Daniel Darling

“Bigfoot Stole My Wife” Pedagogy Response

“Bigfoot Stole My Wife” would be a good tool for teaching the difference between scene and summary, which I would use a bridge to looking at other craft elements presented in the chapter, such as subtext, backstory, and flashback.

First, I would have the students spend a few minutes going through the text and marking the places that qualify as scene and those that are summary. The tricky thing about this task is that in this story the two are hard to differentiate. Then I would have them compare their conclusions in small groups, where hopefully they'd have some arguments, resulting in some real discussions about what exactly the terms mean. In identifying summary and scene, they'd also have to get a feel for the idea of flashbacks and backstory, both of which come into play. Finally, I'd have them reconvene as a whole class. We'd discuss our findings, a conversation in which I'd ensure understanding of backstory and flashback. Then I'd pose the question: how does this writer make the story work with so much summary and so little discernible scene?

There are a few key elements that I would use the ensuing conversation to bring up. First, I'd bring up the importance of humor in moving the reader through the summary. The idea of a sasquatch stealing somebody's wife is funny in and of itself, and the particularities of the narrative voice contribute further to the humor of this piece. Secondly, I'd bring up the notion of subtext. This piece employs subtext deftly—through the missing clothes, the narrator's addiction to gambling, the link between the young narrator's objectification of a model in a dirty magazine and his portrayal of his wife always in a bikini top—to show us that there is more to this story than a man who thinks his wife has been stolen by Bigfoot. An astute reader can see through the front the narrator erects and discern that he's in a state of denial, that deep down he knows he's been abandoned but simply won't admit it to himself.

Homework: Recall something bad that has happened to you (or someone you know). Try to imitate Carlson by employing something absurd and humorous to represent that event. Try to implant the emotions you felt, the reality of what was occurring, and/or the true reasons for the conflict in the subtext of the story.