FRED STENSON’S - TEETH - :: English Literature

FRED STENSONS - TEETH -Teeth, by Fred Stenson, is an interesting short business relationship, with a plotspread between two hockey games and the puerility memories of the main timber. The story is written in first person, through the eyes ofa hockey player the main character - and the setting is in horse operaCanada, mainly around Canadian hockey rinks and the main charactershometown. The story presents a player, who plays hockey for moneyrather than for pleasure. The author of this story tries to ravagethe endorsers, by writing through the eyes of this player, who does notlove the game he plays. The idea that a hockey player aprofessional Canadian hockey player would dislike the game of hockeyand still play, is what shocks, confuses and keeps the readerinterested in the story. This unusual characterization of a hockeyplayer is besides important to the development of plot. Finally, thisstory gives people advice about how to live and enjoy life moreeffectively.The story begins during one of Burnss the main character - hockeygames, on a Tuesday night, not long after Christmas. The players inhis team ar quite fatigued and near the end of a game. They aresupposed to change breezes onto the ice, but Burns is lost in a daydreamabout his youth and the line change goes too slowly. For some seconds at that place is no one on the ice except the goalie and the six members ofother team. The other team scores a goal before the line change iscompleted and Burns team goes on to lose the game 5-3 (93). Thereader must conclude that the loss of the game is partly the cracking ofthe main character. This conclusion comes from the fact that he isdaydreaming about his childhood, and memories of being made to playhockey by his parents. It is at this point in the story that thereader learns of Burns dislike for the game of hockey, and throughthese daydreams that the reader discovers the main charactersmotivation to play the game is the money he is being paid. After thegame , in the dressing room, the manager is angry and threatens to sendsome of the players down to the minor leagues. When the maincharacter hears this, his reaction is not what the reader would expectof a hockey player who loves to play the game. Instead, Burnscontinues to daydream and shows a lack of respect for his teammatesand the manager. The manager mainly blames Burns for the teams loss,because he did not put out, and his lack of enthusiasm infects the