Some readers see death, but when I read the story "Today Will Be a Quiet Day" by Amy Hempel, I find it to be a light hearted, first-hand account of people coping with transition. Even its location in the table of contents under the heading "Childhood and Adolescent" (Barnet), implies that the story is not about death at all. A newly defined family, one man, a boy and a girl, is faced with the aftermath of divorce and explore among themselves the intricacies of life. The story gives us sublime but keen insight into the transition and adjustments these three people make in this story.

The children’s transition is marked by a rivalry, one that surfaces early on in the story and is portrayed through delightful banter and retorts. The children’s bantering relieves some stress created by the unknown tiny steps they are taking in establishing a new type of relationship with their father in the absence of their mother. At no time do the children’s harmless antics towards one another escalate as indicated by critic Tara Baker when she explains that their arguments become deeper than the usual childish bickering. Baker seems to believe the children’s digs into one another are being fueled by difficult situations they have had to deal with lately (170).

Brian Motzenbecker supports my idea that the parents are divorced but finds symbolism in what the children discuss and the father’s "quips" (174). I can suggest to the contrary that these stories within the story are meaningful but not symbolic at all. The rapid succession of jumping from one topic to the next suggests to me that the need for conversation without a break is necessary. It keeps everyone from simultaneously thinking the obvious, that they now have a relationship without "Mom." It is a slow transition for all of them. There are many inferences to what it is like stepping into the life of a parent you don’t live with but once or twice a month.

This "new" family is only new in the sense of the father’s having questions and doubts. Whether he doubts his ability to read his children or has been absent too long is not indicated, but clearly this family seems to be redefining their old relationship. The children handle it a bit differently by speaking of topics that are "old news" (such as the boy’s friend’s suicide), telling jokes, and in the case of the older sister, showing independence and maturity in deciding to drive her brother and father home.

Sylvan Barnet comments that the father may be feeling that he may not know his children (1206). As the story progresses the father gets his answers as many parents would in real life. The father is an active listener and interrupts, defends or morbidly participates in the fun of his children’s conversation. At times he is reminded of how well he knows his children when he again looses his appetite watching them eat fast. And once more when he quips, "Who would adopt you?" This means that he is stuck with these wonderful children and they are stuck with him.

One of the more poignant moments in the story is when the daughter comes to realize her gullibility in believing the family dog had escaped death to live a long happy life on a farm (Barnet 1205). It is important to realize that this "new" little family is taking care of things in a different manner. Reality is the only way to deal with serious things, especially with divorce. The boy breaks the news of the dog’s end to his sister in a monotonous "little brother" fashion. At the same time he proves that the answers to how well they will survive their transition are within themselves.

The occurrences of the children’s spontaneous hate for the rain as well as the state of California, the girl’s carefree plan to drive a T-Bird to Texas, and the boy’s devilish play with the cat may be our only clue to the anger they might be harboring towards their parents for divorcing. The father handles all of this lightly and seems powerless. By dismissing the abuse of the cat and by offering only advice about the daughter’s hastily blurted plan for her future (Hempel 1206), the father might be displaying a "waning control" of his children.

The father’s search for self-assurance comes to a halt at the end of the story as the family lies in the darkness in their sleeping bags. His discovery seems to hit him all at once and perhaps he doesn’t mean to announce he has both bad and good news (Hempel 1206). If you don’t have any bad news well, you just don’t have it. The day was quiet enough for his answer to surface; his kids were already "all right" (Hempel 1206).

This story invents an "ideal transition." At this moment in their lives, these children seem respectful of their father. They never crossed "the line" with him. The story leaves me with the question as to how long it will take for the father to feel the stress of the "Disney-dad" syndrome or how to entertain his "visitors." The children may begin to show defiance when leaving their friends and belongings behind to visit their father. Amy Hempel’s own insight seems to be limited here. The father seems assured, but he must stay abreast of his children’s lives, a task that may not be so easy.

The children have been on a journey with their father. The long stretches of highway to Petaluma through the rolling hills of Northern California represent this family’s transition together. They too must endure the ups and downs and long desperate feelings through the slow adaptation of their new roles.

I found this story to end happily due to the father being able to encompass the entire day’s events into his affirmation. The natural resilience his children display is admirable and probably has much to do with how he and their mother raised them. They show a type of frustration that is both contained and civilized. They avoid expressing their emotions too much throughout the story. Their lives are continuing, and at this point I’m sure the children know that even their father is going to be "all right."

