Response to Robert Elrod’s story, “As Big as Light”

Robert Elrod’s story “As Big as Light” is the journal entry on an aging man losing his memory. The main character, the one writing the journal entry, is named Dean. He works for the prestigious Huxley family and has for thirty to thirty-five years. This journal entry recalls Dean’s memory of the Huxley boy, Adrian, on the night he was going to commit suicide because he could no longer take his fathers condescension about his art and lifestyle of pursuing it. In the end Dean’s words of wisdom and time he spent talking with the young Huxley boy deterred his suicide attempt. The story ends with Mrs. Huxley dying and Adrian crying the tears of a man, not a boy.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story. The tone and setting was beautiful and the characters absolutely believable. However, I wanted a little more definition. Was Dean a slave? Simply having Dean say something like, “it was 1934…” or something of the sort in the beginning of his journal entry would clear up a lot of the loose ends I am grasping at. I love the contradiction between Adrian and his father. The parallel passions pit them perfectly against each other, but I do want to see more interaction between the two. I think having Dean remember a scene where he accidently overheard or saw an intense argument between the Huxley men would make us sympathize with Adrian a little more. I think everyone can identify with the pressure to live up to his or her parent’s dreams like Adrian, but I want to see a specific scene. I also think ending the journal entry with more about Dean’s apparent medical decline would be beneficial. He begins by saying the entire reason he is writing in the journal is because the doctors told him it could serve to help him as he loses his mind in the future. I would be terrified if doctors told me that and I think Dean needs to touch on this point again before your story ends. I cant wait to see what you do with it!