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The Balloon
Short Story
6 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1966
119 people want to read
About the author
Donald Barthelme
158 books768 followers
Unspeakable Practices, Unnatural Acts
(1968) apparently collects sometimes surrealistic stories of modern life of American writer Donald Barthelme.
A student at the University of Pennsylvania bore Donald Barthelme. Two years later, in 1933, the family moved to Texas, where father of Barthelme served as a professor of architecture at the University of Houston, where Barthelme later majored in journalism.
In 1951, this still student composed his first articles for the Houston Post. The Army drafted Barthelme, who arrived in Korea on 27 July 1953, the very day, when parties signed the ceasefire, ending the war. He served briefly as the editor of a newspaper of Army before returning to the United States and his job at the Houston Post. Once back, he continued his studies of philosophy at the University of Houston. He continued to take classes until 1957 but never received a degree. He spent much of his free time in “black” jazz clubs of Houston and listened to musical innovators, such as Lionel Hampton and Peck Kelly; this experience influenced him later.
Barthelme, a rebellious son, struggled in his relationship with his demanding father. In later years, they tremendously argued about the kinds of literature that interested Barthelme. His avant-garde father in art and aesthetics in many ways approved not the postmodern and deconstruction schools. The Dead Father and The King , the novels, delineate attitude of Barthelme toward his father as King Arthur and Lancelot, the characters, picture him. From the Roman Catholicism of his especially devout mother, Barthelme independently moved away, but this separation as the distance with his father troubled Barthelme. He ably agreed to strictures of his seemingly much closer mother.
Barthelme went to teach for brief periods at Boston University and at University at Buffalo, and he at the college of the City of New York served as distinguished visiting professor from 1974-1975. He married four times. Helen Barthelme, his second wife, later entitled a biography Donald Barthelme: The Genesis of a Cool Sound , published in 2001. With Birgit Barthelme, his third wife and a Dane, he fathered Anne Barthelme, his first child, a daughter. He married Marion Barthelme near the end and fathered Kate Barthelme, his second daughter. Marion and Donald wed until his death from throat cancer. People respect fiction of Frederick Barthelme and Steven Barthelme, brothers of Donald Barthelme and also teachers at The University of Southern Mississippi.
A student at the University of Pennsylvania bore Donald Barthelme. Two years later, in 1933, the family moved to Texas, where father of Barthelme served as a professor of architecture at the University of Houston, where Barthelme later majored in journalism.
In 1951, this still student composed his first articles for the Houston Post. The Army drafted Barthelme, who arrived in Korea on 27 July 1953, the very day, when parties signed the ceasefire, ending the war. He served briefly as the editor of a newspaper of Army before returning to the United States and his job at the Houston Post. Once back, he continued his studies of philosophy at the University of Houston. He continued to take classes until 1957 but never received a degree. He spent much of his free time in “black” jazz clubs of Houston and listened to musical innovators, such as Lionel Hampton and Peck Kelly; this experience influenced him later.
Barthelme, a rebellious son, struggled in his relationship with his demanding father. In later years, they tremendously argued about the kinds of literature that interested Barthelme. His avant-garde father in art and aesthetics in many ways approved not the postmodern and deconstruction schools. The Dead Father and The King , the novels, delineate attitude of Barthelme toward his father as King Arthur and Lancelot, the characters, picture him. From the Roman Catholicism of his especially devout mother, Barthelme independently moved away, but this separation as the distance with his father troubled Barthelme. He ably agreed to strictures of his seemingly much closer mother.
Barthelme went to teach for brief periods at Boston University and at University at Buffalo, and he at the college of the City of New York served as distinguished visiting professor from 1974-1975. He married four times. Helen Barthelme, his second wife, later entitled a biography Donald Barthelme: The Genesis of a Cool Sound , published in 2001. With Birgit Barthelme, his third wife and a Dane, he fathered Anne Barthelme, his first child, a daughter. He married Marion Barthelme near the end and fathered Kate Barthelme, his second daughter. Marion and Donald wed until his death from throat cancer. People respect fiction of Frederick Barthelme and Steven Barthelme, brothers of Donald Barthelme and also teachers at The University of Southern Mississippi.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 29, 2021
A memorable postmodern, metafictional snapper straight from the outrageous imagination of Donald Barthelme. I love the delicacy and lyricism of The Balloon, a story with such a special beauty it deserves a review on its own. Thus my write-up here.
