The Fourth State of Friendship
Jo Ann Beard' "The Fourth state of Matter" is one of the most emotionaly gripping essays I have ever read. While leading me through her day to day monotomy of caring for a dying collie(the constant remainder of her recently vanished husband) and the chilling account of friends and coworkers lost in at shooting spree at her office, she is writting about a close friend. A friend she never knew she had. "The face of love", was the name she and her husband had given their pet collie. Even now the dog gives her hope that her marriage is alive. Having had the experience of being dumped, I realized that I cling to things that are closely related to my ex-significant other. Sometimes it was a song or a movie, a restaurant or a place we used to sit together but there was never a material object that could act as a replacement. In Beard's case the dog acts as a "shoulder to cry on" in the wake of her husband's departure. I feel that her love for the dog is a process of moving on. "We are in this together, the dying game," she says of her blanket-bound collie. The continual action of changing the dog's wet blankets is exactly what keeps her going in life and not thinking about her husband, who she has no romantic feekings for. He is never
The author's friend, Christopher Goertz, is lost in a random act of violence, which leaves the author in a state of shock(which I also briefly experienced),and disbelief. Chris Goertz consumes her every thought when the story flashes on the news. Is he alive or dead? She cannot and will not imagine that the only thing that made sense in her life has been taken away. She sees him for what he was: a colleague, a father, a husband -- and her companion. He was "tall, lanky" gray haired German who broughht her an amber necklace from Poland. He was the physics professor who engaged her in conversations too complex for her to completely grasp. He was the friend that pleaded to let her suffering dog go. He was the person who told her to go home early that day, saving her life while losing his. At the end of the essay her collie stands above her on the couch and is described as "My peer, my colleague." The most detailed character descriptions in the essay are dedicated to her dog and her friend Christopher Goertz. "He's hip in professorial, cardigan/jeans kind of way," is her opening description of him. She describes him in a way that shows me the fond nature of their relationship. She knows every detai
Some common words found in the essay are:
Fourth Matter, Goertz He's, Chris Goertz, Christopher Goertz, close friend, fourth matter, christopher goertz, friend christopher goertz, goertz person, friend person, friend christopher, dog friend,
Approximate Word count = 810
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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