Response to Matt Diaz's "Fortune"

Matt Diaz’s “Fortune” is about a home invasion and how the homeowner reacts to the situation. It begins with Mike relaxing after a day at work and not really doing anything. Suddenly, two robbers break into his house and shoot Mike’s dog, Duke. Instead of being quick to action to save himself, Mike resorts to simple compliance and watches his house being torn apart, all in an attempt to stay alive. However, as the burglary progresses, Mike becomes more and more angry with the situation. During a squabble between the two burglars, shots are fired, and one of the robbers is shot. In that moment, Mike finally snaps, realizing the dire nature of the situation and finally resolves to active, rather than complacent, in his attempt to stay safe.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It was compelling and I wanted to keep reading to see what happened. I particularly liked the juxtaposition between the frivolousness of the Wheel of Fortune on the television versus the seriousness of the situation taking place in reality. I also enjoyed the inclusion of the dog and how it was used in order to reveal Mike’s feelings and emotions. I think Matt did a good job of showing enough of the dog, but not enough to get attached to the character, so that it wasn’t a shock when the dog was killed. I think Matt did a good job of using the dog as a center for Mike’s focus. The dog became a place for Mike to transfer his emotions about the situation so that he could deal with the burglary as clear-headedly as possible.

Though I liked the dog as a means of revealing Mike’s feelings, as a whole, I felt like the tone and Mike’s actions are oddly calm for the situation; it doesn’t have the sense of urgency that a robbery or a dangerous situation typically has. I do think that it does fit with the story considering Mike is complacent in order to stay alive, but at the same time, I wanted more emotion. At times, it felt like Mike was looking in on the situation rather than experiencing it. Part of this, I think, was due to the high level of vocabulary. At times, I felt that the vocabulary was too elevated for the situation. Mike is calm, but under the surface, I feel like he should be panicking, and as a result, I don’t think his brain would come up with such elaborate words.