Postmodern, lyrical and light, as light as a very large feather our tale begins with a narrator telling us he engineered a balloon expanding twenty city blocks north to south over buildings, from Fourteenth Street all the way up to Central Park. With such a whimsical happening, we are a world away from Hemingway’s old man sitting in the shadow of a café. In an interview, Donald Barthelme recounts when he first began writing, he wrote Hemingway-like stories but could see his efforts were awful and how his writer's voice needed to develop in a radically different direction.
This giant balloon is mostly muted grays and browns contrasted with walnut and soft yellows giving the surface a rough, forgotten quality and anchored by sliding weights on the inside. In his own creative writing, Barthelme was not so much influenced by other writers as by Abstract Expressionist painters like Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollack, Willem de Kooning and Dadaist Collage Artists like Marcel Duchamp and Jean Arp.
Mark Rothko - Work in Gray and Brown
If I squint, I can even see these Rothko colors turning into Barthelme's balloon!
“There was a certain amount of initial argumentation about the “meaning” of the balloon; this subsided because we have learned not to insist on meaning, and they are rarely even looked for now, except in cases involving the simplest, safest phenomenon.”
In many ways, this letting go of the search for hidden meaning is the shared fate of those Abstract Expressionist paintings. However, perhaps ironically, the search for the meaning in works of fiction, both modern and postmodern, continues apace, including meaning in Donald Barthelme’s short fiction.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but what is the purpose? Such is the prime question forever posed in America, land of the pragmatist, the land where the only things really worth anybody’s time are those which have a useful function and, even better, make money. Thus, initially, the apparent purposelessness of the balloon proved vexing for all the hardheaded city officers and municipal officials. Sure, kids can run, jump, slide and bounce on the thing but why the hell is it there in the first place? But since the balloon could be neither removed nor destroyed (one night, in secret, city officials tried but failed) and a public warmth arose for the balloon from the ordinary citizen, the balloon became a city landmark.
Of course, occupying such a prominent position in the city, people began using various aspects of the balloon in many different ways: civic pride, sheer visual pleasure, enrich their metaphors, metaphysical speculation and, most frequently, as a point of reference to locate themselves, for example: “I’ll be at that place where it dips down into Forty-seventh Street almost to the sidewalk, near the Alamo Chile House.”
Here's a quote from Jacques Derrida’s The Truth of Painting: “Aesthetic judgment must properly bear upon intrinsic beauty, not on finery and surrounds. Hence one must know – this is a fundamental presupposition, presupposing what is fundamental – how to determine the intrinsic – what is framed – and know what one is excluding as frame and outside-the-frame.” And since the balloon is certainly a work of art, what would Jacques have to say about this public artwork stretching over half of mid-town Manhattan, a balloon with no hard edges, where what is inside or outside-the-frame is not clearly limited or defined?
French deconstructionist philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy chimes in this conversation when he states: “Construction and deconstruction are closely interconnected with one another. What is constructed according to a logic of ends and means is deconstructed when it comes into contact with the outermost edge.” Eventually, though, the outermost edge for the balloon could be clearly defined after twenty-two days: the flexible, undefined, mostly unlimited balloon became depleted fabric, trucked away to be stored in West Virginia, awaiting some other time when it can make its return to be reconstructed to deconstruct all the hard edges of city life.
"It was agreed that since the meaning of the balloon could never be known absolutely, extended discussion was pointless, or at least less purposeful than the activities of those who, for example, hung green and blue paper lanterns from the warm gray underside, in certain streets, or seized the occasion to write messages on the surface, announcing their availability for the performance of unnatural acts, or the availability of acquaintances.”
― Donald Barthelme, The Balloon
The Balloon is part of Donald Barthelme's collection, Sixty Stories. Also, his collection, Unspeakable Practices, Unnatural Acts. And, also, can be located via a Google search.
