Holiday Gas Station
(Corner of Fourth and Higgins),
Missoula, Montana

August 11, 2004


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I enjoyed many themes in this narrative. Troy constantly gives comparisons between the big city of New York and the small town of Missoula, Montana. One of the aspects I liked most was how she compared the mentality of these two worlds -- the differences in what seems to most important to the people living in each place. Simultaneously, Troy reflects on her own life and on what matters most to her.

Throughout the story the author makes comparisons between New York and Montana, portraying some kind of inner battle she is having within herself. Troy also influences the reader's attitude about Montana in many ways such as showing that this community has town pride (due to the “M” embedded on the hillside), pointing out the intricate details of her town, and showing that people have carefree loving attitudes.

The small town gas station was the setting and it was a character in its own right, in many ways. In the beginning, the author familiarizes us with this place by describing the clerk and other people around the station. The narrator gives the notion that she really likes this place and it is special to her. The main character was so in love with this simple place that it was like it was her best friend. It was as if this gas station had a personality and passed its own judgments.

The gas station had people keeping it alive and it seemed so relaxed it was hard not to envy it. Then the last line sums up the personality of the station: “His truck has been on its last legs since you learned to walk, and what does he care? He’s got a hound in the front seat and a spare tire in back." Basically, the feeling of this town is that it has a lackadaisical, slept-in, and relaxed quality to it.

I also liked how the author portrayed the inner struggle of a person who was not sure whether she was a big city girl or a small town girl.

Place is a major theme in this essay and Troy does a great job of packing every sentence of it with detail, and thus making the small town of Missoula, Montana a character on its own. She describes the people and events at the gas station with such detail that you can picture it vividly. I enjoy how Troy compares life in New York to life in Missoula by pairing the mentality, goals, and values that the people from each place possess, along with her own, and tries to decide which place she prefers.

I liked the two quotes, “He’s never cleared $20,000 a year and still pays for breakfast out when he wants,” and “His truck has been on its last legs since you learned to walk, and what does he care? He’s got a hound in the front seat and a spare tire in back.” They both say a lot about the truck driver and the simplicity of life in this small Montana town.

I enjoyed the way Robin Troy began “Holiday Gas Station.” The first sentence makes you think about this area; “There are views here” makes you consider where you are from. She mentions she can see the "M" from her work, along with a description of coeds going to the river. This could be taken to imply that she gets easily bored. I want to know why she left New York for the most opposite place possible.

Robin Troy uses impeccable descriptions. She doesn’t tell you what something is like, she shows you. Furthermore, I like how she juxtaposes the storm from Hell Gate Canyon and the rainbow arching over Mount Sentinel. I also love the way we learn about the life of the woman in the gas station; she seems like a person who loves life yet hasn’t been dealt the best hand. Still, the woman rolls with the punches and makes the best of things, as was cleverly shown by the laugh lines on her face. The idea of working two eight-hour shifts a day is a ridiculous concept, and something many of the readers can probably not identify with, but this character is very intriguing for this reason.

The man who comes into the gas station is also memorable. We have all seen men like this and I think Robin brilliantly presents him through the details about his home, car, and his dog.

The culture of Missoula, Montana, ripples throughout the inhabitants of this small town, particularly when compared to the big city life of New York City. Anthropologists believe that individuals each have their own cultures and that individuals are the building blocks of society. In this story, the people of Missoula possess a small-town culture, thus giving Missoula its own culture, that of a small town. Any place in which a story takes place becomes its own character in that story whenever ethnocentricity, the belief that your culture is superior to all others, and that what you deem normal is based on your own behavior, comes into play. In “Holiday Gas Station” Troy portrays the people of Missoula as seeing the culture in their town as “normal.” However, in New York City, the inhabitants there also think that culture is “normal.” Thus, the only person who sees this difference between the cultures is our narrator. She is able to detach herself from her first culture and go headfirst into her new one, which ultimately has an effect on her individual culture.

Place plays a large part in this story and has a lot of influence on the character who is telling the story. This includes everything she is seeing and hearing around her. With a place like this, it was easy for Troy to describe some very interesting sights, including the fifty-year-old women who works at the gas station.

While reading this short story, I get the feeling that Missoula, Montana is a place where people are free to be themselves. The comparisons Troy makes to New York makes it seem as though the residents of Missoula would be different people if they lived in New York. It also sounds like Missoula is a very accepting place, a place where people don't spend their day trying to impress each other. In other words, I get the impression that Missoula is a relaxing, peaceful place.

Possibly from the lack of stress, the fifty-year-old woman appears to be ten years younger than she actually is.

The essay proves that home is what you make it. The constant reflection and comparisons on the qualities of Missoula vs. New York reflect on the question: what is wealth? I enjoyed how the essay was able to take me to a little town and show me what made it priceless.

Place is a very influential theme in this story and is evident in the first two sentences where Troy addresses this issue: “There are views here, sure. This is Missoula, Montana.” Then, through her detailed descriptions of the view, the surroundings, the people, and the everyday occurrences, Troy builds a clear portrait of Missoula and of the simplicity and modesty of life there, attesting to the importance of place to the characters in the story.

The differences Troy portrays between New York City and Missoula also indicate the influence that place exerts over the characters in the story. New York tends to negatively affect its inhabitants, while Missoula does not. A particular example about Missoula emerges toward the end of the story: “When you go back to visit, friends tell you you look young. But it’s not that you look young; it’s that you see mule deer on the hike out your backdoor after work. It’s that you spend Sunday afternoons collecting fallen apples in your yard. It’s that the man in the Ford eats red meat every day and doesn’t give a hoot about mad cow.”