Low Visibility Essay

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Low Visibility The short story ”Low Visibility” is written by Margaret Murphy in 2008. “Low Visibility” is about a married couple; we follow them as they are watching TV and later, the same evening, as the riots in the TV collide with the couple’s life. This is the story of one life becoming two lives. This is the story of a hidden soul breaking free and becoming visible. The main character in the story is the wife, Laura. Through the text we hear about the transformation Laura has undergone, after she was married to John; “She wasn’t always like this. Once, she was a girl who could set a room to laughter. He wanted her for her spirit and energy, her exuberance. (…) he held her too tight, his hostage and his shield, squeezing the joy out of her until there was none left.” This quotation tells us about Laura’s overall transformation. Before the marriage she was a happy woman with humor, energy and spirit. She would speak her opinion, if she would disagree. In her marriage with John, she is not allowed an opinion. “The slaps and shoves that at first shocked her, became something to be expected; they reshaped her, moulding her into something less distinct, more insubstantial.” John is assaulting his wife, making her a victim of wife battering. He makes the rules, and if she does not obey, he will behave violent to her. If she does obey, he will change the rules. Slowly he sucks the life out of her, with her will to live and her freedom, turning her invisible and replacing her freedom and personality with fear. The first time we hear Laura spoken of by name is in the very last sentence. Until this point she has only been spoken of as ‘John’s wife’: “John’s wife is not to be trusted with anything of value”. The fact that she is not spoken of by name, shows us that it is not only to John, she is invisible. It is also to the rest of the society. John has taken
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