April 16, 2019
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
short, but amazingly memorable.
short, but amazingly memorable.
Read
February 17, 20236 pgs de relato para mi clase de Literatura Inglesa de la uni! :)
July 18, 2017
A cute little whimsical short story about authorial intention, and the purpose and meaning of art. As a giant balloon comes to exist in a city numerous people have different interactions with this mystical balloon, all of which reflect different attitudes to art.
I found this adorable, although I do get frustrated when people have conceptions of art that are different to mine, and this is one of those times. This was a gentle and almost convincing glimpse into another person's opinion.
Also I just really love the balloon as a choice of metaphor (or I suppose this could be seen as a literal art piece within a piece of fiction as well), it just brings such, sorry for repeating myself, soft whimsy to something that could otherwise be made into something complicated and dense.
"As a single balloon must stand for a lifetime of thinking about balloons, so each citizen expressed, in the attitude he chose, a complex of attitudes."
I found this adorable, although I do get frustrated when people have conceptions of art that are different to mine, and this is one of those times. This was a gentle and almost convincing glimpse into another person's opinion.
Also I just really love the balloon as a choice of metaphor (or I suppose this could be seen as a literal art piece within a piece of fiction as well), it just brings such, sorry for repeating myself, soft whimsy to something that could otherwise be made into something complicated and dense.
"As a single balloon must stand for a lifetime of thinking about balloons, so each citizen expressed, in the attitude he chose, a complex of attitudes."
May 25, 2020
Very interesting short story.
November 23, 2021
Really painful to read.. 1.5
July 21, 2022
Couldn’t get a grasp on The Balloon and I was too cool for The School. Got a feeling this author is not for me.
April 2, 2018
a critique on modern art, a proposal for a performance piece, a nod to Calvino's "Distance to the Moon", and a semi sweet love story all walk into a bar...
October 30, 2021
A masterclass in how to stretch a metaphor to breaking point and beyond. In most hands it would probably read like a slightly cringeworthy creative writing assignment. In Barthelme's it's absolutely compelling.
March 30, 2017
Beautifully written but entirely confusing.
December 10, 2019
inspire me DFW
February 14, 2020
A Matter of Perspective: A review based on Postmodernism theory.
"The Balloon" is an allegorical story that embodies people's natural reactions to the productions of nature or humans. Anything new or different in any field throw out history that encounters people becomes controversial. The perspectives of people differ from one person to another. People try to support this new object, go against it or just take a neutral stance. In this story, this object is the story itself. It presents the various angles of observing the story. Thinking about these various angles gives readers an opportunity to have a wider and clearer understanding of the concept of observing an object.
Those who support the existence of the balloon simulate open-minded people. They accept the new trends and movements they see. They consider change a natural element of life. They also try to make the most use of these new movements and trends. Readers can see that in the children's playing around the balloon and in the speech of those people who started mentioning parts of it to tell others about their places. They don't care about its meaning or purpose as long as they are benefiting from it. In this story the benefits may be the ecstasy of reading such a story or the opening of a new door of writing for young writers to imitate this style of writing.
On the contrary, those who started questioning the balloon's existence and couldn't understand its formation and meaning initiated a kind of hostility toward it. They simulate those who are conventional. They refuse accepting any kind of change related to traditions. Man is an enemy of what he is ignorant about. Leaving what he got used to creates a huge problem for him. That's why he stands against change. Readers can see that in authorities' attempts to destroy the balloon. Critics didn't like this form of writing at the beginning and tried to demolish it but they couldn't' due to people's admiration and appreciation of it which made it more acceptable and common.
The revelation of the real purpose of the existence of the balloon makes it clear that no final answers can be reached when questioning it. It's very subjective and personal. It makes those who chose to be neutral justified. No need to think about the whole issue at all because it could be anything. This subjectivity is the core of this writing style. The story tells readers that it doesn't care about what all people think. It has its own intentions. The girl in the story maybe simulates writing, and the meeting that's mentioned at the end of the story is a moment of reconciliation between the speaker and writing in general after a period of dispute. Since he mentioned that he had a sexual deprivation, it's reasonable to say that this story is the result of that meeting/mating and reconciliation, metaphorically speaking.
