Reimagining "Vaulting the Sea"
Cont. pg 129; 278
It had taken him months to make sense of all that had happened to him, but it was while facing all those cameras that Taoyu saw a road out. He didn’t know it until he stood up there at the edge of the board, when he realized he finally had a choice. Right then, on the world’s biggest stage, he could finally choose. He could become a completely new person.
But something was still holding Taoyu back. Despite all the signs telling him to quit diving, he felt the obligation to continue. It was who he was. He had a responsibility to himself, to Hai, and to represent his nation. It was a choice, but there seemed to be only one option, and it had already been decided for him years ago when his parents chose to send him to diving school. His path had been set years ago.
Together, Taoyu and Hai stepped onto the board, ready to take a leap of faith at the Olympic qualifies. “Three, two, one,” and together they were off. In perfect sync, through the air and into the water, they scored full marks and secured their spot in the Olympics. Later, Taoyu realized that this would be his life from now on – a prolific diver by day, but a lost sense of yearning by night. Only time would tell whether it would be worth it.
Taoyu and Hai proceeded to win silver that year in the Olympics and continued to compete in the following years, eventually taking home the gold. Hai stayed together with Ning, and eventually, Taoyu moved on. The thought of a life together with Hai always lingered, but it no longer hurt as much. There were no regrets about making the leap into the Olympic scene, and Taoyu’s hard work had finally paid off.
I decided to reimagine “Vaulting the Sea” to an ending where Taoyu doesn’t quit diving and change his identity, and instead decides to continue diving and competing in the Olympics. Taoyu was a very successful diver and from an athletic standpoint was described to be at the top of his class. Although his troubles mainly originated from his personal life, if this change were to take place the story could have followed a very different yet still reasonable storyline. I tried to highlight that there was still indecision in Taoyu’s choice to continue diving despite the interferences from his personal life.
By sacrificing his diving career, Taoyu also gives up his relationship with Hai as well. Taoyu “realized that they were not going to be together, not beyond that water, not in this life”, which is a line laced with regret and indecision (Wang 279;130). It’s interesting to imagine an alternative ending where Taoyu continues his diving career, and whether that decision would result in a happy ending for Taoyu or not. It is definitely possible that Hai could have begun to reciprocate feelings towards Taoyu at some point down the line, even though there was no indication of it at the time Taoyu made his decision. As synchronized divers, the pair undoubtedly shared a close bond, but it was Hai’s lack of romantic reciprocation to Taoyu that caused some tension. I wanted to envision an ending where Taoyu would be able to both continue his diving career, while also moving on from Hai.
Since the story is told in the past tense, changing the ending of the story alters the context entire narrative, but I think that it is still realistic. With an ending change, the beginning of the story where Taoyu occasionally gets recognized but turns people away no longer makes sense. An example of one of these lines is “Taoyu always says no. Tells them they’ve got the wrong person. Because if he began his story, he wouldn’t be able to finish it.” (Wang 269; 110). That sentence is another reason why I think Taoyu’s decision to quit diving held a sense of regret because he clearly doesn’t enjoy thinking back on it.
Overall I think “Vaulting the Sea” had a somewhat pessimistic ending with Taoyu giving up his dreams and taking on a new identity, which is why I wanted to imagine an alternative ending where everything works out for him.
This is a great post. I was also thinking of how the story could have been different if the ending was different, and if Tayou didn't leave. I think your alternate ending gives readers a different perspective of Tayou, in the sense that he feels obligation towards diving-his literal life's work.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a well written post. I think you are absolutely right that Taoyu told the story with some sense of uncertainty and regret and it is nice to see you show him continuing with diving. I like that you still made the end a little bittersweet, but it seemed a lot more openly optimistic and rewarding than the original.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your reimagining. Like you said, I think this is a resonable ending and feels realistic. Taoyu would definitely have considered this life as a possiblity when deciding whether or not to jump. I like how you mentioned that he had no regrets since he was able to move on and enjoy his diving career since it highlights a key change in Taoyu's character. It was also interesting how you focused more on the athletic aspects of the story since diving is a huge part of the story since the author did not fully describe the details of how Taoyu left his career behind.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! It was really cool to see an ending to this story where Taoyu continues diving and I think it gives readers a much more satisfactory feeling, rather than the original story which feels more empty in its ending. You did a great job of describing how its not that Taoyu didn't still feel pain, but he was able to continue to be happy even though he could never be with Hai, but still have him in his life. Good Job!
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