Everday Use- Alice Walker

Abstract: In the story, Mama and Maggie are waiting in their yard for Dee to come home. Dee is the oldest daughter, and she is more educated and stylish. She can read while Maggie and Mama can't. Maggie also has scars. She was burned when their house burned down. Dee never liked the house. Maggie is also very timid.She hides and is kind of scared of Dee. When Dee comes home, she brings a boy with her. Dee comes out of the car and is wearing a long dress with very loud and bright colors. Dee now wants them to call her by the name Wangero. She wanted to change her name because she no longer wanted to be named after the people that oppressed her. The man that came with Dee, Asalmalakim, meanwhile is trying to shake hands with Maggie, but she won't. Mama doesn't know for sure if Dee and Asalmalakim have been married. Then they have dinner. While at dinner, Wangero sees a some things that she wants. She wants the churn and dasher. Wangero then went searching through a trunk and found two quilts. These quilts were made out of her grandmothers and grandfathers old clothing. Mama was going to give these quilts to Maggie though when she gets married. Wangero says that Maggie won't really appreciate the quilts and will use them. Wangero says she will appreciate them and hang them on her wall. Maggie then said Wangero could have the quilts. Mama though then took the quilts and grabbed Maggie and went into the room and said that Dee could have different ones. Dee was mad and told her mother that she should start to understand her heritage again and left. Maggie and Mama then sat in the yard and enjoyed the day.

Response: Mama and Dee seem like very different people that have completely different views on life. Mama is more simple and enjoys the simpler things in life like sitting outside. While Dee wants to be cultured. She is more glamorous. She wears big sunglasses and such. She also feels like she is better than her family because she had an education. She also doesn't do manual work like her mother who works hard outside. Dee does not really appreciate her mother. She never liked the house she lived in, and I don't think Dee ever really appreciated that her mother was the reason that she was able to go to school and become educated. Dee also feels like she understands her heritage more than her mother. She changed her name to a more African name and dresses with African attire. Dee wants the quilts with her grandmothers and grandfathers clothing. Mama won't let her though. Mama stands up for her daughter that she knows won't ever have a life like her sister. Maggie is slow, and she is also scared. Dee feels more entitled to things than Maggie because she is educated and beautiful. The title also reflects different aspects of the story. "Everyday Use" could reflect the everyday use of the different character's education. Mama had an education that didn't involve school. She was taught instead by her family and surroundings to be useful and work hard. That is why she sees it as so so odd that Dee would just hang the quilts up and not use them. Dee uses her education differently though. Her education taught her about her culture and its past. Since she is educated and knows about her culture, she wants to embrace it and cherish the different aspects of it. Mama doesn't find the need for that though because she needs to think about other things in order to live. Instead she can only focus on the things that are needed for everyday use, and she doesn't have the time to think about her heritage while Dee has the time because she is not required to help out on the farm because she is educated and lives and works somewhere else.

The Things They Carried- Tim O'Brien

Abstract: The story is set in Vietnam. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is there. He loves a girl named Martha that does not love him back. She only has platonic feelings for him. Throughout the story the soldiers are described through the different things they carry. Some carry different equipment for their specific jobs while others carry things out of superstition. Some carried things because of the sentimental value. They all carried emotional hardships and baggage also. They were filled with grief, terror, love, and longing. They did not let their pain show though and kept a mask on. One day they were going through the tunnels and a guy named Lavender got shot and died. One man Kiowa then kept talking about it. Cross blamed himself for it. He thought that it was because of him and his daydreaming that Cross died. He then burned Martha's letters and two photographs. He then vowed to himself that he would not think about Martha again because it was a waste of his time since she didn't even care about him. He would now perform his duties firmly and without negligence. He would make sure that no one else died because of him. He would be the leader that he should and would not let his men behave in ways that could cause their deaths.

Response: I really enjoyed this story. I liked how the author switched between describing what the men were carrying and the storyline. He did not describe people, but you still knew a lot about them from all of the different items that they carried. You learned what they cared about and also what they did. O'Brien often says how much each thing weighed that they carried, but the heaviest thing they carried was not something tangible but rather intangible. By saying the weight of the different items, it make you realize how much the soldiers really did carry around. It kind of burdens you down to realize how much weight they have to physically carry around, and the different emotions and memories that the soldiers had to carry. The war had a big psychological impact on the men. All of the men lived with fear. They feared for their lives. Lavender carried his fear with him because he always carried many different weapons in order if someone came up on him. He dealt with his fear by taking tranquilizers and also smoking dope. It is ironic how he died in the one moment he had no fear. Kiowa also had fear of death. When he saw Lavender die, he was really disturbed. He couldn't stop talking about it. He had to compare Lavender to cement in order to dehumanize him, so it wouldn't disturb him as much to talk about Lavender dying. Cross also fears disappointing his men. He became even more fearful after Lavender died that he would not pay enough attention in the future so more of his men would die. He decided to internalize his fear and not show it. He would put on a front in order to better protect his men. The other men also all live with fear. They are all afraid of dying in battle. They are always on edge scared that an enemy will walk up behind them and kill them. They all felt like cowards because they didn't want to be there and were scared of dying. That is why they killed other people. They wanted to show to their friends and fellow soldiers that they were not afraid of battle and dying. They also were fearful of themselves. They feared that sometime they would decide to try to injure themselves in order for them to be sent home. They were fearful of being seen as a coward that is why they would keep trudging through battle even though it caused them a lot of pain and suffering.

