Analysis Of the Short Story "Demonology" By Rick Moody

In Demonology by Rick Moody, Moody slowly reveals his feelings surrounding his personal demons and his sister’s death in thirteen short stories. The last short story, Demonology; serves as a reference for how the reader interprets all of the other stories in the collection. It is revealed in this story that Moody’s sister died suddenly in her daughter’s bedroom. The title Demonology, reflects how the short stories attempt to make a metaphorical science to how the demons that plagued the narrator and his sister, led to her death. Moody uses the elements of scene, tension, and voice in order to create a series of fictional stories that parallel the circumstances and culture that led to his sister’s actual death, and to show the demons he has regarding her death.

The voice Moody uses in the final short story Demonology, is extremely profound because it is his own voice. Prior to this story, it is not entirely clear what is real and what is not, when it comes to the deaths of all these different girls. At the very end of the story, Moody lists off all of the things that he should have done as far as the writing itself goes. “I should write only of affection, I should make our travels in this earthly landscape safe and secure, I should have a better ending, I shouldn’t say her life was short and often sad, I shouldn’t say she had her demons, as I do too.” (306) This shift to his own voice lets the reader know that all of the stories prior to this were Moody talking about his actual sister. All of the previous stories were not in chronological order, and that chaotic structure parallels the chaotic culture that led to his sister’s death. The most glaring part of that chaotic culture was the fact that the entire family consisted of heavy drinkers.

Moody also uses voice in order to give the reader insight as to why he has demons regarding his sister’s death. For example, in the short story Boys, Moody introduces us to two very high strung twin boys. The boys constantly get into extreme mischief such as public masturbation, violence, and burying their little sister’s dolls in the yard. However, the boys have a shift in maturity when their sister dies from cancer. After this, the boys still get into mischief, but they lose some innocence as a result of their sister’s death. The boys end up changing again as a result of their father’s death at the end of the story when he dies in their presence. After the fathers die, the boys leave the house. “Boys, no longer boys, exit.” (246) Throughout this story, Moody says the boys in almost every single line, with most sentences being very short. The voice Moody employs in this story, highlight the impact the death of Moody’s actual sister had on him. Moody does not say that the boys left the house as men. This shows that they are changed as a result of being grief stricken, rather than increased maturity. This parallels Moody’s actual grief for his sister.

Moody also uses the element of scene in order to show the culture that led to his sister’s death. For example in the story Pan’s Fair Throng, there is a scene where a giant finds a beautiful queen and he accidently squeezes her to death. “I believe a goddess has crossed into my wilderness and that I must devote myself to her service henceforth and always. The queen attempted to reply, of course, but Maurice squeezed her so tightly in his fist that she fainted dead away, making no audible reply.” (129-130) This scene is profound because it symbolizes the overwhelming influence the family had on Moody’s sister being a heavy drinker. Moody’s sister developed heart problems from drinking so much in her early years, that by the time she got her drinking under control it was already too late.

Moody uses tension as a means to convey the way he is unable to come to terms with the death of his sister. For example, in the short story Drawer, the husband experiences the tension of not being able to say all of these fancy words that his wife uses. “he’d never learned how to say the word armoire with any conviction at all, and he would have included demitasse and taffeta and sconce and minuet, actually, he’d gone gray trying to remember all these works, he’d become an old unteachable dog trying to remember how to say these things, how to say I love you he supposed” (116-117) It is ultimately revealed at the end that “I love you” was the phrase that was lost on him this entire time. This story shows the complexity of the grief Moody is going through regarding the death of his sister.

All in all, the elements Moody employ throughout these stories gives the reader a deep insight regarding the demons he has regarding the death of his sister. Furthermore, the deaths of several girls in several of these stories give insight into the culture of Moody’s family. By Moody speaking as himself in the final story, the reader experiences an avalanche of realizations regarding the meaning of the previous stories.