December 23, 2008
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Making Sense of “.Forever, My Girl”
I didn’t get this post the first time I read it:
I thought it read a little stalker-y to me. Then StewieIsMyHero explained it to me… and I finally got it. It’s actually a riddle. It’s so good, I had to feature the post.
I never ever would have gotten this on my own. If you’ve read the post but can’t figure out who the narrator is, just highlight the white text below (it’s between the asterisks):
**The narrator of the story is God. God is with the girl all of her life, although she never talks to him. Then on the night she dies… they finally meet and she goes “home”.
As an atheist, this explanation would never have occurred to me! But even I knew I was missing something… so I asked around, and StewieIsMyHero cracked the case.
There is one more possible explanation for the identity of the narrator… but I will leave that one to you guys to figure out.**
Comments (55)
Yeah, as an atheist, I didn’t get that until just now. =P
Yay for me =) I like your explanation too though.
I’m just clueless, and also I didn’t read the post. But I’ll go do so now. Thanks!
@TheTheologiansCafe - the slitting of his wrist? Did I miss that part?
I wouldn’t guess God because of the line: “I wanted to find Adam and slit his throat.” I am guessing it was someone that died before her.
@TheTheologiansCafe - I messaged RT_184 and confirmed that it was God. Maybe the story was referring to the less forgiving God from the Old Testament.
@john - God was not less forgiving in the Old Testament. I have no problem with the idea that God would strike someone down or burn them in hell. The slitting of the throat sounded more like a man’s way of killing.
I was guessing but it became clear at the end.
I am an atheist as well, but I found the meaning of the story and I actually really liked the piece.
@CrazyKey123 - I agree that the story is touching and thought it was well written.
wow, I read it a few days ago and just thought it was a kooky overly dramatic yet touching love story… I would never have guessed that
nice story. well written riddle. eck, religion. but respect for real things, i have. good feelings.
hmm … i would never have guess that was God (and I’m not atheist) … especially some of the things it referred to in the story …
it’s incredibly well written. glad you chose to feature it.
i’m religious, but i didn’t guess it to be God either. i guessed the narrator to be the girl herself.
Haha I got the stalker vibe too. I guess God makes the most sense though, once you mention it.
Not very well written, it’s kind of on the sappy side. I’m an Atheist, and I figured the answer could only be god.
ah interesting ….
i thought the narrator was another passive Asian guy. KIDDING!
but I do agree with Theo in that ”slitting of the throat” is not a Godly emotion.
as someone making a lifelong study of narcissism and its victims, I would have said it was her authentic self, hidden away during her lifetime.
I thought this was Ric’s story.
Being Agnostic, I would have never made that connection either. Very interesting!
@MaximMan - I am going to write a post about Asian Guys.
I’m an atheist, but I had assumed it was a guardian angel or something when I finished it. Still, I suppose that and God are pretty similar.
From the line about slitting the guy’s throat up until the end, I figured it was herself (the pretty girl) who was watching her life flash before her eyes or something. As she’s watching her life replay, she’s describing herself and kind of regrets not breaking out of her shell more
God never crossed my mind because of the very same line.
Yes, the narrator, was meant to be god.
However, I as the writer am only man. I can not smite someone to hell! =( and they were not my exact thoughts when this happened. Besides, that would of gave the whole plot away if I smited him instead!
Is this part of a true story? Yes. The girl was a ‘good’ friend of mine…
A comment brought me on the right way too.
Oh by the way John, took you a week to feature it! It’s annoying having to scroll back a page to read the comments! =P
I thought it was God but I was not 100% sure so I didn’t even leave a comment! XD I didn’t want to say ”is this a religious story?” Eh! It is nice to have the author confirm it!
it had to be someone out of this dimension. while the author has made it clear who the mystery character is supposed to be, i cast an alternate choice for unborn fraternal twin / angel.
ahh yes, that was damn good post.
thanks for featuring this and sharing it on your weblog, John. I think that it is what I needed to read.
oh come on, dude. im an atheist and i still figured it out D:
…does that mean im agnostic?! :O
that is so cool.
I would have missed a really good post if you didn’t write about it in your blog John! Nice going!
wow god didnt even pop in my head, i thought it was her dead father..
I’m an atheist and I thought it was god, but only when I saw the picture of the couple on the beach and the sunset. That is such a standard religious picture. Reminds me of the poem Footprints which is illustrated with footprints in the sand and similarly written in a way where you can’t tell whether it’s a person or god.
Like TC, I thought the slitting of Adam’s throat and some of the other language was very much like a human, particularly a man in love. I think the use of the word beautiful was also more physical in context than spiritual. Overall, I think the author meant to make the identity uncertain. Some people say stalkerish, but I never thought the narrator sounded dangerous so stalker never entered in my head.
It didn’t occur to me as God b/c certain things didn’t really align with his character.. like slitting the throat… or..watching from a distance. I thought it might have suited more of an angel. In any case, interesting built up and ending.
i thought it was god. until i read some of the comments here, now i think it’s her true self.. i think that makes so much more sense..
@TheTheologiansCafe - God is more creative ,like turning one into a pillars of stone or a great flood or opening up the ground to swallow them,or a plague.
god is dead . that’s prolly how they know each other .
All I can say is, I said “wow~” after I read that.
By the way, merry x’mas.
The narrator can’t be God. God loves all HIS children and would never call Adam a “pompous prick” and a “stupid fuck.” God also seems to favor this girl more than her sister who had cancer and then died.
Obviously, this is my own interpretation. I just think the writer’s interpretation wasn’t on point because he/she is illustrating God to favor certain people.
I think a very good representation of God (even for people who are atheist) is in the story, “The Shack.” Very good read.
-ray leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
ooooooohhhhhhohohohohohoho!!!!! i missed that!
i kinda got the story because i know a boy who’s my next door neighbor and he is ALWAYS there for me, so i sort of related.
but the question of “how does he know so much about this girl’s life if he never talked to her before her death?” kept popping up throughout the story. lol now i get it!!!
i just thought the narrator was a really shy boy who is in love with this girl…missed that one
as an atheist i never would have guessed that….
@jigg - good point
Thanks for explaining it
Now I get it.
It sounded like a rip from that movie City of Angels with Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan. I figured him to be a guardian angel or, at the very least, a very resourceful stalker (maybe both?). But with Bibical names like Dave and Adam, I guess the narrator could have been God too. Maybe the girl’s name was Eve?
Btw, interesting to note how the non-theologians assumed the narrator to be some kind of stalker…
Uhm. I am a Christian, and I didn’t get it.
Although, I must admit that possibility helps to make so much more sense.
I’m a Christian and I didn’t get it. haha.
But it makes so much sense now. Thanks for looking into it!
If you have read “Foot prints,” the story parallels that poem. And like Theologianscafe said, God was an angry god at times. When Christ died on the cross, God was pretty pissed off as mankind killed off His Son. So you can imagine how any father would react to his little girl getting hurt like that. Yeah, even to the point of slitting one’s throat. Merry Christmas!
i got it but it’s so sad.
Merry Christmas, John!
Interesting. I figured it was supposed to be Death, or possibly an angel.
i thought it was a guardian angel. you only needed to read the last few lines to get it.
i so didn’t get that. i thought the guy was just a friend she didn’t realize had feelings for her until she died.