Chris: Inside and Out (Horses of the Night)
...reated steps to his concluding mental downfall. This avoidance of reality soon found Chris trapped in a nightmare. He was forced to live in “turmoil which appalled him and which he dreaded even more than he knew”. This does not create any reason to downplay imagination or dreaming, but action needs to be taken in order for those dreams to accomplish anything. Dreams ignite a person; the drive must be present to reap the benefits. The negatives seem to outweigh the positives in the case of Chris; however Chris had a very strong level of respect for people that gave him the time of day. Chris presented himself very well, and received a great deal of respect from people who didn’t judge him hastily. Beth never viewed Chris as “irresponsible” and Vanessa saw Chris as a “respecter of persons”. Chris’ imagination was not completely closed off, to those who gave him an ear her tended to open the door completely. Vanessa was his ultimate listener, she knew of all Chris’ goals and desires. The narrator of this story proved to be Chris’ most important and influential relationship in the story. Chris respected Vanessa, as Vanessa looked up to Chris. Chris never demeaned Vanessa, he would “talk to [Vanessa] and wisecrack as though [she was] his same age”. Chris’ reasons for giving so much time to Vanessa was unclear to begin with, but after realizing the truth behind Chris’ dreams, the world in which he lived…the openness of the imagination of a child rarely judges, but only listens and respects. All Chris wanted was to be heard, and Vanessa listened. War, one of the most horrifying and traumatizing incidents that anyone could ever experience, was responsible for the ultimate collapse of Chris. When “distancing himself from the absolute unbearability of battle”, Chris claimed that he “[forced] his body to march and even to kill… [but he] didn’t live inside it anymore”. Chris could...