In The Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried Analysis

Amy Hempel
Amy Hempel is an American short story author who was born on December 14th, 1951 in Chicago. She spent most of her early childhood in Chicago as well as Denver before moving to San Francisco at the age of sixteen (Fields, 127). Hempel seems to be heavily influenced by her time spent in California because many of her early stories take place within the state; however, she eventually settled in New York where she attended Columbia University. Hempel’s parents were both knowledgeable and well-read individuals. Gardiner Hempel, an executive in the field of information-handling systems, and Gloria Hempel, the director of an art museum both encouraged their daughter to read many books, and had a vast collection of novels and stories in

The story begins with the narrator’s friend saying, “Tell me things I won’t mind forgetting… Make it useless stuff or skip it,” followed by several ridiculous non-facts that the narrator quickly relays, including that insects fly through rain missing every drop, Bing Crosby was the first person in America to own a tape recorder, and that when they taught the first chimp to talk, it lied (39). Although the first lines are simply stated and have a comical air about them, they do seem to reveal a sad but undeniable truth about the narrator’s friend. She is in the hospital, slowly dying of a terminal illness, and though she seems to have a cheerful demeanor, accepting that her time is limited is the most difficult truth she has to face at the moment. It appears that she would rather discuss the nonsensical with her friend, and have a few unadulterated moments of untruth. It is clear that both of the women are in denial, and are desperately avoiding discussing the state of the sick friend, so much of the story is filled with these absurd bits of trivia from the

In reality, the narrator’s friend simply wants the narrator to stay with her overnight; however, the intimacy of her relationship with her sick friend throughout the years seems to have implanted some irrational belief that because her friend is sick, she too will inherit the disease. This further explains her decision to distance herself from her friend and avoid her fear, as well as explains her reaction to the second bed being placed in the room. The line “she wants my life” exposes the narrator’s irrational fear that her friend does not want to be alone in death; that like some mythological creature she has a blood-lust that won’t be satisfied until they are both in coffins. This concept is pushed further when a nurse gives the sick friend an injection that causes her to sleep, and the narrator, who also falls asleep, dreams of her friend decorating her house in bunting and crepe streamers (48). The narrator’s fear of death seems to have subconsciously expanded into the belief that her friend wants her to accompany her beyond the grave in some form of macabre celebration. This irrational belief seems to stem from the narrator’s need to justify the distance she is actively creating between herself and her friend, and is another way to avoid the unpleasant reality of their situation. She even imagines driving in a convertible to Malibu where she can drink and dance as well as