Take the Plunge

(4)

Gloria Emerson

Take the Plunge

            Why did Gloria Emerson decide to jump?

            Gloria Emerson was a journalist.  She had been working in many parts of the world specially in war-struck Nigeria and Vietnam.

            She was a thin and lean lady with uncertain ankles and a very bad back.  She wanted to prove that in spite of all these things, she was not a weakling. Her friends and colleagues laughed at her and made fun of her resolution to prove her physical prowess.  They were not ready to believe that she would actually jump from an air -plane.  One of her friends joked that if she broke her bones she would have to be shot because she would never mend.

            She decided to jump from a parachute to surprise all the people and to finish a sense of boredom.  She wanted to feel reckless and adventurous.  She thought of many plans like running a race or being bold in her journalistic career.  But jumping from a plane looked to her as something compatible and at last she decided to perform it.  She wanted to prove that physical power is not as important as is the will power.  Impossible can be achieved through the will to go on.  She also did it as a reaction against the attitude of society, where people discourage and ridicule others.

            So, whatever was her motive, she proved herself as a determined lady.  Capable of doing anything, howsoever risky it may be.

Q No2;            Describe the construction of the parachute?

            Gloria Emerson was a journalist who decided to jump out of a plane through a parachute.  Her friends took her to the newly established parachuting centre.  This centre was for the competitions and teaching of skydiving.  Mr. Jacques Istel, an ex-marine, founded it.  He thought parachuting to be a creation and a passion.  He described it as world's most soul-satisfying sport.

            He had designed a new parachute to remove the complexities and to make it easier even for the beginners.  It was a parachute with thirty-two foot canopy with a large cut out hole that funneled escaping air.  Pulling at the back straps opened old parachutes but Istel’s parachute was operated through two wooden knobs.  This parachute increased the lateral speed but slowed down the rate of falling down.  It also reduced oscillation.

            It was so safe and easy that the beginners, only with brief instructions, were put in action with it.  Gloria jokingly said that it was to show that any dope could do it.

       

Q No 3:           Describe the scene before her jumps?

            Gloria Emerson went with her friends to the first U.S sports parachuting centre.  She was to perform there with Jacques Istel’s newly designed parachute.  She was given brief but intense instructions about how to do it.

            She boarded a Cessna 180 with her instructor and another man. She felt very strange due to her helmet, boots, equipments and the jump suit. She could not sit, stand or bend normally.  She wanted to do a lot of things but could not do because of too many straps around her.

            At twenty three hundred feet the other man jumped silently, making a thumbs-up sign.  In fact she developed a disliking for that person because he was not as nervous as she was.  He was eager and composed.

            When her turn came, she suddenly got frightened and wanted to back out.  She wanted to hold some object or lie down to avoid the jump but she was tied to a static line that made it difficult for her to do so.  She started to shout but her instructor did not pay any heed to her.  He knew what was going on in her mind.  He brought her to the door, made her sit down and yelled something.  She was not clear whether he said, "Go", “Now" or “Out”.

            She was in the open sky now.  She tried to hold on to her line, moved her feet violently but she was helpless and all alone in the sky.  The strong rush of air knocked the spit out of her mouth.  Her eyes and nose were also leaking. 

            In this way she started her amazing and superb stay in the sky.

Q No. 4:          What was the atmosphere in the sky?

        When Gloria jumped out, the air struck her strongly. Her eyes and nose started to leak. There was a continuous dribble on her chin.  She tried to avoid the situation but soon realized that she would have to face it.  Her parachute opened with the sound of a plop.

            When the plane had gone away with its noise and wind, she was in a domain of sweet stillness.  She saw the universe in a new way.  She saw the earth in so many colours and textures.  The sky looked endless.  She viewed the earth and sky with a new vision and new thought.  All of this had never been described by anyone before.  It was a uniquely personal experience for her.  Being in the sky became a passion and a fever to her.  Parachute itself seemed to her as an easily controllable toy with its wooden knobs to change the direction.  She wanted to remain there forever and stop the earth from coming closer.

            Her target was a huge arrow in a sandpit.  She did not want to land but she had to.  She landed on her feet and sat down for sometime. She had successfully completed her parachute fall and thus her aim was materialized.

            Later she was introduced to General James Gavin.  Mr. Istel’s mother wrote a charming letter of congratulation to her.  All were pleased at the successful completion of her task.  In fact they were surprised and could not believe it.  In this way Gloria surprised her friends and colleagues.

Q No. 5:          Do her feelings change in the course of her experience?

            Gloria Emerson describes her experience of the para jumping in a detailed way.  She has masterfully narrated the events as well as the changes in her emotions in the course of her experience.  She starts the essay with description of her motives in deciding to do an adventure.  She enumerates her mental restlessness when she mentions her desire to "feel reckless".  The reaction and comments of her friends also show her mental process.  She has a sense of insufficiency as regards her physical abilities, that’s why she decides to prove her worth in physical terms.

            She narrates the gradual process of her reaching at a decision. She considers too many options but ultimately decides in favour of par jumping.  The thought of jumping makes her emotional.  She wants to feel the big load of parachute on her back and wants to take steps in the black long army boots.  She visualizes a small plane with open doors, then she jumps and is struck by wind, the parachute opens and a delicate white umbrella encircles her, she drifts through the sky with pleasure.  It becomes a sort of daydreaming for her.

            After taking the decision she is firm on it.  Her mind is as clear as clay.  She is afraid of nothing and is quite confident that nothing will go wrong with her.  She does not think about the risks involved in this experience.  She is quite confident before the jump though she feels strange because of her jump accessories.   She is enjoying all of it but as the actual time of her jump comes, she becomes mutinous and tries to avert it. But when she takes the plunge and comes in the open sky, all her feelings get transformed.  Fear and tension change into a balmy calm and pleasure.  The atmosphere of the sky is so bewitching that she wants to remain pinned in the sky.  The earth and sky look enchanting in a different way.  Wind seems kind: trees look soft.  Her feelings get completely changed. Such a satisfying and thrilling experience elevates her soul.  She does not want to land because it will finish her heavenly joy of being in the air.   She triumphantly completes her parachute Jump and all the people are surprised and pleased. 

            In this way she constructs her feelings gradually.  Her feelings undergo a tremendous change in the course of her experience.  The feelings of insufficiency in her mind compel her to take the decision and then to carry it out practically.  The emotional element in the essay shows Gloria's grip on human psychology.  It also indicates that she was well aware of every thing going on in her mind before, during and after the jump.