Work Cited

After reading "Today Will Be A Quiet Day" by Amy Hemple, I had an eerie feeling that something bad was going on behind the scenes. I feel that the father has a terminal disease and he wants to happily live out the last few days of his life. I think that there is conclusive evidence that "Today Will Be A Quiet Day" is not a happy story, but in fact a sad one.

First of all, death plays a huge role in this story. Death is brought up so many times in this story one can only conclude that there is some kind of foreshadowing going on. For example, the very first line of the story deals with disaster and death. In the first paragraph the boy talks about what would happen if an earthquake occurred while they were on the bridge. He says, "I think if the quake hit now the bridge would collapse and the ramps would be left" (1202). At the end of the first page the father remembers a boy who went to his son’s school who committed suicide. Another part of death in this story is the mention of the family dog that was put to sleep five years ago for biting a little girl. The daughter had always thought that the dog had gone to live in the mountains, but when she finds out that the dog was put to sleep, she gets all upset about her loss. Even the joke about the guillotine that the girl tells involves death. All of these examples are hints that there is a death in the near future.

The fact that the mother is not mentioned throughout the whole story implies that she is no longer around to take care of the children. The father, then, makes little hints about his departure such as, "Who will ever adopt you if you don’t mind your manners" (1204). Although, this may have been a joke it is far too serious to let go. This is a serious sign of a fatal illness.

Yet another sign of fatality is the mention of the tombstone, and this is tied directly, and significantly, to the title of the story. When the family is sitting down for lunch the girl mentions the father’s tombstone. She says, "you sound like your tombstone. Remember what you wanted it to say? Today will be a quiet day" (1204). The fact that the title and the tombstone are tied together is just too much of an indication that death is among them. Also, the father losses his appetite during lunch saying, "Funny, I’m not hungry anymore" (1204). And then right after this it is stated that every meal ended this way, and toss of appetite can be a sign of a serious illness.

The narrator also tells us that the father feels impelled to say "dad things." The father says, "Neither of you should be eating candy before lunch" (1203). The fact that the father says "dad things" may be an implication that he wants to leave his children making sure that be knows that they will be all right. Even at the beginning of the story the father seems to want to find out how his children really are. We are told that, "That morning, before waking his children, the father had cancelled their music lessons and decided to make a day of it. He wanted to know how they were, is all" (1202). The idea that the father wants to know that they are all right implies that he will not be around much longer.

The reason the father may not want to tell his children that he is dying is because he believes that they can not handle it. We already know that the girl can not handle the death of the family dog. And the boy is too immature to know how to handle it. At the end of the story, when the are all in bed, the father remembers some bad news that he has to tell the children; however he does not. He says, "Kids, I just remembered—I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?" (1206). Then his daughter says, "Let’s get it over with. Let’s get the bad news first" (1206). The father then smiled as if he was satisfied that the girl was mature enough and that she could handle bad news. But he just can’t bring himself to tell them about his impending death. Instead he responds with, "I lied, there is no bad news" (1206).

The last paragraph in this story really sums all of these ideas up. In the last paragraph the father decides that his children are all right. In fact, he says, "My kids are as all right as this rain" (l206). He then says that "he doubted that he would ever feel—not better, but more than he did now" (1206). The father realized that even in his absence his kids would do very well in the future.

Works Cited

It seems that everyone thinks that all disaster has struck in Amy Hempel’s "Today Will Be A Quiet Day." I disagree. I think that everything might seem to be going bad, but when the day is over the children’s father realizes that everything is absolutely fine. The situations in the beginning of the story lead you to believe that the story will be depressing. But throughout the story I pick up little hints that this day was exactly what everybody needed: to get away from everything. At the end of the day everyone seems to be peaceful and calm.

The father seems to be a single dad who has picked his children up for the weekend. The mother isn’t mentioned in the story, which makes me believe that the parents are already split up and maybe going through the finalizing of the divorce papers. The children happen to be staying with their mother throughout the separation, and they are now with their father for the weekend. Since he doesn’t get to see them that often now, he decides to take a day to spend completely with the children and go on a little trip. The father does this because he "wanted to know how they were, is all" (Hempel 1202). They seemed to be doing great on their own, but he just wanted to make sure.

