My least favorite story was "Girl" because it is just one long sentence and just describes how a girl should do things to become a woman, or makes a woman a woman by her tasks. It just describes tasks, it really isn't a story at all, at least in my opinion.
My favorite story this semester was "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" because it is so relevant. It might have been written a long time ago, but it still has a lot of relevance to today's time and to the future. There will always be that story to tell in any relationship no matter the time or place.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Discussion Questions
"The Man Who Was Almost a Man" Discussion Questions
To Dave owning and shooting a gun is what he considers manhood. He thinks that now that he is 17, he should ask his mom for his own gun so that that he become a man. We only see the view of Dave, we don't really see into anyone else. We don't get into the perspective of anyone else, but the narrator just shows the viewpoint of Dave but doesn't get into his mind and thoughts. The switches between the narrator and all the other characters make this story difficult to read because the narrator speaks "proper" English while the other characters speak broken English and makes it hard to read without having to go back and reread sentences at a time.
In his future, I think that he is just going to take a long journey until he can find something else to do in a town or place that no one knows who he is. He would keep all his money and be on his own instead of being with his family and having to repay for the mule he accidentally killed.
To Dave owning and shooting a gun is what he considers manhood. He thinks that now that he is 17, he should ask his mom for his own gun so that that he become a man. We only see the view of Dave, we don't really see into anyone else. We don't get into the perspective of anyone else, but the narrator just shows the viewpoint of Dave but doesn't get into his mind and thoughts. The switches between the narrator and all the other characters make this story difficult to read because the narrator speaks "proper" English while the other characters speak broken English and makes it hard to read without having to go back and reread sentences at a time.
In his future, I think that he is just going to take a long journey until he can find something else to do in a town or place that no one knows who he is. He would keep all his money and be on his own instead of being with his family and having to repay for the mule he accidentally killed.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Discussion Questions
"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" Discussion Questions
The priest is there at the end of the story to give Granny Weatherall her last rites, which is done in Catholicism right before the death of someone of Catholic faith. The use of first person shows what is going through her mind of her last day and minutes because of her flashbacks and what she is thinking. We are missing a stable part of the story though because with the flashbacks, although they add more depth to the story, also makes it confusing to understand and read.
"A Worn Path" Discussion Questions
Racism wasn't really in my head in any of the story until I read up on the story. When we look back at the characters we realize the way they act to Phoenix makes sense on how someone would act to an older black lady in the time the story was written in. Although they are somewhat nice to her, they do kind of look down at her.
The priest is there at the end of the story to give Granny Weatherall her last rites, which is done in Catholicism right before the death of someone of Catholic faith. The use of first person shows what is going through her mind of her last day and minutes because of her flashbacks and what she is thinking. We are missing a stable part of the story though because with the flashbacks, although they add more depth to the story, also makes it confusing to understand and read.
"A Worn Path" Discussion Questions
Racism wasn't really in my head in any of the story until I read up on the story. When we look back at the characters we realize the way they act to Phoenix makes sense on how someone would act to an older black lady in the time the story was written in. Although they are somewhat nice to her, they do kind of look down at her.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Discussion Questions
A Spinster's Tale Discussion Questions
There are lots of conflicts inside this story, there is man vs. man and man vs. self. Man vs. man is Elizabeth vs her brother and her father. She has a conflict with herself because she is just conflicted on what is going on and what is right in her head. Elizabeth is scared of her brother because of his drinking problem and how he is when he comes home at night after a night drinking.
Her mother's death affects a lot of things in her future and in her flashback story. She misses her mother and remembers the way she use to hold her against her and uses that as an escape from her family. When she enters back to remember her brother and father she seems to have a underlying hate towards them and misunderstanding of why and just doesn't get why she is treated the way she is and why they say the things they do. In her future she ends up single and unmarried, which shows that her father's treatment affected her in the future.
There are lots of conflicts inside this story, there is man vs. man and man vs. self. Man vs. man is Elizabeth vs her brother and her father. She has a conflict with herself because she is just conflicted on what is going on and what is right in her head. Elizabeth is scared of her brother because of his drinking problem and how he is when he comes home at night after a night drinking.
Her mother's death affects a lot of things in her future and in her flashback story. She misses her mother and remembers the way she use to hold her against her and uses that as an escape from her family. When she enters back to remember her brother and father she seems to have a underlying hate towards them and misunderstanding of why and just doesn't get why she is treated the way she is and why they say the things they do. In her future she ends up single and unmarried, which shows that her father's treatment affected her in the future.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Discussion Questions
"The Lady with the Dog" Discussion Questions
From the very beginning, Dmitry was an untrustworthy character. I guess he was set up to be known as a guy who would cheat on his wife but that makes him untrustworthy throughout the entire story. His character doesn't really change at all, besides the fact that he falls in love with Anna, which seems uncharacteristic of him.
At first Anna isn't fine with the affair, she is scared of the results and that he will soon not respect her for who she is. But in the end of the story, she wants a way to be with him and to be "happy" with him in their new life where they would be together and not have to sneak away to see one another.
Anna's house seems to represent her prison that she is living in. Her fence is described, to me, as a prison bar, where there are spikes on top of the poles and just surrounding the entire house. My imagination leads me to believe that it is meant to place Anna as a prisoner inside her own house. The house also seems to be gloomy, where everything thing else described is almost happy and/or quiet, her house is just something you wouldn't want to look at besides the fact that it is apparently in a very nice neighborhood.
