The Road of Filth | Teen Ink

The Road of Filth

November 3, 2023
By Anonymous

I drove to my castle of dirt, the car curving onto the driveway of plastic waste leading up to it. The builders were shoveling yet more filth onto the castle, trying their best to fix the slowly collapsing garage. I made sure not to notice them though, as I filled a glass with water from the well to cool myself down, entertaining myself by watching the workers outside shovel the highest quality sod and humus onto the roof. After I finished my glass of water, I remembered I had to get food. I reentered the garage, once again doing the best I could to avoid catching a glimpse of the orange and yellow hi-vis jackets sported by all the workers, only pausing to attempt to trip a worker with my foot.


I pulled my car out of the curved driveway onto the clean paved road, a stark contrast from the uneven and bumpy driveway which I just pulled my car off of. The drive to the grocery store was normal. I could see the smaller wood and brick houses that contrasted so drastically with my manor of sod. I pulled into the small grocery store parking lot, and saw an employee getting handed a glass of lemonade on shift. The sight confused me, but I went in the store anyway. I tried to avoid the gaze of the lady at the counter as I left the store, only bringing my eyes up for a short moment to pay. My gaze flickered for a moment. For a moment, my eyes settled at the grocery bagger, no different from any common plebeian. I quickly looked down again, refusing to acknowledge the being in front of me.


The author's comments:

This story is about using symbolism to mock one-dimensional materialism at the cost of humanity. The castle of dirt represents the desire to attain yet more wealth or in this case, increase house size, yet the character still lives in a dirt house and lacks empathy for the others around him, believing it is a weakness. The piece takes the absurd elements from Kurt Vonnegut’s writing and combines it with the ordinary events written by Raymond Carver, which reflect on past regrets.


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