During the trip, the father realizes that there is a lot of hostility between the kids. The brother keeps nagging on his sister, trying to scare her. When the father sees this, he says that people think they are safe but they really are just thinking that they are invisible because their eyes are closed (Hempel 1203). The family was safe together until the separation. The father was thinking that everything was fine between the kids, but when he got them together he saw how sarcastic they were to each other. The father senses all the depressing conversation and tries to lighten it up by asking if either of the kids knows any jokes. This attempt was shot down though when the joke not only didn’t have an understandable punch line, but it dealt with an unlaughable matter.

When they finally made it to Pete’s, the restaurant where they were going to eat, the kids are still bickering back and forth. The father then says, "Maybe we could try a little quiet today." It seems that the father has always just wanted to get a quiet day sometime during his lifetime. This is reflected from the mention of the tombstone and its epithet, "Today will be a quiet day." (Hempel 1204) This is why he is going through the separation. All during his marriage there was bickering and fussing, and all be wanted was quiet. The father always takes into consideration how the children may be feeling, and he wants them to care about his feelings.

The story of the pet dog shows how people’s feelings have to be taken into consideration. You see how easily the daughter’s emotions were brought out when the dog is mentioned. After this conversation, the daughter is ready for the ride home. This shows she is ready to handle her feelings and move on.

At home, they all talked for a while and everything was fine. Absolutely nothing bad had happened. The father felt good about his relationship with the kids. We know this when we are told that the father "doubted he would ever feel not better, but more than he did now" (Hempel 1206). The story ends happily. As the father states, "there is no bad news" (Hempel 1206).

I disagree with both Tara Baker and Justin Oeltze. They both feel that there is some big disaster waiting to happen. I think that they look into the story too much. They take everyday small talk and turn it into great examples of foreshadowing. They actually think the dad’s tombstone epithet is foreshadowing of his death. I hear people say all the time what they would like to be remembered for when they die or what they would have liked to accomplish; this doesn’t mean they are going to die now because they make this statement. I think Baker and Oeltze need to cheer up their views.

Brian Motzenbecker, on the other hand, also agrees that this story doesn’t have to deal with disaster. Motzenbecker mentions that there could be a divorce involved. This is along the same lines as what I believe is going on. Motzenbecker seems to have understood the story in a general sense. He didn’t read deep into the lines; he just read the story and understood the idea he was trying to make the reader understand. I like this system.

"Today Will Be A Quiet Day," is just a simple story about a father and his two kids dealing with a situation that is becoming more and more common in today’s society. The father is trying to be sure that his kids are handling the separation between their parents as well as possible. The father just shows concern for his children, and it seems that he just wants reassurance that they still care for him. The day goes by and everything is fine in the end; the father feels that his kids "are all right" (Hempel 1206).

Works Cited

In Amy Hempel’s story, "Today Will Be A Quiet Day," a father takes the day off to spend time with his two children at a place called "Petaluma." The title suggests that this day was one of calmness and relaxation, but in reality the title should be "A Depressing Day." Throughout the trip, the children argue, complain, and bicker which seems to suggest that the day is rather depressing and quite humbling for the father (Baker 170). The father’s good intentions for quality family time failed. When I first read the story, I felt that their relationships were a little detached and never quite came together.

Suffering from the death of a close friend, the boy tries to ignore his feelings and jokes on his sister. His friend was a mental patient who threw himself off a building. Being really young and unable to cope with this tragedy, the boy jokes to his sister about the bridge collapsing. "The mention of the suicide and of the bridge collapsing set a depressing tone for the rest of the story" (Baker 170). Arguments about Raisinettes force the father to settle it by saying, "you will both spoil your lunch." As their day continues, their arguments become more serious and present concern for the father who is trying to understand his children better. In complete agreement with Justin Oeltzes’ paper, "A Sad Story," I also feel that this dark foreshadowing of time to come is an indication of the author’s direct intention to write a sad story.

At lunch the children are rowdy and need to be calmed down. The father says, "Maybe we could try a little quiet today." The girl replies, "You sound like your tombstone. Remember what you wanted it to say?" Her brother joins in by saying, "Today will be a quiet day. Because it never is around us." (Hempel 1204). Shortly after completing their meal, the girl asks about her dog. "Did anyone remember to feed him?" she asks (Hempel 1205). The boy again brings death into the picture by saying that he forgot to feed the dog and then proceeds to remind her about her previous dog. She was told the dog was taken to a sheep farm where, in reality, the dog was put to sleep. Naturally, the girl began to cry. With all of the talk of death and gloom, the day could be nothing more than down right coldly depressing.