The Red Convertible- Louise Erdrich

Abstract: In the story, Lyman and his brother Henry live on a reservation. They buy a red convertible one day. They both paid for it and thus shared the car. Lyman and Henry went many places in the car. They went to Montana and then they went to Alaska. They went to Alaska because one day when they were driving down the road they saw a girl with her hand out. They picked her up and asked where she lived, and she said Alaska. They then decided to go there. They lived in a tent by her house. They stayed during the summer, but they then left when the weather started turning colder. When they got home, Henry had to go to the army. He didn't go to the army though. Instead he went to the Marines. Henry then went to Vietnam. He told Lyman when he left that the car was now his, but Lyman just kept it in the garage and didn't drive it. Lyman wasn't concerned with the draft because he was always good with numbers. When Henry came home, he was different from when he left. He became very quiet and fidgety. He was also jumpy and mean. Lyman and his family knew that Henry needed help. Lyman then thought about the car. Henry hadn't even looked at the car since he got home. Lyman ruined the car. He hit it with a hammer and ruined the muffler. He beat the car up. Henry then eventually found it. He said how it looked like shit, and Lyman ruined it. Henry then spent numerous days fixing the car. He fixed the car though. One day they went on a ride in the car. They went toward the Red River because the water was high. They then watched the current. Henry then said how he knew Lyman ruined the car. He then wanted to give the car to Lyman, but he didn't want it. They got into a fight. Henry jumped in the river sometime later. When he jumped in, the current started to take him. Henry's boots then started to fill up, and he drowned. Lyman then took the car and put it in first gear and took his foot off the clutch. He then watched as the car drove into the river.

Response: The war obviously changed Henry. He probably had PTSD. He wasn't himself when he returned. He was jumpy and quiet. The war left deep psychological scars in Henry. He probably was left with the fear of someone sneaking up on him to kill him. At the end of the story when he goes into the river, I don't think he wanted to kill himself, but when his boots started to fill, he didn't really care. He was probably depressed and didn't have it in him to try to fight the current which was a result of his experiences in war. The car symbolizes Henry and Lyman's relationship. When they bought the car, the car was new and nice. Henry and Lyman's relationship at the time was good. They didn't have any problems really and were able to travel the country together. When Henry went to war, the car stayed in the garage and was stagnate just like Henry and Lyman's relationship. Lyman would write to Henry during the war, but Henry wouldn't write back. When Henry returned and Lyman ruined the car, this portrayed Henry and Lyman's new relationship. Their relationship was now battered and wasn't the same. When Henry fixed the car, their relationship was starting to get better. They were able to talk and had a good time at the river. When Henry died and Lyman then drove the car into the river, this symbolized the end of their relationship. The boot also symbolize the war. Henry wore the boots. Henry would always wear the scars of war, and the war would always affect him. The boots were also the cause of his death, but in reality the cause was the war. The war caused Henry to change. He was depressed and had issues which I think caused Henry not want to fight the current when he was drowning and just let it take him. The war caused Henry to not want to live and just let whatever happen to him happen. I think Lyman felt guilty about his brother's death. He felt bad because he said he always had luck. He had the luck and wasn't drafted into the war like his brother. He felt guilty that he had more luck than his brother because it could have been him that was sent to war. His brother then came home and wasn't the same which made Lyman feel bad. He just wanted to have his old brother back, and he also realized that it could have easily been him that was changed if his name was picked, and he would have been sent to war.

The Lesson- Toni Cade Bambara

Abstract: Sylvia and her friends are from the ghetto. They are poor. Sylvia is pretty tough. She doesn't let people mess with her, and she is kind of a bully to her friends. Sylvia doesn't like Miss Moore very much. She doesn't want listen to her, and she especially doesn't want to be standing outside with her in the hot weather when she could go to the movies or go swimming. Miss Moore is a college grad that is unmarried that moves into their neighborhood. She likes to teach them different lessons. One day, she takes them to New York City. They go into a toy store where they see all of the different and expensive toys. They see how expensive all of the toys are. When they get back home, Miss Moore asks the what they all learned from going to the toy store. Sylvia's friend, Sugar, says that they the price one person pays for a toy could feed all of them for a year. Sylvia is upset with Sugar because she feels like she betrayed her, but then she starts thinking. When Miss Moore asks them if they have anything else to say and looks straight at Sylvia, Sylvia doesn't say anything. Sugar then says how they have four dollars, and she runs to away to go get some food. Sylvia doesn't follow her though because instead she is going somewhere else to think this day through because no one is going to beat her at anything.

