In “Digging in the Trash,” Joy asserts that “The truth is we live in a world where we don’t listen to people anymore. So often we’re just waiting for the next opening to respond. What we need to realize is that sometimes people don’t need advice. Sometimes people just need to be heard.” What parts of this assertion are reflected in the story of the cousins?
This idea is shown several times throughout the story of the cousins. One of the first times is simply when he asks his cousin, in return for shooting with him, to just sit and talk. The best way to learn about somebody or something is to listen. Additionally, at times when they disagreed, Ron Currie would find himself getting ready to argue but then he would second guess himself. After Ben, Ron’s cousin, explains his opinion about Ron’s ideas, Ron becomes irritated and somewhat irrational but then he “realized that if [he] was having such an indignant reaction to such a simple assertion, maybe it was just this side of possible that Ben had a point.” If he had just listened and considered Ben’s point, in the beginning, he would not have felt the need to argue. At other points throughout the story, the same situation occurs Ron disagrees with Ben’s statement but just lets the argument go for the sake of listening and comprehension. It is natural to want to respond when listening to somebody speak but that natural instinct must be overcome in order to truly understand another person.
