Response to Paul Vance's "Support Group"

Paul –

            “Support Group” is about a man in a support group, sharing his many problems, of which, the main one being that he is addicted to masturbation. Throughout the story, Jules charts his journey with the addiction, revealing how it started, the awkward moments it has caused, and the implications it has had upon his adult life.

            First of all, I thought you had some interesting descriptions. Also, I think you did a good job using the dialogue, especially at the beginning of the story, to reveal just how nervous Jules is. That, coupled with the fact that his voice finally becomes stronger, helps to create a change in the character.

            As far as suggestions go, my first one has to do with the ending. I get that it is possible to be self-abusive and that the addiction basically destroyed his life, but I don’t think that his addiction is analogous to sexual abuse. I just felt like Jules went from being very insecure and self-conscious to being almost self-righteous. It just didn’t sit right with me that he compared his choice to masturbate all the time, which he has some modicum of control over, to sexual abuse, which the victim cannot control at all.

            Also, I have no idea how old the narrator is. Obviously, he’s a bit older since he talks about adult relationships and he has the presence of mind to find help for his addiction, but I don’t really have a handle on his age. I think this is partly because of the narrator’s diction. My main problem with his diction is the repeated usage of the word “wiener.” To me, that is just a really immature word. Yet, the narrator uses it repeatedly in every situation. It would make more sense if he used it when he’s recounting memories from his childhood and then used a different word for his more adult explanations.

            Finally, I’m not so sure about the change in the character. There is a change from Jules being insecure to being semi-confident. However, I felt like it just didn’t fit. I think this is partly because I don’t know what actually caused the change because there was no interaction whatsoever between Jules and anyone else.