The Valley of the Dead Air was an interesting piece of work. At times quite comedic, but at the same type opened up an empathetic outlook for me particularly as an audience member. This particular short story opened up my train of thought when it came to the realization of the "local people," because they were involved in the process of self-cleansing. The land itself was not only the grand subject matter, but the people within themselves coming to a realization in the entirety of rejuvenation. The land in the beginning was taken for granted and in the process the people had not only taken the land for selfishness, but also each other. The importance of understanding the wrongdoings each and everyone of them had committed for me brought back a sense of stability. Due to an abundance of chaos and instability they were able to magnifying the a broader sense of community, which they had diminished along the way. Spirituality playing a massive role among these people was an important justification to their actions when it came to serving the old man Jacob Hookano. In a sense they had brought back what they took for granted, Jacob being this isolated man in the end forming unity throughout these localities.


                 "But I t'ink you right. We gotta get to the bottom of this. Find all the person's responsible for him cursing the valley. Then make them offer somet'ing to the old man's spirit. Or somet'ing like that. Whachu t'ink?" (Gary Pak, The Valley of the Dead Air, 16). Here the locals conversing among each other in pidgin is sets up an aesthetic distance which is much more closer per say verses when the narrator speaks. As an audience member I am able to understand psychologically through their native tongue much more vs. when things are said ordinarily in English via the narrator. It brings an exciting closeness for me as a reader to able to dive into the situation along with the characters.