Kamryn Johnson

Composition II
Covarrubias-Powell
8 March 2021

Close Reading: The Taxidermist’s Other Wife

What’s the tone of the piece, the The tone is very eerie and creepy. It's like
atmosphere? reading an entire Twilight Zone episode

What does it feel like to read? As I stated, you can easily compare it to the
Twighlight Zone or Black Mirror. If you are
familiar with those series, you would know
they send you down an interesting plot.

What’s the story about? The Taxidermist’s Other Wife explores the
morals of a small-town community. The story
is told from the POV of the community itself.
We know this due to the use of “We.”

What are the characters like? The characters are the Taxidermist, his other
wife (unnamed), his deceased wife
(Margaret), and the community (unnamed).

Each character is very creepy

The Taxidermist is very hypocritical, and he

tends to have this narcissistic god complex
going on.

The Taxidermist’s other wife seems to be

mute. She no dialect in the entire text. She
smiles too much for the community’s liking.
She is seen as perfect and is described as
beautiful, with tight skin, perfect white teeth.

The community on the other hand seems to

be very wary, emotional characters. They are
not fond of the Taxidermists and his wife.
However, they seemed to like Margaret (the
deceased wife)

What’s going on with them?
The characters seem to be very upset that
the Taxidermist, who also is the mayor, is
closing everything down. He’s “ruining.” town
according to the town’s citizens. They also
are diving into the depths of each other,
specifically the Taxidermist and his Other wife
What’s the point of the story?
What’s it making you think about?
What themes or issues are brought up?
What does the piece seem to be saying?
What’s at stake?
Chosen Line
How Does the Line Impact the Story?
How does this line support what you argue
the piece is saying (step 2)?
The point of the story is to show that we can
and should not try to change ourselves. We
need to accept who we are and be content
with that. No one is perfect.
It makes me think about how society is
constantly trying to police what type of people
are accepted.
Self-love, confidence, hypocrisy, divine
1. Love yourself, good or bad
2. Don’t let others decide who you’re
going to be
3. We cannot change ourselves, no
matter what
Happiness. If you are worried about what
others think of you or being focused on
changing yourself. You are never going to
experience true happiness, instead, it will
constant self-hate, anxiety, and negative
emotions
"We are all just a collection of faults," the
Taxidermist told us once. "A myriad of
imperfections through which shines divine
Perfection. You see? It is our flaws that make
us beloved by heaven. It is our scars and
handicaps and lack of symmetry that proves
that we are — or once were — alive. The
more we attempt to force our corrupted idea
of the Perfect and the Good upon what is
actually and deeply perfect and good, the
further we are from the divine. Reveal the
subject as the subject was, and you reveal
the fingerprints of God."'
The line impacts the story because it gives
the overall theme. Not to mention it exposes
the Taxidermist’s hypocrisy at the end of the
story
This line supports my entire argument (it's
also one of my quotes in my sentence
outline). My argument being that Barnhill
wants us to accept who were are. We are
made from god’s hands and in his image.