While at lunch the two kids were fighting and the father actually tells his children, "Who will adopt you if you do not mind your manners?" (Hempel 1204). This suggests that he is a poor parent and presents no true caring for his children. That statement is so negative and does nothing to help his children in their time of need. His intentions were good but he did not communicate well or give the proper support to his children. This is why his children were so unstable.

Throughout the story a mother is never mentioned. This could mean that she died or that the parents were divorced. If in fact she died, the children could also be suffering from post parental death syndrome, where they bring up death often to disguise their true feelings for their mother. All sorts of things can be said in interpreting this story. One, the father was a very poor parent and could not handle two children by himself. Two, because of the previous experiences with death, the children and the story are left with an appearance of dark gloom and sadness. The bright side is that the father is at least trying to become closer to his disturbed children.

A bit of irony is displayed at the conclusion of the story. The father is with his children, they are snuggled in their sleeping bags and he states he has some good news and some bad news. Being used to hearing bad news the children elect to hear it first. The father says, "I was just lying, there is no bad news." (Hempel 1206). As stated in Tara Baker’s essay, I also agree that they have been through several hard times and have faced many periods in their lives that were difficult to live through. At the end of the story the two children and their father believe that although there were bad times, there is hope for good times to come. The dark cloud that loomed over their lives is slowly going to drift away. They view the future with optimism and believe that, with patience, they will eventually be happy.

Works Cited /Consulted

In the story "Today Will Be a Quiet Day" written by Amy Hempel, one may be inclined to believe that there is a tone of depression or sadness among the father and the two children. This is shown in the opening sentence, while the three are stalled in traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. The boy states, "I think if the quake hit now the bridge would collapse and the ramps would be left" (Hempel 1202). We also learn that the boy had a best friend who committed suicide about a year before. Finally, the fact that a mother is not mentioned leaves the reader with a suspicion that the parents may be divorced, separated, or even worse, the mother may be deceased. Even though these incidents probably make the reader feel as if a disaster is likely to occur, there is also ample evidence to show that the family is moving on in their lives, and happier times are yet to come.

First, the father decides to take the day off and spend some time with his children. He lets his son and daughter skip their music lessons and they all take a trip to Patella. This little get-away is the father’s attempt to have a fun, relaxing day with his children. This is shown throughout the car ride when the boy and girl are telling jokes, and the boy constantly recites humorous bumper stickers. Another example of the father’s attempt to have fun with his children is his initial plan to attend the arm wrestling tournament. This is shot down by the children, but they still find an interesting place to have a nice lunch. The day proved to be a fun and relaxing day for the family, and hinted that less disastrous times are in store for them.

Next, the fact that the daughter has just received her driver’s license is a step towards happier times. Driving on her own is probably one of the most exciting times of her life, and she makes it known to her family that she received the highest grade in the class. The father trusts her and lets her drive all the way home, which raises her confidence and shows the trusting relationship between the father and daughter. Another example which shows happier times coming to the family is when the father tells the children that he has both good and bad news. He goes on to ask which would the children prefer to hear first. The daughter immediately answers that she wishes to hear the bad first. This is surprising to her father, but it shows that she is beginning to mature. The father is glad to hear that the daughter can handle the bad news, when earlier the truth had to be hidden from her, like the death of the dog. This shows how naive the daughter was in her younger years, and now that she has been through so me can finally handle the truth. Upon hearing his daughter’s response the father smiles and realizes that their lives together will be just fine.

More proof that the story is going to turn out for the best comes from Hempel herself. Hempel, who often uses her traumatic childhood experiences while growing up in California as a basic plot for many of her stories, believes that resilience is the key to character. The motto she lives and writes by is taken from Dr. Christian Barnard: "suffering isn’t ennobling, recovering is" (Hall 68). This proves that Hempel feels that recovering, though very tough, should be looked upon with great pride and respect, for it is very noble to recover.

These examples show that this family is recovering from hardships, and they are recovering very well. They have moved past traumatic experiences and are ready to face the future. Their little excursion to Patella has proved that they are capable of being a happy, mature family. Putting the past behind them was tough, but they are ready to move into the future as one. The three will live through any misfortunes, as Hempel did, and go on to live a happy life.

Works Cited