Response: At the end, Sylvia really has learned a lesson. She realizes that she may be on the bottom of the totem pole, but that does not mean that she is not going to be successful in life. She wants to make a better life for herself and beat the odds. I think Miss Moore taught them a powerful lesson. She taught them that there are economic inequalities in the world. I think that the children never really thought this before. Instead they just thought that they were poor. Miss Moore taught them that there are injustices in the world, and its not always fair that some people are already born with an advantage over others. Sylvia's tough attitude made her want to overcome the odds and be successful. She has a lot against her though like her being black, from the ghetto, and being poor. She never likes to lose though, and she especially doesn't want to lose to people who already have an advantage over her. Sylvia also felt kind of bad about herself at the toy store like she shouldn't be there or touch the toys, but she had the same rights as everyone else. Sylvia didn't like feeling this way which will be another reason to why she will so determined to make a better life for herself. She is also very different from her friend Sugar. Sugar says its because of the flaws of government and our economy, but Sylvia won't let that stop her from doing what she wants and becoming successful. This story also teaches how it is important to listen to others when they have something to say. Sylvia tried to ignore what Miss Moore was trying to teach her, but when she finally did listen, she learned a really good lesson that will probably impact her for the rest of her life.

Happy Endings- Margaret Atwood

Abstract: In this story, John and Mary meet. The story then goes on to say what will happen to them if you want a happy ending. The story is divided into 6 different parts or scenarios. In A, John and Mary fall in love and get married. They have children and good jobs. Their life is nice, and then they die. In B, Mary falls in love, but John does not fall in love with Mary. John just wants Mary for sex. Mary becomes depressed. When she learns that John took another lady, Madge, to a restaurant, this depresses her even more because he never took her to restaurant. Mary then kills herself in hopes that John will save her, but he doesn't. John and Madge then get married and live their life like in A. In C, John is a older man and he loves Mary who just feels sorry for him. Mary is in love with James who is her age but not ready to settle down. John is married though. When he finds Mary and James together he becomes depressed. He then shoots them and himself. Madge, John's wife, then mourns him and marries Fred, and they live their life like in A. In D, Fred and Madge have no problems. Their life is nice, but their house by the sea gets hit by a tidal wave. A lot of people died, but they survived and continued their life like in A. In E, Fred has a bad heart. Then both are very kind and nice until Fred dies. Madge then volunteers for charities. In F, it says how you could change the characters and what they do, but the story would still end the same. It says the only true ending is John and Mary die.

Response: This story was very interesting. I like it and the format of it. The characters have no personalities though they just have their names. Atwood didn't really describe them. You just learn more about them through their actions. I think Atwood wanted this story to be very plain and simple, and she wanted to show that no matter what you say the people's characteristics or the different plots and twists of the story, the story always end the same. Either the story ends with a fake happy ending, or it ends with the characters dying which would be more true because it is a fact that everyone will die. She also writes how the beginnings and middle are always more fun because you get to change different things, but the ending aren't because they die or it's a fake happy ending. She is not just relating this story to writing but also to life. No one wants to talk about the end of life because it is depressing and every end is the same because everyone dies. Mary also changes in each ending. In B, she kills herself and feels sad for herself and is a pushover. In C, she feels sorry for John and is more confident and in control. The author also tells how it is not the what that makes the story, but the why and how because that is all that matters. If there is no how or why, then the story means nothing. The story also makes you think about your life. What do you want to do to make the middle of your 'story' exciting? In the end, the only thing that matters are the middle and the beginning and how you lived your life because by the end the only thing left will be the memory of what you did.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love- Raymond Carver

Abstract: In the story, four friends are sitting around the table drinking gin. One friend is Mel ,a cardiologist, who is married to Terri, and then there is Nick who is married to Laura. They are all talking about love. Terri talks about how her ex-boyfriend loved her even though he was abusive. Mel does not think it was love, but Terrie insists that he really did love her, but he just showed his love differently. When Terri left her boyfriend, he ate rat poison which really screwed his teeth up. He then would stalk Mel and Terrie. He would threaten to kill Mel. Her ex-boyfriend then eventually shot himself and died, and Terrie was in the room with him when he died. Nick and Laura also love each other. Their love was still in the honeymoon stage. Mel also talks about how love changes for people. He used to love his wife, but now he hates her. Mel also tells how one day an old couple were in a car accident. They were extremely injured. They had casts all over their bodies. The husband was depressed though even though he knew his wife was going to live. He was so upset because he couldn't see her through the eye holes in his cast. They then finish the gin. Once they have finished the gin, Nick hears his and the others' hearts beating. Not one of them moved though when the room went dark.

Response: Even though throughout the whole story they talk about love, none of the characters really know what love is. Nick and Laura cannot really describe their love. Mel says how if one of them died the other would grieve for some time, but then the other person would just go out and love someone else again. He then says how the love for the deceased person would just be a memory, but it may not even be a memory. Mel also doesn't understand the old couple's love. None of the other friends could understand it either when Mel asked if they knew what he was saying. It is ironic that Mel is a cardiologist and works with hearts, but he doesn't understand love. The characters also could be trying to fill the void in their life because of the absence of love with alcohol. They all don't really know what love is, and different forms of love confuse them. Mel is confused about how he once loved his ex-wife, but now he hates her. He also seems depressed about his life. It seems like he wishes that he could have the love and passion like other people have, but he doesn't. When the gin is finally gone and none of them move, they don't move because they realized that no of them have ever really moved. Their whole life they have been the same and nothing has really changed them. Their lives will always be empty and dark like the room because they don't really know what love is or have the ability to love.

Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?- Joyce Carol Oates

Abstract: In the story, Connie is a girl who always wonders how she looks. Her mother does not like her for this. Connie always goes to the mall with her friends. She would then go to the the drive-in restaurant across the highway. She would meet boys there too. One day, her parent and her sister went to a barbecue and she stayed at home. She was sitting in her room, and she heard a car come up. When she went to see who it was, she recognized the car. She had seen it before at the drive-in restaurant. There were two men inside it. One had shaggy black hair, and the other had side burns. The man with the shaggy black hair, Arnold Friend, wanted Connie to go on a ride with him. Connie doesn't want to go on a ride with him though. She can tell that he looks like he's in his thirty's, and his friend looks like he is about forty. Arnold Friend also knows a lot about Connie. He knows what she was doing the night before, and he knows her friends' and family's names. He also keeps telling her he is her friend and calls her 'my Connie'. Connie keeps telling him how she they better leave, but they won't. She then tells her she will call the police. His friend says he will turn the phone off, and Arnold says that if she calls the police, he will come inside and get her. He also tells her that he will pretty much rape her. She becomes frightened and finally tries to call the police. When she does, it is the dial tone. She then starts screaming. She then lost all of her emotion and gave up. Arnold then tells her how they will go to a nice place. She then finally gives up and goes with Arnold.

Response:Tshis story has a lot of deception in it. First, Connie does not just deceive her friend and family, but also herself. She has two sides. She has the side for home and the side for her friends. At home she is not really herself because she is afraid of being criticized by her mother. Since she has two different sides, she does not know who she really is. Arnold Friend also tries to deceive Connie. He tries to disguise himself as a younger person when he is really old. He also tries to deceive Connie and say he just wants to go on a ride with her, but he really has different ideas. He tries to make Connie feel safe saying he knows her, but he really doesn't and just wants to harm her. He also tries to use her sort of disgust she has for her family. He tells her she is better than them in order to make her try to make her like him. Arnold is tempting Connie. He seems like he really wants to make her go to the 'evil' side. She is sort of deciding between still wanting to be innocent and a child or become an adult. Connie doesn't really know what to do, and she is apprehensive to go with Arnold. When she finally leaves the house, she is going into her adulthood. She knows she will no longer be innocent and this makes her sad even though before in her life she was always trying to do adult things. She is also letting Arnold win though and letting him get what he wants. In the story, Arnold the man is the powerful one while Connie is the weak one giving into his desires and not standing up for herself. She lets herself be taken advantage of by Arnold. Arnold is depicted being more powerful than Connie because he knows what to do and what to say in order for him to get what he wants and make Connie give up her fight against him.

A & P- John Updike

Abstract: The narrator, Sammy, is working in a grocery store. He lives just north of Boston. One day while he is working, some girls come in. They are wearing their swimsuits and he admires them while they walk around the store. He especially likes the one who he thinks is the queen or leader of the group. He likes how the straps of her swimsuit come off her shoulders. He sort of objectifies them. When they check out, they come to his register. Right then, the store manager Lengel comes in. When he sees the girls, he tells them that it isn't the beach. Queenie tells him she was just getting a jar of herring snacks for her mother. When Sammy hears her voice, he is startled because he did not expect it to sound like it did. Lengel then goes on to say how they need to come into the store decently dressed. Queenie then says that they are decent. Lengel then tells Sammy to check them out. He does this, but then he says that he quits. Queenie and her friends don't notice though. They leave the store. Sammy then thinks that he really doesn't want to quit, but he needs to because he said he was going to. He was angry that Lengel embarrassed the girls. He then walks out, but the girls aren't there anymore. He then thinks that the world is going to be hard to him in the future.

Response: I think when Sammy walks out he realizes that life is going to be harder for him in the future. He will do things that won't always get recognition. He will also do things that he may regret later. He wanted to be the girls hero, but they didn't notice him at all and just left. He quit his job to help defend them, but he didn't really want to then. He went through with it though because he knew that once you start something you need to finish it. He was becoming more of an adult and realized that his actions like standing up for the girls did have consequences like losing his job. Even though he quit,his parents would still be angry at him. This story also objectifies the girls. Pretty much the whole story Sammy is just looking at the girls' bodies and criticizing them. It is also stereotyping men that all they care about or look at are girls looks. Sammy is also confused between rules and wanting to please the girls. He knows that is store policy, but he also doesn't want to girls to feel embarrassed. He also judges people differently because of their age. He describes the girls as cute while when he sees older people he describes what they are wearing was baggy gray pants. He also feels bad when Lengel makes the girl blush.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find- Flanery O'Connor

