Self-Review – The Field Gleaner

Let’s Look at The Field Gleaner

This story, The Field Gleaner, is kind of a little bit of biblical fan fiction, I guess you could call it. But unlike in The Great Cleanup, the narrator is on her own. I based her on Ruth. But she’s not quite Ruth, not really.

I wrote this story during the first quarter of 2021.

Background

When I was in Hebrew school, one of the few things I can recall learning was about gleaning. It was essentially an Iron Age form of charity. A landowner would deliberately not harvest a certain amount of the crops and leave them for the poor people to pick.

The original prompt word was linear.

Plot of The Field Gleaner

The main character has a kind of employment, where she picks wheat for the owner of the fields. Newly freed from bondage, she has no other skills and no other prospects. All alone, she’s just doing what she can to survive.

Characters

The characters are the unnamed narrator. But I based her on the biblical matriarch Ruth.

Memorable Quotes

There is a straight path, and it leads to fields. I pick wheat for the owner. And, in return, he lets me glean. For I am poor, you see. It wasn’t until very recently that I stopped being a slave.

My labor is hard, but at least it ends at night. The women who are married, I know their workday is just getting started when the sun goes down. There are husbands and children to feed, and floors to be swept.

But me, I sleep under the stars. It’s often cold. I’ve been rained on more times than I can count.

But I am free, and I sweep no one’s floors.

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Takeaways from The Field Gleaner

I like the narrator’s optimism. Because even though her life is clearly rather difficult, she still manages to find some areas where she’s better off than others. This measure of grace allows her to find gratitude, even under trying circumstances.

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Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

Short Stories

Finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.