
they may have a severe disease, if you want to go deeper into it.
The Effect of the Change
So what was the effect of the changes made to the
original paragraph? Speaking as a reader, I would say the emotion of the speaker.
As I said in one of my answers before, the speaker of the first paragraph seems
to have a sadness about them, whereas the speaker of the second one seems to be
angry. The speaker of the first paragraph also seems to be lonely, unlike the
speaker of the second paragraph who wants to be alone. As the speaker, I would
say not much has changed, that I still feel like there isn’t any hope left. The
search for the cure has been unsuccessful. The sickness remains and is
progressively getting worse. What is left?
