Trifle

This story was very good. It showed how women tend to be looked down upon in the old days. I feel as though this story has a good message. We should never underestimate anyone because they may be very useful. I enjoyed the story and enjoyed the discussion.

A Rose For Emily

I don't understand why so many of my blogs where deleted...i remember doing this but alright. I remember not enjoying this story. I felt as if it didn't really draw me in and excite me to finish it. I remember feeling like this was one of the worst things we read this year and I just simply didn't enjoy it. However, the story showed setting very well so I understand why its in there.

The Lady with the Dog

This story wasn't saved on my blog site earlier and i am redoing it. I remember enjoying this stoyr because it seemed to have a very vivid setting. To me setting is one of the most important aspects of a story and it truly sets the tone for the story. This story was really well written and I loved reading it.

To His Coy Mistress

I enjoyed this poem a lot. I believe it was talking about purity and how it plays role in out lives. The line "the long preserved virginity" speaks of a part of purity in this woman's life. It shows that her beauty comes from this innocence and purity. I really enjoyed this poem although it wa shard to understand the first read through.

Death be not proud

I think that this poem was very good. I liked it alot and thought the message I got out of it was good. The message seemed to be about the horrors of war. It talks about sending good men in a living it up to chance wither they live or die. At the end I cont understand what it means by and death shall be no more, death, thou shalt die.

papa's waltz

I enjoyed the poem My Papa's Waltz. I thought that the lines we romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf was worded very interestingly. At first i thought this had nothing to do with what the poem was saying. Then i understood that it meant that they had lots of energy and duration. It shows that this family is very intense. At least I believe its a family. I was a little o=confused about what the ending implies and I think it might have an implication towards sex....btw professor I was sick today and that is also the reason why this is so late.

A Street Car Named Desire

I personally like the story and the movie. However, the difference between the written script and the movie bothers me. When I read the story I had a hard time understanding where people were and what they we doing. Also, the voices chosen for the movie I would never I have been able to pick. I personally think that plays were meant to be seen and not simply read. I feel as though the story was compelling enough to keep me interested in the story but the style of play writing is a little dry to me. I feel as though the movie kept me compelled and allowed the story to show its true color. I feel as though the story also has a interesting angle. I personally don't know who to sympathize with. I thought that Stan was a bad man at first however he finds out about Blanche. Also, I thought Blanche was good but it turns out she has a dark past. So I like how the story keeps the reader confused and makes them keep guessing. Also I wasn in class today because I was sick sorry...i will email you the paper.

In the Lake of the Woods

This story was written by Tim O'Brien in 1994. The story starts off with a man named John. His childhood was frequently interrupted by an abusive father. His father commits suicide and even though he was an abusive father it hurt John very much. He finds this girl Kathy in college and they "fall in love." He spies on her which she knows and she cheats on him. He is then sent to Vietnam. He keeps in contact with her however he participates in a slaughter of a village which he keeps a secret. He then tries to go for the Senate. He losses in a landslide and retreats with is wife to a cottage in the woods. His Nam memories haunt him and they boil to the surface. In his mind on night he takes boiling water and pours them on a plant saying "kill Jesus." The next day she is gone and so is the boat. A search ensues which he does not take part in which draws suspicion towards him. At the end his friend Claude helps him prepare a boat which he takes out north of the lake.

The story ends with no actual ending which is a very interesting choice. I believe that he killed his wife by pouring the water down her throat and then hiding the body in the boat. He then would use rocks to make the boat sink. He seems to be suffering from schizophrenia. His alter ego is the sorcerer. He also his haunted by his past memories of the village and his fathers suicide. The setting also plays a role in this story. Minnesota is a isolated place that is a desired emotion to escape the failed election that John suffers. The American political environment tears the relationship apart which i believe sends John over the edge. Kathy is happy because she can spend more time with John. They move to the cottage to repair their relationship however it seems they have gone in different directions. I think that this story ends in a man who has gone crazy due to mental illness/his past and kills his wife. He then flees into the wild where he can be alone and in his own mind. Although, I also thought that this could have been his last "magic trick". He could have made her disappear and wait until the search dies down. Then flee himself so they can be alone together. Those are my only two theory's.

The Hunger Artist

Ok I have no idea why this blog was deleted but it was so iam going to do it again. The story is about a man who starves himself for art. He does it for fame and glory. However, towards the end the people become bored with him and leave. He keeps starving himself anyways. I see symbolism in his actions and his settings. He doesn't want to give up his pasion and spirit. These things were symbolized in his act of starving. The cage can represent anything from security to the fact that he is traped by fame. The panther represents a new joy and something that is strong. This animal was moved into the cage after his death and it shows that life has moved on. People want the next best thing in fame.