Abstract: In the story, a family is going on vacation. The grandmother wants to go to eastern Tennessee to see people she knows there, but her son wants to go to Florida. The grandmother says they shouldn't go to Florida though because 'The Misfit' has escaped from prison and is loose in Florida. They go to Florida anyways. The grandmother makes sure that she is dressed nicely like a lady, so that if they get in a car accident people will know she is a lady. They stop along the way and talk to an owner of a filing station. He says how he let some men get gas on credit, and they probably stole it from him. The grandmother then says he did it because he is a good man. On the way, the grandmother remembers an old plantation that she used to go. She wants to see it, so she says how there is a secret passage in it that the family hid silver in. The two grandchildren then really want to go, so their dad, Bailey, finally gives in. They then are traveling on a gravel road. The grandmother then realized that the house she was thinking of may have been in Tennessee. The moment she thinks that she knocks over a valise which then caused the newspaper over the basket containing the cat to move. The cat then escaped and jumped onto Bailey. They then rolled two times. When they got out of the car, they saw that a car was coming. The car had three men it. Grandmother recognized one of the men as 'The Misfit'. The grandmother then asks him if he would shoot a lady or not. He said he wouldn't. She then keeps telling him that he is from a good family. She also tells him that he should pray. His men then take Bailey and his son into the forest and shoots them. They come out and give 'The Misfit' Bailey's shirt. They then take Bailey's wife, their daughter, and their baby into the forest and shoots them. The grandmother then talks to him and says how he is one of her children and touches him on the shoulder. 'The Misfit' springs back and shoots the grandmother three times.

Response: The grandmother seems kind of selfish. She doesn't really seem to care when they take her family into the forest to shoot them. She doesn't say no. She just lets them go. She also was probably the only reason they got killed. She wanted to see the plantation, and then she brought the cat which caused the accident. She was also the one that said she knew the man was 'The Misfit'. Why did she touch him at the end? Did she do it to try to save herself? I don't really think that she thought he was her son. I think that she thought that maybe if she said that and tried to touch him, then he would feel bad for her and not kill her. She also said you wouldn't shoot a lady. She didn't say you wouldn't shoot someone. She only said lady. She wasn't trying to save the rest of her family. She was just trying to save herself because she said how she was a lady, and she also looked like a lady. Why did the Misfit say that she would have been a good woman if there was someone there to shoot her everyday? Did he mean that someone should have been there to shoot her up and not always let her be so demanding and selfish? The Misfit also had some issues. He killed his father, but he didn't remember it. I think he killed his father because he was angry at him because his father always said how he was different from his siblings and questioned things. He just blocked it from his mind. He also was mad because he felt like he was in jail longer than he needed to be. He also seemed angry at Jesus for coming back from the dead. He said that Jesus threw everything off balance. The Misfit seemed confused with his beliefs which could be a reason why he killed people. He didn't understand why Jesus would raise people from the dead. He then thought that Jesus didn't really do what he said, so he felt like he should enjoy his life. The way he found enjoyment was by killing people and burning things down.

The Lottery- Shirley Jackson

Abstract: It is June 27th which is the day of the lottery. Many other towns around the area also have their own lottery. Some towns though have given up the lottery which people in the town view as crazy. It was held in the town square and led by Mr. Summers. Everyone seems on edge before and during it like they aren't looking forward to it. One woman, Mrs. Hutchinson, forgot it was lottery day, but she quickly ran to the square. To start the lottery, each man or head of household would be called by Mr. Summers and he would then come up and pick out a piece of paper. It used to be wood chips, but they changed it over the years. Each man then went back to where he was standing before they opened it. Then Mr. Summers gave them permission to open their pieces of paper. When they open it, they all wonder who got the piece of paper with the black dot on it. The man who got it was Mr. Hutchinson. His wife keeps on saying how it wasn't fair though because he wasn't given enough time to choose his piece of paper. He was then asked if there were any other households in the Hutchinsons, but there was only one them, his family. Then everyone in the family including Bill, his wife Tessie, and their three kids drew out pieces of paper. They then did the same process. When they opened the piece of paper, Tessie was the one with the black dot. The villagers then preformed the ritual. They went to the stack of stones previously stacked by the boys. They grabbed the stones and then threw them at Tessie and killed her while she yelled that it wasn't fair.

Response: This story was very disturbing. It's sick how at the end Tessie's own child throws the stones at her. It's ironic how the story was titled "The Lottery" because I associate winning the lottery as something good when in this story it is something bad. The people of the town are barbaric. They stone someone because they think it will bring a good harvest. It is ironic how one man said if they didn't stone someone they should just go back to living in caves when what they are doing is like cavemen. The black box I believe symbolizes death. It holds someone's fate in it which is to die. This is also like the black dot the paper. The simple black dot symbolizes your death. Their names also go along well with this story like Graves and Harry Jones. Harry Jones could be like an ape man which is barbaric, and Graves for the death of the person who gets stoned and then put into their grave. Dunbar also seems like a name for some barbaric person because it sounds like dumb. This story also depicts men as being the strong ones and leaders of the households. The men are the one that go up and pick a piece of paper while the woman watch. The author also depicts Tessie as a weak female who whines because she does not believe the lottery was fair. She is also the one ultimately sacrificed for the community. What did the writer want to portray through this piece? Did she want to portray how society was barbaric? It was written around the civil rights era, so she could have wrote it to try to convey society through it. By the lottery, she could have meant that it was just by chance that black people were slaves and it could have easily been the other way around. Society treated black people barbarically during this time period and not just literally threw stones at them but they also symbolically threw stones at them by degrading and disrespecting them.

