TOW #6: The Fourth State of Matter

“The Fourth State of Matter”, written by Jo Ann Beard, is a narrative about the author’s life. Beard gives a detailed account of her everyday habits at home and at her job, as well as descriptions of her interactions with friends a co-workers. She creates a snapshot of her life and how, one day, all she knew was shattered. An editor of a physics journal at the University of Iowa, Beard left her office hours before some of her co-workers were shot by a disgruntled graduate student, Gang Lu. “The Fourth State of Matter” was published in The New York Times a short time later, winning the Whiting award for its excellence. The essay is Beard’s way of contemplating her loss of her co-workers, especially her good friend, Christoph Goertz. It resonates with anyone dealing or how has experienced the loss of a loved one, appealing to mature audiences who have an understanding and connection to life and death. Beard expresses her unimaginable emotions through the use of symbolism. Her collie, which she never names in her essay, symbolizes her inability to let go because her love is so great. The collie is very old and can barely walk anymore, so her owner must carry her outside to use the bathroom at night. After Beard had already taken the dog out once, she “climbed back under my covers already but her leg’s stuck underneath her, we can’t get comfortable. I fix the leg, she rolls over and sleeps. Two hours later I wake up and she’s gazing at me in the darkness. The face of love. She wants to go out again. I give her a boost, balance her on her legs” (Beard 1). Although the author knows in hear head that she should let the dog be put to sleep, she cannot bring herself to euthanize her beloved pet. In the same way, it is excruciating for her to let her killed friends go. Beard’s essay beautifully captures her experience of loss, and speaks volumes to her message that life makes everyone let things they love go.