Goodman Brown

This story has some symbolism. The old man who is walking with Brown represents his soul in my opinion. The old man at first is his evil side and his his darker thoughts. However, when he throws the staff and it turns into a snake that is a reference to the Bible. Moses Throws his staff to free his people. This is supposed to show that he is freeing his mind and his soul. His wife represents his god side. She is the best thing to happen to him but he sees he doing a witch ritual. He could have been dreaming but he is sure it was real. In the end he dies a miserable man because of this scene.

The Jewelry

This story shows a man greatly in love with his wife. However, one day she dies. The man is overcome with grief and tries to sell her "fake" jewelry. However, they are worth a lot. AT first he is ashamed because she was having an affair and getting the jewelry as gifts. However, he gets the money and acts like he is happy. However, this become ironic because he remarries a few months later and is miserable. All the riches in the world couldn't make him happy. She made him happy. She was happy about the jewelry but she enjoyed it with him (ex. when she put the necklace on him.)

The Cask of Amontillado

This story is about a man who is seeking revenge. He entombs this man in a underground catacomb. However, at the end it is said that he feels sick (his heart). This shows Irony because he should be happy about completing his murder. When then throws the torch in the tomb and he hears the bells jingle. He was trying to mock his victim but he doesn't get what he wants. What he thinks is going to happen doesn't and that in its self is irony.

Recitatif

This story has some very deep characterization. The two main characters Twlya and Roberta have very rounded personalities. They both come from different abusive parents. Twlya's mother is an immature parent who only cares about herself and isn't very thoughtful about her child. This makes Twlya very annoyed when she visits showing a maturity in this young girl. Twlya mother is also a racist so she is a confused girl until she meets her roommate. Roberta comes from a bible lover mother who is not very nice. She also isn't very thoughtful about what her child likes to eat and we see this when she brings chicken. This makes Roberta a very nice girl who is very picky about the food she eats. Later on they share old times and experianced hardships together. They also move in on with their lives and get married/have kids. The older girls at the shelter were simple characters. They were the older girls who were bullys. The other kids didn't play much of a role in the story but they also were flat characters in that they only didn't like the girls because they still had parents.

Araby

This story is a about love and how it can destroy us. The boy goes to the bazaar for this one girl he loves. I think that the story has good characterization. The father has a flat personality which his trait is one of forgetful and not caring. His girl is also one flat character. She is the perfect girl that never notices you. However, the main character is a one. He is in love with the one girl but at the end he is very mad at himself. He feels as though he is allowing himself to be fooled into doing all these things for this girl. Like when he is simply being nice to the lady at the store by looking at her jars with interest. The girl is doing the same thing to this boy. Also the lady at the store is another flat character. She is a person who is cheerful because she has to be for work...a hard working person is her personality trait.

The Owl Creek bridge

This story starts off with this man who is being hung for trying to burn a bridge. He is for the south and federal troops are hanging him. He is a plantation owner and a gentleman. However, as they hang him he gets this hallucination. He believes that he breaks free and swims down the river. He dodges bullets and runs all the way back home across the lines where he is still safe. However, at the end of the story it says that he is dead. His last moment was just a dream and the last thing he thought of was his home. This story shows the struggle of life and death and how his great escape was only a dream. He saw the end of life and only could think of the life he so badly wanted to keep.

Girl

Plot is a series of events that happen in a narrative. This story seems to be going from one piece of advice to another. It seems to be a story that puts fear into this girl. The person saying all these things calls her a slut to say she should not do this. Basically this story is a series of advice that is putting a girl in her place. How she is supposed to act and such. The advice seems to put the girl down and harm her sense of equality.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

This story takes place with this family going on a trip in the car. They are leaving Tennessee and going through Georgia. Now this is important because they are natives to these states. However, the kids say it sucks. This I believe shows the difference between the old days and the new ones pushing in. I think this story is trying to show how the old makes way for the new in a grudging way. I point of View is 3rd person Objective. I didn't like this story as much but my second read through made me like it a lot more.

Hills Like White Elelphants

This story was about a woman who is pregnant. An American man is trying to convince her to have an abortion. She doesn't want to have one and shows a lot of stress in the decision making. The point of view is from a 3rd person point of view objective. At the end she says "I feel fine...There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine." To me she seems to not be fine. She repeated the iam fine part and this isn't an easy situation. I think the story was very good and had interesting points on how your life can change in a blink of the eye.

The story of an Hour

My first read through the story was very interesting. I was having a hard time understanding what happened to this woman and if she died from a heart attack or joy. At first I thought it was a heart attack. However, reading this story a second time I believe that she died from joy. She didn't die from the joy of her husband being dead but from the joy of being free. She could finally rest and be herself. She might also be happy that she will see him in the after life. I had a hard time choosing which one i liked so i just chose both for the theme.