#24: The Second Tree From the Corner by E.B. White
Available: The Best American Short Stories of the Century
"Ever have any bizarre thoughts?" asked the doctor. So begins one of the most beautifully written stories I have ever read. I came back to this story after a strange week. I had seen the documentary Man on Wire on Thursday night and had been thinking about the nature of beauty ever since. I thought about timeless stories, those which defied easy classification and instead seemed greater meditations on the almost indescribable; aspiration, ambition, and the search for an elusive something that often occupies our time.
Truth be told, I've not read this story on the page; I have, however, listened to it countless times on audiobook. It seems strangely fitting then, that at past eleven pm on a cold and quiet Sunday night, I woke from sleep and listened to it once again. It's a story that deserves your full attention.
The Story
Trexler visits the doctor in the hope of him curing his bizarre thoughts. Trexler's thoughts turn out to be more compassionate than unstable. That said, Trexler is also a different type of patient than most; he is so deeply compassionate that he cannot help seeing things from others' points of view.
The doctor says Trexler is scared, although Trexler is not so sure. He continues seeing the doctor until the fifth visit, when the doctor asks Trexler directly: "What do you want?" Trexler turns the question back on the doctor, who answers meekly: "I want a wing on the small house I own in Westport. I want more money and leisure to do the things I want to do". Such a response leaves Trexler stunned, and scrambling for the cause of a longing, so deep and persistent in his own soul.
Why it Sticks
It is not easy to make one man's inner monologue compelling. While the doctor plays a supporting role in this story, The Second Tree is Trexler's story. By letting Trexler think in real time, and more importantly, by opening up the character to such vulnerability, we get a greater picture of Trexler than could ever have been obtained through dialogue or any other form of exposition.
Many emerging writers make the mistake of amping up dramatics instead of letting their characters develop. In this story, White sits with the character, knowing the story's arc will be strong enough so long as Trexler keeps developing. As a reward for perserverence, the story unfolds ever so delicately, with the subtlest of narrative hints left lingering to be discovered on the third or fourth read.
Pacing is also important in The Second Tree:. Questions are asked and repeated; characters shift their chair an inch; Trexler and the doctor size each other up. Such pacing shows White at his most assured, for while many of his other works share a similarly languid pace, never have they seemed so irresistably focused on the beauty of one man's life, his sense of compassion, and his propensity for "bizarre thoughts."