Battle Royal- Ralph Ellison

Abstract: In the beginning, the narrator describes his grandfather. He said that some people thought he was odd. His grandfather also stayed in his place in society when he was given freedom. On his death bed, his grandfather said how he was a traitor and that his family needed to keep up the fight. He wanted them to overcome them (whites). He then died. His grandfather's last word stayed with the narrator. He would always be haunted by what he meant. The narrator then goes on to become valedictorian of his high school. On graduation day, he spoke about how humility was the secret of progress. He was then supposed to say his speech the next night at a gathering of the town's leading white citizens. When he got there, he discovered that he was to fight in the battle royal before he gave his speech. When they got to the room to fight, there was a naked woman there. The boys didn't know how to act because some of the men told them to look while others told them not to. When the woman left, they began to fight. They were all blindfolded, and they then fought each other. Eight of the boys eventually left the ring, and the narrator was left to fight the last guy. He lost the fight. When they were done, they were told to pick up money off of a rug in the middle of the room. When they went to pick up the money, they discovered that the rug would electrocute them. Some of the white men would even push the boys onto the rug to see them squirm. The whole time though the boys would laugh. When they were done with that, they were all given their prizes. It was then the narrator's turn to speak. When he was speaking, people weren't really paying attention, and they would taunt him. The boy's superintendent then came up and gave the boy a briefcase. In the briefcase, there was a scholarship to a black college. The boy was extremely excited. When he got home, his family was excited too. The boy also did not let his grandfather's last words spoil his triumph which he usually let happen. That night though he had a dream. In the dream, the boy was with his grandfather. His grandfather gave him a brief case and told him to open it. When he did, there was an envelope. In each envelope, there were more envelopes. He then opened one. In it there was a short message that said, "To Whom It May Concern Keep This Nigger-Boy Running." When he woke up, the boy could still hear his grandfather laughing. This dream the narrator would remember forever. At time he said he had no idea what it meant. He first had to go to college.

Response: This story is very disturbing. It depicts the conflict that black people faced in their life. It was either to go along with the whites or to try to forge their own identities and not be oppressed by whites. This is very evident in the story. The narrator's grandfather said how he was a traitor. I think he meant that he was a traitor to his race and should not have let the white people oppress him. He wants his family to do a better job than he did instead of just trying to please white people. The narrator doesn't get this though. He wants to be just like his grandfather and be liked by the whites. When he goes to the fight and sees the naked woman this is evident. He is attracted to woman, but he shouldn't look at her because she is white and black men weren't supposed to look at white woman. He is also completely disrespected by the white people. He gives a speech about how humility will work towards progress, but in reality it won't. By not standing up for themselves, black people would have just been further oppressed and looked down upon by whites. The narrator did not get this when his grandfather told him to fight against whites. The narrator was treated horribly, but he was still happy when he got the scholarship even though the white people had just finished making a joke of him. It was ironic how he was speaking about how humility was important while he was being humiliated. I think when he keeps speaking even though people are laughing he is just adding more to the white peoples feeling of power over blacks. Also when he just keeps swallowing his blood, he is just swallowing his dignity. When he his grandfather gives him the briefcase in his dream and the note that says, "To Whom It May Concern Keep This Nigger-Boy Running," the boy doesn't really know what this means. I think that it means that white people want black people to always keep 'running.'By running, I think it means that they want black people to run away from trying to be like whites. They want them to accept that they are not like white people. It may also mean that no matter how much a black person may try to be respected by whites it will never work because white people will never accept them. That may be why the grandfather is laughing because he sees that is what the white people did to him, and it didn't work which is why he wants his family and his grandson to fight against them and not be a traitor to their race. This story could also be a reflection of the author's take on how society viewed him. Ralph Ellison was black, and he may have felt that society looked down upon him. He may have also felt invisible like the narrator did because no one really paid attention to him. He also could have felt invisible because white people thought that he didn't deserve respect and just looked over him.

The Chrysanthemums- John Steinbeck

Abstract:One day a woman, Elisa, is gardening. It is winter and very foggy. She is really good at gardening and grows beautiful, tall Chrysanthemums. Her husband has left to herd some animals, and then they are going out to eat and to a movie to celebrate his sale of cattle. While she is gardening, an old wagon then pulls up. The man in the truck fixes things and travels up and down the coast all year. He keeps on asking her if he can fix anything, and she says no. He then asks about her flowers. She then becomes very excited and prepares some stalks of the chrysanthemums to be sent to one of his customers who had asked him to keep an eye open for their seeds. Elisa likes the man very much especially because of the way he describes the flowers. She even attempts to touch him, but then snatches her hand back before she does. She then goes and finds him two pans to mend. When he leaves, she gets ready to go out with her husband. Her husband notices how she looks different. He says that she looks stronger. On their way to eat, Elisa sees something in the road. When they pass it, she sees that is is her chrysanthemums. They then pass the wagon. Elisa then begins to cry, but she won't let her husband see.

