In Northline,
Allison takes a walk by the river to calm her mind. In Allison’s life, she is
constantly plagued by misfortune and bad luck, often exacerbated by the bad
choices that she makes. The hard life that she has made for herself leads her
to a stressful life in Reno. I can relate to this aspect of Allison’s life:
while I’m much more fortunate in my life choices and luck, being a college
student has its overwhelming times. Often, these overwhelming times require a
simple walk to clear the stress from life. While I find most of Northline somewhat un-relatable, this is
one aspect of Northline that I can
easily relate to: I chose to follow in Allison’s footsteps and walk by the
river to clear my mind.
Allison has a hard life; there’s no disputing that. However,
she still keeps the simple pleasures that many of us can relate to. The simple
walk to the river is enough to clear her mind and put her back on track for her
life. “After her shift she changed in the employee bathroom and walked down to
the river and drank a cup of coffee. She had found a pack of Pall Malls on the
table that morning, and picked it up and put it in her apron. She took a
cigarette from the pack and lit it up. The sun was coming up over the mountains
and beginning to lay down upon the city. Every morning for the last three weeks
she’d left work and taken a walk. She knew she couldn’t spend much time alone
in her apartment” (Vlautin 96). Allison uses her walks by the river to distract
herself from her life: instead of holing up in her apartment and letting
herself become caught up in the misfortunes of her life, she finds solace in
her walks by the river. She also makes a habit of walking by the river: "That night she made her shift at the Cal Neva. When it was over she decided to take a walk by the river. The morning was cold and she left the casino and went down Second Street as the sun began to come up over the mountains" (Vlautin 144). Allison's habit of walking by the river adds to the peaceful escape from her day to day life.
My walk to the river had a similar effect: the stress of
college is dissipated in the break from the city. While the stresses in my life
revolve more around tests and grades, the walk by the river had a similar
effect for me that it did for Allison. My walk down the river started in the
same place that Allison’s journey began, while Allison starts her journey after
a work shift, I begin my walk after my equivalent: class. Allison’s walk
through the river is vaguely described: Vlautin describes a sunrise and the
river, eluding to a peaceful time that Allison can clear her head. My walk to
the river is during a slightly more busy time of day, but the effect is the
same. While most of my time is spent in city scenery, seeing the river has a
calming effect. Regardless of the rows of shops and people nearby, a walk
through what little piece of nature we have is nice change. I don't see many people that look like they could be modern day Allisons, instead, the people seem to be carefree tourists for the most part.
While much of this novel is difficult to relate to, there
are facets of the novel that are quite relatable. The ability to clear one’s
mind through a simple walk down the river is a detail of Vlautin’s Reno that is
easy enough to see in my Reno. Vlautin’s
Reno encapsulates some images that I can relate to: Vlautin captures Reno’s
unique mix of city and nature: by having Allison take a river walk to clear her
mind Vlautin captures this aspect of Reno and provides a scene that readers who
don’t relate to Allison’s unfortunate life can relate to.
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