Fallen Angel

Fallen Angel

ÐŽoThereЎЇs so much goop inside of us, man,ÐŽ± he said, ÐŽoand it all wants to get out.ÐŽ± He leaned his mop against a cabinet. ÐŽoWhat are you crying for?ÐŽ± I didnЎЇt understand. He stood still, raised both arms slowly behind his head and tightened his ponytail. Then he grabbed the mop and started making broad random arcs with it, trembling and weeping and moving all around the place really fast. ÐŽoWhat am I crying for?ÐŽ± he said. ÐŽoJesus. Wow, oh boy, perfect.ÐŽ±(352)

Denis JohnsonЎЇs story, ÐŽoEmergency,ÐŽ± is about the narrator and his good friend Georgie. Both guys work at the hospital Emergency Room and enjoy the recreational use of drugs; in fact they only seem to want to escape life through the use of drugs. Georgie, however, has a different side to him that differs from the other characters of the story. The other side of Georgie is a Georgie who attempt to saves lives whenever an emergency occurs. Georgie is like a fallen angel, a latent believer who strives to live his ideal life of saving lives while he could careless about his own self.

While Georgie is mopping the operating room floor Georgie comments: ÐŽoThereЎЇs so much goop inside of us, man, and it all wants to get out.ÐŽ± The word goop mentioned here could mean the blood and gore but seems to be suggesting another meaning of it. Goop also means deceit, deception, and irreverence; in other words sin. Georgie talks of how this goop wants to get out of us, which implies the fact that humans are a sinful race.

In the following passage, Georgie ÐŽostood still, raised both arms slowly behind his head, and tightened his pony tail.ÐŽ± In the passage mentioned, Georgie stands still, raising both arms behind his head. The act of putting your hands behind your head is a definite sign of surrender; to me, it symbolizes the cross, where not only Jesus but many of his believers who also got persecuted for their beliefs. Georgie could be a true believer who is going through another trial and tribulation just like any other character in the Bible had to go through. His uses of drugs only show that he is only a less