Response: Elisa is strong woman like Granny Weatherall. At the end when she hides her face so her husband does not see that she is crying, she does it because she thinks that her crying will show weakness, and she is not weak. She is strong to because she would not let the man sway her to let him mend her pot because she did need one mended. She let him mend her pot though because she liked him when he talked to her about the chrysanthemums. She was jealous of the man too. She wished that she too could travel up and down the coast in a wagon. She gets angry when he says that a woman could not do it because she believes that she could. When her husband notices that she looks strong, he notices because I think she fully realizes that she could do whatever she wanted to. She has control over her life and no one could tell her what to do. Her demeanor changes. She hides her tears at the end because she feels like she can't show her weakness because if she did then that would just prove once again society's stereotype that women are weak. She wants to show that women can do whatever they set their mind to. Just like when she asks her husband if she could go to the fight. She doesn't want to go, but she knows that she could. When he says that she really wouldn't like it, that just brings her down even more from the blow already that the man threw her flowers out.

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place- Ernest Hemingway

Abstract: In the story, there is a deaf old man that goes to a cafe. He sits there all night and drinks brandy. A waiter tells how he tried to kill himself last week. The waiter dislikes the man because the waiter wants to go home to bed with his wife. The younger waiter also does not know why the old man would try to kill himself because he thinks he has everything because he has money. The other waiter can sympathize with the old man though because he likes to stay late too. He like the old man is lonely. A well-lighted and clean place is a nice place for the lonely. A bar is not a place that the lonely like to go. The young waiter then kicks the old man out, and the old man leaves by still walks with dignity. When the older waiter leaves, he begins to talk to himself. He then says the lord's prayer but with nada in it. When he finally arrives home, he will lie in his bed until it is light because he has insomnia.

Response: The young waiter is rude to the old man. Even though the old man cannot hear,it is rude and mean to say you should have killed yourself. The young man has no sympathy for the old. He also thinks that money will make you happy because he does not get why the old man would kill himself because he has money. The old man is lonely though, and he is very separated from the rest of society. Him being deaf also further separates him and makes it hard for him to communicate with others. I think that lonely people want to be in a clean, well-lighted place because there they are further away from their darker thoughts. The dark could make you think about death and dying, so the young waiter should have let the old man stay. The old man is also a clean person who never spills any of his drink while he is drinking which could be why he prefers to go to a clean well-lighted place to drink. The older waiter can also sympathize with the old man because he too is lonely at night because he is unable to sleep. He also realizes that he too is getting old, and he would one day also like to drink in a clean, well-lighted place. He wants to treat the old man nicely because in the near future he will be old, and he does not want to be treated poorly. This story I believe reflects Hemingway's emotions. Hemingway killed himself, and I believe this is how Hemingway felt. He felt like he was all alone and know one could understand him. I believe the old man reflects Hemingway's view on how he is treated and looked at by society. The older waiter I believe is the main character in the story. He is the one that reflects on the old man and view point is reflected by the old man.

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall- Katherine Anne Porter

Abstract: Granny Weatherall is dying. Dr. Harry and her daughter Cornelia are looking after her. She does not really know how sick she is. She says how she wants to get rid of some old letters from her husband John and George because she does not want her children to know how silly she was when she was younger. George was a man that jilted Granny Weatherall in her younger years. He left her at the altar. She alters between sleep and being awake and gets very irritated that her daughter is whispering. She thinks that she will live until she is 100 because her father did. She also says how she wants to move back home where she won't be reminded that she is old. She also reflects on her life. She remembers when her children were young and how much she liked it. She also thinks that John won't recognize her when he sees her. She remembers not so good times in her life like when George left her at the altar and when her child died. She wants to see George and tell him that he did not ruin her life, and she had a pretty good life without him. The priest then comes to give Granny her last rites. She does not feel like she needs them. She also then wants to tell her children many different things before she dies. Her children are all there too. She then wants a sign, but she doesn't get one and she is struck with grief. She then dies.

Response: Granny Weatherall seems like a very strong woman. She has had some hard things happen to her in her life like her husband and child dying and also being left at the altar. She also was a very hard-worker. It seems like she hides her emotions though. Even after many years being left at the altar, she still felt angry. She was still upset with George, but she also was able to move on with her life which she wanted to tell George. She also was not expecting to die when she did. She almost died when she was 60, so she thought that this would just be another one of those experiences. She thought that she would live until she was 100 just like her father that's why she said that she would do everything tomorrow. She wasn't expecting to die, and her being on her deathbed surprised her and also made her feel bad because she hadn't got done all that she thought she needed to. Granny has also changed throughout her life. She was probably not as strong as when she was younger, but she was able to overcome her hardships and in the process become stronger. She doesn't look the same anymore and has worked hard like when she put fence by herself. She also seems like a very good mother who loves her children. She said how she would always take care of them when they were younger and sick, and she wished she could go back to the days when they were young. It also seems like her husband John died at a young age, and she was able to care for her children by herself.

The Rocking-Horse Winner- D.H. Lawrence

Abstract: In the story, the mother says she is very unlucky and her husband is also unlucky. Her sons then tells her how he is lucky. He and his siblings always hear voices in their house that say "There must be more money!" Paul, her son, then starts betting on horse races with the help of Basset their gardener. He makes a lot of money doing this, and his uncle also knows about his betting. Paul is able to do this a lot and win quite a bit of money. He wants to give all of it to his mother. He gives her 5000 pounds. He was going to give her 1000 a year for 5 years, but she wanted it all. He then started losing all the races he was betting. One night he was really upset that he couldn't 'know' the right one. He then started rocking on his rocking horse very crazily which he had done numerous times leading him to know. His mom then had a gut feeling that something was wrong, so she came home early from a party. When she came home, she found him rocking. He then shouted the horses name that he thought would when the Derby. For the next days, he was very sick and dying. He then found out that the horse he chose won the race. He now had 80,000 pounds to give to his mother. He then said how he was lucky. He died later that night.


