Two Hamburger Style Paragraphs About "The Loons"

In the short story "The Loons", the author uses the loons as a symbol for the character Piquette Tonnerre.

As we know, loons are harmless and shy in the sense that if attempt to get near one, it will simply fly away. Similarly to the loons, Piquette was harmless and was clearly not a "people person". Piquette was seen at the cottage keeping primarily to herself and turning down any opportunities Vanessa presented that could have led to a social situation.

Both the loons and Piquette had a ray of hope in their lives for things to get better, only before it took a turn for the worst. The loons had somewhat adapted to their life near the civilization of the cottages around Diamond Lake where they could stay in their natural habitat. A few short years later the area was built-up and the loons were forced to flee. Piquette’s life seemed to be picking up after see announce that she would be married, however, this happiness was short lived. Piquette’s husband left and she, along with her children, perished. Both attempts at happiness failed.

Another parallel that can be draw between Piquette and the loons is their "fight or flight" response to difficult situations. Both chose to run (or fly) somewhere they could not be found after being forced away from their respective homes and having a new life style imposed upon them. After the loons were forced from their natural habitat, they left Diamond Lake to a place they could not be seen or heard from. Piquette had quite a depressing life topped off with harsh stereotypes and a different way of life being shoved in her face, Due to this, she chose to disappeared for a few years

“It seemed to me now that in some unconscious and totally unrecognized way, Piquette might have been the only one, after all, who had heard the crying of the loons.” Though Piquette had never actually heard the cry of the loons, she may have been the only one who had heard it because she was the only one who understood it. She had experience the same thing as the loons for her entire life, the similar response to change, being forced away from their home, their same basic behavior and instincts, and the rejection they receive from society.

The tone of the short story "The Loons" is predominantly sad due to the severity of Piquette's past, the distaste felt by others toward her and the lack of understanding that she receives from people, including Vanessa.

The author uses harsh language, like "half-breed", to covey the feelings of others toward Piquette and the Métis. This distaste only adds to pain felt by Piquette, though she keeps all of her feeling bottled up inside. Piquette’s gloomy past coupled with the latter makes the readers hope that she will be met with mercy, however, that is not the case.

Although Vanessa tries to understand Piquette, even be her friend, but she was not able to comprehend the situation until the very end. Diction was used in the story to show the certain differences between Piquette and Vanessa and how even the way they spoke, they could not relate.

As the audience, we could see how much Piquette wanted to fit in with society, especially when she was telling Vanessa that she was getting married. Piquette was in a rough place for the entire story, the way the author gave Piquette a bit of hope before going south and eventually dying added to the sadness of the story.

Piquette’s life was quite sad, and the tone of the story added to that sadness. The treatment and misunderstanding Piquette received from the outside world added to her hardships.