On a String

The short story “Beetle on a String” by Vince Gotera, narrates the capture of a scarab beetle. Gotera ties the insect on a “two foot long lasso” and watches it fly. At night he states he would tie his beetles to round knobs and be soothed to sleep by a “lullaby of buzzing” (BW 120) however by morning, the beetles would always be dead, weights hung on a string. At the end of the short story, Gotera raises the question “to wonder what thoughtless boy holds my string.” We live our lives throughout the day, going through routines that become a part of who we are. Like the beetle caught on the string, I feel sometimes we are always held to something that we cannot escape. Our bodies can shift and swoop however we are unable to evade the “predators” of our own. No matter how far we “run” from something, such as a country or culture we try to escape, a part of it will always be a part of us.