Relativity is overwhelming in this story. "The Balloon" is full of different perspectives and attitudes. It simulates the only fixed thing in the nature of humans which is change. Differences are what make people unique. Therefore, it's sensible to acknowledge the right of writers to write in any way they like. And the variance of reactions will always exist.
"The Balloon" is an allegorical story that embodies people's natural reactions to the productions of nature or humans. Anything new or different in any field throw out history that encounters people becomes controversial. The perspectives of people differ from one person to another. People try to support this new object, go against it or just take a neutral stance. In this story, this object is the story itself. It presents the various angles of observing the story. Thinking about these various angles gives readers an opportunity to have a wider and clearer understanding of the concept of observing an object.
Those who support the existence of the balloon simulate open-minded people. They accept the new trends and movements they see. They consider change a natural element of life. They also try to make the most use of these new movements and trends. Readers can see that in the children's playing around the balloon and in the speech of those people who started mentioning parts of it to tell others about their places. They don't care about its meaning or purpose as long as they are benefiting from it. In this story the benefits may be the ecstasy of reading such a story or the opening of a new door of writing for young writers to imitate this style of writing.
On the contrary, those who started questioning the balloon's existence and couldn't understand its formation and meaning initiated a kind of hostility toward it. They simulate those who are conventional. They refuse accepting any kind of change related to traditions. Man is an enemy of what he is ignorant about. Leaving what he got used to creates a huge problem for him. That's why he stands against change. Readers can see that in authorities' attempts to destroy the balloon. Critics didn't like this form of writing at the beginning and tried to demolish it but they couldn't' due to people's admiration and appreciation of it which made it more acceptable and common.
The revelation of the real purpose of the existence of the balloon makes it clear that no final answers can be reached when questioning it. It's very subjective and personal. It makes those who chose to be neutral justified. No need to think about the whole issue at all because it could be anything. This subjectivity is the core of this writing style. The story tells readers that it doesn't care about what all people think. It has its own intentions. The girl in the story maybe simulates writing, and the meeting that's mentioned at the end of the story is a moment of reconciliation between the speaker and writing in general after a period of dispute. Since he mentioned that he had a sexual deprivation, it's reasonable to say that this story is the result of that meeting/mating and reconciliation, metaphorically speaking.
Relativity is overwhelming in this story. "The Balloon" is full of different perspectives and attitudes. It simulates the only fixed thing in the nature of humans which is change. Differences are what make people unique. Therefore, it's sensible to acknowledge the right of writers to write in any way they like. And the variance of reactions will always exist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2025
The narrative of this most interesting short-fiction centers on an enigmatic, massive balloon that swiftly appears, spanning across much of Manhattan. Its purpose, source, and meaning are purposefully indistinct. The narrator, who claims responsibility for inflating the balloon, offers a number of observations on how people interact with and interpret it. Some find it playful and joyous, while others are irritated or bewildered. Rather than offering a straightforward explanation, the narrator suggests that the balloon is a subjective experience, open to individual interpretation. Toward the conclusion, it is revealed that the balloon serves as an expression of the narrator’s private feelings—specifically, their sorrow and longing, during a leave-taking from a loved one. This revelation does not completely resolve the ambiguity, instead reinforcing the story's refrains of subjectivity and the indescribable nature of ‘meaning’. The balloon acts out as an allegory for art or phenomena that induce unalike responses based on individual perception. The author dares the notion of conclusive interpretation, suggesting that meaning is liquid and individual. The story captures the fragmented, multifaceted experience of life in a modern city, where public and private spaces intersect. The balloon, like art, is a physical manifestation of an internal emotional state, inviting the audience to find their own meaning. The use of prose is playful and non-linear, reflecting his postmodern approach. The lack of a traditional plot or resolution encourages readers to focus on the experience of the story itself rather than searching for concrete answers. To conclude, this most classic example of postmodern literature is a must-read, basically owing to its surreal tone, disjointed narrative, and examination of vagueness.
