Danielle Malinen's Trick essay

“The Trick Is To Keep Breathing” by Janice Galloway is an eventful story about one woman’s grieving process after the loss of her partner. Galloway has used stream of consciousness, first person narrative throughout the novel which is extremely effective as it traps the reader inside Joy’s mind. The title of the novel is very significant and well chosen. The purpose of this essay is to explain how the novel’s title helps you appreciate the central ideas of the text.

The title of the novel “The Trick Is To Keep Breathing” ties in tremendously well with the central ideas of the novel. Firstly at the start of the novel and throughout we see water in a negative way. Joy sees water as a threat and it is something she is fearful of: “Liquid black. Still wet. It seeps when I put my shoe near, bleeding at the rim of leather, sucking at the sole.” The fact that Joy refers to the water as “black” is meaningful as the word black carries connotations of evil and darkness which reflects Joy’s darkened state of mind. Yet we may see water as something that is soothing and relaxing, not at all harmful. In addition the phrase “sucking at the sole” can be interpretated in two different ways, the word “sole” can mean the sole of her shoe or it can mean her “soul”. Joy sees water in a dangerous way and feels that it is literally sucking at her own soul.

Likewise the many references to water throughout the novel remind us of Michael’s death. Also the fact that Michael drowned is ironic as he could not breathe and the title says “The Trick Is To Keep Breathing”. The water imagery regards swimming and by the end of the novel, Joy wants to learn how to swim, she says: “Maybe I could learn how to swim…I’m not a natural swimmer…I read somewhere the trick is to keep breathing, make out it’s not unnatural at all.” Since she said that she wants to learn how to swim, shows another sign of her recovery. When Joy implies “it’s not unnatural at all” is linked to breathing as breathing is a natural reaction. She cannot not breathe, this is not an issue for her to worry about.

The title can have many different meanings, and can be perhaps ironic, due to the fact breathing is automatic an easy thing to do, but for Joy living seems to be an effort, almost a struggle. She feels she has no purpose, and she is just waiting for something to happen: “What will I do while I’m lasting?” This quote virtually makes Joy sound exhausted as if it is a cry for help. She needs someone to guide her, tell her what to do due to her lost identity. The word “Trick” in the title is important as it is somewhat saying the trick to recovery is, you just have to keep going, keep “lasting” and never give up.

The novel’s structure lacks a lot of punctuation, making the narration almost sound like a breathless speech: “I’m going to swim…I get hotter…I am vaguely uneasy. Shivering.” This technique is effective as it makes Joy sound as is she is gasping for breath which links well to the theme of water and regards swimming. The one word sentences are particularly successful “Shivering” as it makes it sound as if Joy is swimming and coming up for air and can only get one word out.

The title can be a little misleading as it sounds vaguely hopeful. It practically gives the reader an insight that in the end everything will be alright and Joy will eventually find “the trick”. Although Joy does begin to recover by the end of the novel it still does not compare to the hardship which Joy has had to face. The death of Michael destroyed Joy and the fact that by the end she deals with his death and wants to learn how to swim shows that deep down she really is a strong character. In conclusion Galloway’s well chosen title adds to my appreciation of the ideas dealt with throughout the text. As it can be interpretated in many different ways which reflects Joy’s weakened and shifty mind state.