“Under the Jacaranda Trees,” by Dallas Woodburn, issue #18

9/22/21: Into the Archives: staff member Seth Rodriguez on Dallas Woodburn’s “Under the Jacaranda Trees,” issue #18

Dallas Woodburn’s story “Under the Jacaranda Trees” delves into several concepts in life that feels relatable to the reader, such as belonging to a group and especially relationship break-ups. The author utilizes the character designs exceptionally well that gives each and very one of them a unique and important role in the story. The tone of the story also gives a sense of hope to the reader, which compliments very well with the impact of the story.

The story structure is told from a first-person perspective and explores some of the past experiences of about every character, each character has a dark past which further plays into the role of the impact. What’s interesting is that the characters aside form the main character seem to be fine and enjoying the moment. The main character, Amaryllis, learns about each of the characters and their pasts throughout the story. Each character having a relationship that did not work out and ended horribly, leaving one of them mentally destroyed. Amaryllis sees this and compares herself in their shoes, whichever the situation that happened in that persons’ relationship. She herself, is bothered by her last relationship and toward the end of the story sees that it is not something to hold you down and to move on, which is related to the symbolic nature of the Jacaranda tree, a symbol of rebirth and wisdom.

One of my favorite and most powerful parts of the story was the impact and symbology of the story. The impact was easy to pick up if one was understanding of the symbology of Jacaranda trees, which represent wisdom and rebirth, which the characters were surrounded by and learned to cope (wisdom) with their past relationship experiences and move on (rebirth). Amaryllis was still learning and suffering from her past relationship, which ended abrupt like all the other characters’ have. One defining moment in the story was when one of the characters removed a jacaranda flower from Amaryllis’s head, which legend says that if a jacaranda flower falls on one’s head, it means good fortune for them. Amaryllis at the end of the story builds a better understanding of her past relationship and relates to each of the characters even more. The tone ends in a hopeful feeling for Amaryllis and the reader.

The way the story was crafted made it easy to understand the characters and their development made them easy to distinguish and keep track of. The usage of imagery was excellent and really gave a picture of what was going on in the story, it felt as if I was picturing myself in the backyard of jacaranda trees and with the characters. The vivid diction also did well and complimented well with the imagery, making it a pleasant read.

Overall, the relatability of the characters’ dark pasts and impact speaks loudly amongst Amaryllis and the reader which causes the reader to think about their life. The symbology played a significant role which gave the story a nice edge.