“Set It and Forget It,” by Jaquira Díaz, issue #13

11/28/20: Into the Archives: staff member Sienna Ruiz on “Set It and Forget It” by Jaquira Díaz, issue #13

While reading through a Prism Review copy this Thanksgiving, “Set It and Forget It” by Jaquira Díaz caught my eye. The strangeness of some of the previous stories in the issue, makes Diaz’s story, even though the subject matter is something more mundane, so much more striking with what goes on within the scenes. The banter between two characters, Ana and Cari, caught my eye immediately. Their dialogue conversation between one another is very strong. I could imagine the personality of the characters through their words. “Set It and Forget It” uses tension, tone, and impact within the story to make a strong communicable story that discusses a controversial topic within society in an evocative way.

“Set It and Forget It” is a story about a main character who goes with a friend to a clinic to get an abortion done. The two main characters are upset with the amount of time they are having to wait for the doctor to see them. It isn’t until two more patients come in, Ana and Cari, that the story shifts tones.

The tension between characters within this story is very strong. Ana and Cari are individuals that all the other characters in the stories are irritated with. Their personality and rudeness makes one as a reader sympathize with the others in the waiting room that have to endure the suffering of their inappropriate jokes. Throughout the story, this tension slowly builds until the end when we surprisingly sympathize for one of the unlikeable characters, Ana. By Díaz having this contrast in the characters personality, the impact in the end feels greater. Even this character who the others lacked compassion for is affected by the difficulty that is getting an abortion.

What Díaz does well is highlighting a societal topic that is controversial, but she doesn’t make it the foreground of the story. The two characters, Ana and Cari, are here causing most of the problems within the story. There is social commentary mentioned, but Díaz does a good job at making these women feel human by not focusing on trying to pick a side on what the women are doing.

The ‘elephant in the room: abortion’ isn’t used as the key focus of the story, it’s something one has to piece together. By not using the word, the reader isn’t allowed to come up with their own judgments or beliefs on what the women are doing. The main focus is the character tension.

Within the story, there are also so many nice subtle character tensions. One example of this would be the somewhat comical irony of The Maury Show playing while all the women are in the waiting room. Their uncomfortableness and Ana and Cari’s remarks make the waiting for the doctor more unbearable. All the women can relate to one another in the room. They all are there for the same reason and so even though they all aren’t talking much except for Ana and Cari, the small tension feels louder:

“I can tell the other women are getting anxious. The more jokes Ana makes, the hotter the room feels. Every few minutes someone walks out of the clinic, fed up with Ana’s comments and Cari’s outbursts of laughter.”

By the end of the story when the doctor comes the tone becomes serious. As soon as the jokes from Ana and Cari stop, the dreading of the situation finally becomes present in the story. But, Díaz doesn’t allow the reader to form their opinions on what’s about to happen, they take this moment to make the reader sympathize for the women. The narrator is worried about her friend and the fear she thinks her friend is feeling. Ana, the young woman who was making jokes is seen also upset by getting the abortion. In the end, the tone is more solidly empathetic as the Díaz focuses on the trauma the women are experiencing. Throughout the whole story, there is a strong juxtaposition in tone while having strong character tension, and this is why this story was my favorite out of the issue.