Response: I think the mom is kind of annoying in how she thinks she's unlucky just cause she is poor. She should just deal with her problems. It's also horrible how she doesn't really care for her children that much. Why did she have a sudden change of heart at the end? Was she finally happy with the money she had? She could have finally felt satisfied with her money and felt like she could then love her children. I think that Paul's extreme desire for luck was because he wanted to be loved by his mother who did not really love his father because he was unlucky. Also, the 'voices' that they always heard saying "There must be more money!" were maybe just a figment of their imaginations. Instead that saying and feeling they 'heard' because that was how their mother acted, always acting like what she had was not good enough. Why did Paul die though? Did he die from the stress of always wanting to pick the correct winner? Did Paul really get the winner's name from a higher power? There is really no explanation to why he was able to pick the winner but other times he was not. Maybe it was just luck that he was able to pick the winner and the rocking horse had nothing to do with it. It's kind of sick that all the stress and turmoil he spent trying to get a lot of money and be 'lucky' may of caused him to eventually die. Paul's mother did not have her priorities straight. She valued material things over her relationships especially with her children. It is also odd how she thought luck caused you to have money rather than hard-work. She just wanted favors and did not really want to work-hard in order to get what she wanted.

The Metamorphosis- Franz Kafka

Abstract: One morning, Gregor Samsa wakes up and discovers that he has turned into a bug. He then proceeds to try to figure out how to get out of bed, so that he will be able to get to work as a traveling salesman. His boss then comes over to his house in order to see why he has not come to work. Gregor then comes out of his room. His boss and family are horrified when they see Gregor. His boss flees, and Gregor's father begins to try to shoo Gregor back into the room. In the process, Gregor was injured. Through the coming days, Grete, Gregor's sister, gives Gregor food and water to eat. She also cleans his room for him. Gregor hides under the couch so that she won't see him when she comes in. During the days, he climbs around the room, listens to his family's activities and conversations, and looks out the window. He not only looks like a bug, but his voice changes and he feels the same emotions as a bug. Gregor was the breadwinner in the family and now that he is unable to work his family must go out and find jobs. Once Grete gets a job, she stops caring for Gregor as much. One day Gregor comes out of his room and when his father comes home after his mom has fainted he becomes mad. Gregor's father begins chasing him throughout the room and then throws apples at him. One of the apples lands in Gregor's back and wounds him. Gregor's mom then chokes his dad begging for her son's life. Gregor then began to lose his appetite. His parents also get lodgers. They move the furniture from the lodgers room to Gregor's room. Gregor becomes completely neglected and is covered with dust and old food. One day Gregor hears his sister playing the violin and he goes into the living room to listen to it. When the lodgers see Gregor, they freak out and leave and don't pay their rent. Grete then says how Gregor is no longer the insect, and they must kill it. Gregor then goes back to his room and dies. His family then seems relieved that he has died. They move houses. One day when they are on a train, they notice how Grete has become a woman during the time that Gregor was an insect.

Response: It is odd how Gregor didn't even question or freak out when he woke up and was a bug. He just accepted it and seemed sort of content with the fact. I feel bad for him. His family doesn't even seem to care about him anymore because he is not the main financial support. They just ignore him. He is also unable to communicate with his family after his transformation because they cannot understand him. This could be similar to his past where maybe he was not the best at communicating with his family or rarely did because he was not home and was working. His family then completely ignores him once they get jobs and even his sister does not treat him how she once did. It seems like Gregor is not even missed and his family is perfectly capable of functioning semi-normally without him. Gregor's transformation into an insect could just be the outward appearance of his change, and his real change was when he began to be the financial support of his family and no longer looked like a member of it, but instead someone to support it and work for it. Gregor also does not even seem to mind that he is by himself. He does not really seem that lonely. His life as an insect just kind of seems like a continuation of his life as a traveling salesman because he stayed by himself many nights and did not really have any close relationships with other people. Gregor also seems more concerned that now his family has to work rather than being concerned with the fact that he is a bug. He feels bad that his sister has to work and his mother and father. He also feels bad about the fact that he was unable to send his sister to school to play the violin. On the other-hand, Gregor seems like a little bit of a procrastinator. He kind of takes his time to try to get up and move at the beginning of the book which is similar to the story about him wanting to send his sister to school, so she could play her violin. He said how he always was going to do it, but in reality he never did. I think at the end when Grete announces that she does not believe that Gregor is really the insect anymore is because he has lost the one thing that Grete identified him with which was working and supporting the family. He is no longer able to support them, so he is dead to them. Gregor also probably felt completely helpless and hopeless that his family would never love or care for him anymore. His family also seemed relieved when he died. They no longer had the burden of Gregor or the fear that he would be discovered. Instead, they could move on with their lives and continue working and living. It is also ironic how at the end of the story Grete has also gone through a metamorphosis which was becoming a woman. Gregor's parents don't alienate her though, but instead are happy about her transformation.