From the very beginning, Dmitry was an untrustworthy character. I guess he was set up to be known as a guy who would cheat on his wife but that makes him untrustworthy throughout the entire story. His character doesn't really change at all, besides the fact that he falls in love with Anna, which seems uncharacteristic of him.
At first Anna isn't fine with the affair, she is scared of the results and that he will soon not respect her for who she is. But in the end of the story, she wants a way to be with him and to be "happy" with him in their new life where they would be together and not have to sneak away to see one another.
Anna's house seems to represent her prison that she is living in. Her fence is described, to me, as a prison bar, where there are spikes on top of the poles and just surrounding the entire house. My imagination leads me to believe that it is meant to place Anna as a prisoner inside her own house. The house also seems to be gloomy, where everything thing else described is almost happy and/or quiet, her house is just something you wouldn't want to look at besides the fact that it is apparently in a very nice neighborhood.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Discussion Questions
"The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" Discussion Questions
At the very end of the story, the author uses dramatic irony to show that he, Michael, does look at his wife and thinks about her as he does the other girls that he sees walking down the street.
Having this story set in NYC lets everyone imagine how New York is, and how busy the streets are and how they are filled with people just walking up and down the street. By having that visual you can imagine how Michael is just looking at different types of women and just checking them out as they walk by. If the author were to change cities to something not as busy or not known, it wouldn't really make sense to the reader, but having it in a major well known city makes it recognizable.
"The Chrysanthemums" Discussion Questions
I think that the fixer character can't really be trusted because the entire time when he was talking to Elisa I got the feeling that he wasn't really paying attention but just agreeing with her so that she would give him the pot of flowers and then some pots and pans to fix for money. Maybe he wasn't in need of the money but made it seem like he was, or maybe he really did need the money, but at times it just seemed like he was playing her to see what he could get out of her.
Elisa seems to see something different in him, not necessarily flirting with him, but just see's a different type of guy that she's not use to being around. She also see's a different type of lifestyle in him, instead of living on the ranch, he moves around from place to place all year. So its not that she's flirting, its just nice to see a different point of view of life.
At the very end of the story, the author uses dramatic irony to show that he, Michael, does look at his wife and thinks about her as he does the other girls that he sees walking down the street.
Having this story set in NYC lets everyone imagine how New York is, and how busy the streets are and how they are filled with people just walking up and down the street. By having that visual you can imagine how Michael is just looking at different types of women and just checking them out as they walk by. If the author were to change cities to something not as busy or not known, it wouldn't really make sense to the reader, but having it in a major well known city makes it recognizable.
"The Chrysanthemums" Discussion Questions
I think that the fixer character can't really be trusted because the entire time when he was talking to Elisa I got the feeling that he wasn't really paying attention but just agreeing with her so that she would give him the pot of flowers and then some pots and pans to fix for money. Maybe he wasn't in need of the money but made it seem like he was, or maybe he really did need the money, but at times it just seemed like he was playing her to see what he could get out of her.
Elisa seems to see something different in him, not necessarily flirting with him, but just see's a different type of guy that she's not use to being around. She also see's a different type of lifestyle in him, instead of living on the ranch, he moves around from place to place all year. So its not that she's flirting, its just nice to see a different point of view of life.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Discussion Questions
"Everything that Rises Must Converge" Discussion Questions
I feel like the title has to do with several factors of the story, generally I think it deals with the times that are changing. Julian mentions that his mother needs to change because it isn't the good life she was use to anymore, they were poor and didn't have the wealth she use to have. She also wasn't use to the fact that there were no more slaves, that had been the rise in her life because her family was very well off when they had slaves. I think for Julian's perspective, the title means that even though he doesn't show his love for his mother, he does at the end but by then he was too mean to her and felt extremely bad for it all.
I felt sympathetic for both Julian and his mothers characters, but at different times of the story. In the beginning I felt sympathetic for Julian because he seems to be trying to do so much for his mother, even though some of it is forced, he is still there for her and helps her through her life. But when he begins to get an attitude with her, the sympathy goes away and shifts to his mother. His mother seems to be old and doesn't really care for changing into the new times but seems that she cares very much for her son and just wants the best for him even though she knows he deserves better than what she can offer him.
I feel like the title has to do with several factors of the story, generally I think it deals with the times that are changing. Julian mentions that his mother needs to change because it isn't the good life she was use to anymore, they were poor and didn't have the wealth she use to have. She also wasn't use to the fact that there were no more slaves, that had been the rise in her life because her family was very well off when they had slaves. I think for Julian's perspective, the title means that even though he doesn't show his love for his mother, he does at the end but by then he was too mean to her and felt extremely bad for it all.
I felt sympathetic for both Julian and his mothers characters, but at different times of the story. In the beginning I felt sympathetic for Julian because he seems to be trying to do so much for his mother, even though some of it is forced, he is still there for her and helps her through her life. But when he begins to get an attitude with her, the sympathy goes away and shifts to his mother. His mother seems to be old and doesn't really care for changing into the new times but seems that she cares very much for her son and just wants the best for him even though she knows he deserves better than what she can offer him.
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