November 9, 2025
Esa angustia posmoderna hecha objeto, cotidiano y mágico. Todo se hincha y tú esperando a que estalle.
"The balloon, for the twenty-two days of its existence, offered the possibility, in its randomness, of mislocation of the self, in contradistinction to the grid of precise, rectangular pathways under our feet. [...] I met you under the balloon, on the occasion of your return from Norway; you asked if it was mine, I said it was. The balloon, I said, is a spontaneous autobiographical disclosure, having to do with the unease I felt at your absence, and with sexual deprivation, but now that your visit to Bergen has been terminated, it is no longer necessary or appropriate. Removal of the balloon was easy; trailer trucks carried away the depleted fabric, which is now stored in West Virginia, awaiting some other time of unhappiness, some time, perhaps, when we are angry with one another."
"The balloon, for the twenty-two days of its existence, offered the possibility, in its randomness, of mislocation of the self, in contradistinction to the grid of precise, rectangular pathways under our feet. [...] I met you under the balloon, on the occasion of your return from Norway; you asked if it was mine, I said it was. The balloon, I said, is a spontaneous autobiographical disclosure, having to do with the unease I felt at your absence, and with sexual deprivation, but now that your visit to Bergen has been terminated, it is no longer necessary or appropriate. Removal of the balloon was easy; trailer trucks carried away the depleted fabric, which is now stored in West Virginia, awaiting some other time of unhappiness, some time, perhaps, when we are angry with one another."
September 20, 2018
What is the Balloon, why is it here? What does it mean and what is its purpose? I like the Balloon, I hate the balloon, this Balloon is illegal and cannot be here? The Balloon is art and made for people to see and enjoy and wonder upon. The Balloon does and is all of these things, and is the result of what, a trivial fight between two people?
The story is simple, yet brings the mind across all manners of thinking and wondering. How would I react if it was to happen to me? What if? How? Is it all so much more?
The audience thinks about the Balloon.
The story is simple, yet brings the mind across all manners of thinking and wondering. How would I react if it was to happen to me? What if? How? Is it all so much more?
The audience thinks about the Balloon.
March 31, 2019
American Literature II is a class that I am currently taking. During this class we are required to read novels, poems, and short stories that we might not have ever read otherwise. Some are good and some are bad; however, all are legendary and useful for the overall growth of literature everywhere.
December 29, 2020
I must confess it took me atleast 3 readings to actually figure out what the balloon means to me.
The whole piece is a metaphor and I always imagined for a metaphor to be a part of a sentence, and to read a metaphor was an adventure in itself♡
I'd gladly recommend this short 6 page art to anybody wondering how art can be for different people♡
The whole piece is a metaphor and I always imagined for a metaphor to be a part of a sentence, and to read a metaphor was an adventure in itself♡
I'd gladly recommend this short 6 page art to anybody wondering how art can be for different people♡
March 29, 2022
A curious story about the creation of a gigantic balloon filling New York City. The eccentric narrator speculates about how residents react to the balloon. I didn’t see any real meaning to this tale, and I found it a little too bizarre to be funny.
October 19, 2025
I am enamored by this meta fiction short story. The theme appears in many of the literary works I have ever encountered. The main character of the story suffers from his solitary life and creates an imaginary world or an object to escape from reality, to fill that emptiness.
Read
December 9, 2020i have no idea what this is
October 16, 2021
the ending is the best part (why the balloon is there!!), but besides that, it was too easy to get distracted from the story. too many details maybe
December 14, 2022
Perfeito.
Read
April 25, 2023Reading for university.
December 7, 2025
the most annoying man you know has done something obnoxious again (put a balloon that's engulfing entire city blocks as a metaphor)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2025
Didn’t like this (was 2 stars) until we talked about it in class. Now I think it’s hysterical (as in funny)
May 28, 2022
so cute exploring the meaning of art <3 it means everything to someone, nothing to another, and hatred to somebody else… but at the end of the day it gives us direction! “the intersection was crucial”
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews