Response to "The Fix" by Percival Everett

I liked that this story was mainly driven through Sherman and Douglas's dialogue. I think I've said this in two of my previous blog posts, but I really believe that dialogue makes or breaks a story. If used effectively, it is, in my opinion, the most interesting part of story-telling. Everett does a great job distinguishing the two males, Sherman and Douglas, right off the bat when they first meet.  Douglas is very talkative and is genuinely curious about Sherman's life since he rescued him from being beaten up one night. Sherman is extremely quiet, never smiles, and is one of those people who just does what he is asked to do.

There is an obvious Bible comparison in this story.  Sherman is Jesus, or some type of God-like figure, who can fix anything and even bring people back from the dead. The story read almost like a myth in that Sherman performed too much of a good thing and people became greedy, wanting him to fix everything for them, to the point of driving Sherman to his own suicide to get away from them. Every myth has a moral of the story, or a take away message; this is probably best summed up by Sherman himself on the second to last page. "You have to be careful about what you fix. If you fix the valves in an engine, but the bearings are shot, you'll get more compression, but the engine will still burn up. If you irrigate a desert, you might empty a sea. It's a complicated business, fixing things." And yet, even though he does fix so many things, people are never satisfied, and that is truly heartbreaking.

Everett makes Sherman very likable through the minimalist description he gives about him. Even Douglas and his wife, Sheila, debate whether or not he can be trusted, but assume he can be because he gives off a good vibe (which I took to be from his simplistic lifestyle, i.e. he is content with living in a room in Douglas's shop with food, never leaving the apartment, and working for Douglas for minimum wage).  I also found Douglas to be very likable because he is curious not to the point of over-prying in Sherman's life, and when he finally does learn that Sherman needs to run away from the town, he is willing to follow him no matter where he goes.  In fact, he even encourages his suicide by nodding at him when he takes a step over the cliff. While this could be seen as sadistic, I view it as Douglas helping Sherman fulfill his own decision.

Too much of a good thing is never a good idea. People are sadly, never satisfied...