Experiment 3: Diary
Proposal
For the third experiment, I am planning to write diary entries written by a cat. This experiment will challenge the original piece in a different way because there will be no human voice in this piece. Through this experiment, I hope to convey my point through a cat’s perspective because essentially a cat is what makes the point exist in the first place. Hence, giving a cat’s voice to my original piece hopefully can be seen as a different way to approach the topic. Through this experiment, I also hope to practice showing instead of telling. The past two experiments have been about recounting behaviors of a cat. In this experiment, the dated entries will be a tool to show this behavior. The added feature of time will also add depth to this idea by illustrating what a cat goes through. I also like the idea of going into a cat’s inner monologue because it could provide some surprising thoughts about weird cat behaviors.
Sample
17 January
Well today I saw my human playing games for fifteen straight hours. I thought John was crazy.
18 January
John was still into the game, so I slept the whole day.
19 January
Had some of the salmon that John grilled. Then, slept.
23 January
L.O.N.G.N.A.P. ?!
24 January
He was insane so I thought I’d go out for some change of air. Maybe this time if I can see that old back-alley cat again, I would tell him about John.
4 February
I just got home and John was elated when he saw me. He no longer played the game. The back-alley cat was gone and no one else was around. I had to enter through the back door of the restaurant. One of the customers saw me and dropped some fish crumbs on the floor. That was very nice but I was looking for the cat and I had John anyway. I went a couple blocks past the restaurant and met my friend, Sweats. He told me that some weird guy took the old cat away. It’s always like that when cats were taken away. We stopped asking questions and just hoped for the best. Anyway, I need John and then a nap.