Once Upon A Time

"the bleeding mass of the little boy was hacked out of the security coil with saws, wire-cutters, choppers, and they carried it--the man, the wife, the hysterical trusted housemaid and the weeping gardener--into the house." -pg. 236

I think this short story was my favorite because it showed the huge discrepancy between fairy tales and reality. I also read imagery as the biggest literary device utilized. First, I got a vivid picture when the house the family bought was described as "the most honest in its suggestion of the pure concentration-camp style, no frills, all evident efficacy." This created an eerie and "hardcore" picture of a home in the story. Whereas the family saw it as the ultimate security, it showed the brutality of reality and division between upper and lower classes. That leads to my first quote, where the boy thinks he is a fairy tale prince, so he ventures outside and tries to conquer the "thicket of thorns" that is actually deadly wire fence designed to keep things out. Ultimately, this imagery reinforces one of the major themes: don't get caught up in fantasy, or you might just get caught up in barbed-wire. Ooh that was bad....

Eveline

"He rushed beyond the barrier and called to her to follow...Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition." -pg. 222

This was probably the most frustrating short story because of the main character. I actually found Eveline just as, if not more, annoying than Bartleby because of their similar indecisiveness. However, in a small way, Eveline's character is a sympathetic one, and relatable to som. Her abusive father, mother's, sibling's, and friends' deaths, and her yearning of a better life all make the reader feel sorry for her- or at least until the end of the story. Throughout the story, she talks about starting her new life, and at the very end, she has the decision to leave...but she doesn't. She stays with her dysfunctional family. That really aggravated me. Because she had a poor family life, she is a victim of circumstances beyond her control, but when she decides to stay in that harmful environment for her spiritual connection to her home, she becomes a victim of her character- mainly her inability to make good decisions- which also creates some disdain towards her from the reader, or at least it did with me.

Once Upon A Time

"They were warned, by that wise old witch, the husband's mother, not to take on anyone off the street." -pg. 232

One of the literary devices commonly used throughout this story is irony. First, I chuckled at the description of a mother-in-law as a witch, which I assume is how many men describe their situations. Anyways, the main irony I found was that the "wise old witch" seemed wise and helpful when advising the family to be more secure. That led to their sheltered lifestyle and the amplified division between the paradise and the worse-off minorities. Then, the witch gives the son a fairy tale book at Christmas, a seemingly harmless act on the surface. However, this book led to the son's naive idea of being a prince who saves the princess by slashing through thorns, which in this case is a barbed-wire fence. Although the story never reveals that the son dies, it is implied that the boy is at least greatly wounded by the wire (which I'm pretty sure represents the harsh reality that fairy tales trivialize). So, while the "witch" seemed to be a harmless character, I believe she was a leading role that turned out to be the villain.

Miss Brill

"On her way home she usually bought a slice of honeycake at the baker's. It was her Sunday treat.... But today she passed the baker's by," -pg. 186

One of the questions asks if Miss Brill is a dynamic character or a static character. I believe she is a dynamic character because she does in deed change in the story. Or at least the ending implies that she changed or will soon. This quote shows how she decided to break her Sunday routine. As opposed to continuing her monotonous schedule every week, she got out of the habit, showing major growth in her character. Of course, it doesn't actually show her changing her life drastically, but it's a small start to growing out of the lonely, misfit personality that she has. Being an outcast is her main trait here, shown by her occupation as an English teacher in France (let's hope some other French-speaking country) and her love of music as it is a universal language; this turn-around shows that she's taking a step to become less of an outsider, proving she isn't a static character.

Bartleby the Scrivener

" 'I think he is a little deranged,' said I, sadly. 'Deranged? deranged is it? Well now, upon my word, I thought that frind of yourn was a gentleman forger; they are always pale and genteel-like, them forgers. I can't help pity 'em--can't help it, sir.'" -(pg. 673)

This quote is really amusing to me. It is so because it shows that that some people actually have pity towards Bartleby. I find this incredibly hard to believe. In fact, Bartleby was my least favorite story. It seemed like it went on forever, thanks to 30-some pages, and really nothing interesting happened. So, I hated him because he didn't really do anything interesting in the story- even if it was something stupid like shoot another character. The other reason was that he refused to do the simplest tasks. Like in the clip we saw earlier, he said, "I prefer not to...." I mostly hated him because I didn't undestand why he didn't wanted to do the simplest things. That indirect characterization showed that he was on-edge, nervous, and strange-all which makes him a really unappealing, unlikable character.

Everyday Use

"She thinks her sister has held life always in th palm of one hand, that 'no' is a word the world never learned to say to her." -(pg. 173)

I think this quote perfectly sums up Dee. This also contains the literary device of exaggeration: that she never head no-but this is so to make a point. That point is Dee's most prominent characteristic, her pompous, snotty attitude. This quality is what made her a very unlikable character. And visa versa, it also helped amplify the likability of Maggie and Mama. By showing the major, unattractive flaws of Dee, the author creates sympathy for the characters who are "victimized" over the years by Dee's actions. Her unlikability is also influenced by the other characters' traits. For example, Mama was portrayed as hard-working and somewhat old-fashioned. She also didn't have an education, so we the reader feel sympathy for her.

One more example of how Dee's flashiness and snottiness was shown was when she wore "a dress so loud it hurts my eyes." This shows her need to always be the center of attention. These basic character differences create a huge space between major characters which emphasizes the drama and distance between them. Because of this, Maggie and Mama are dramatized as helpless, evoking sympathy, and Dee is shown as snotty, showing the huge contrast of likability.

Idiots in the Snow

"Kenny looked at Tub. He smiled. 'I ahte that tree,' he said, and fired again. Tub hurried to catch up with Frank. He started to speak but just then the dog ran out of the barn and barked at them. 'Easy, boy,' Frank said." -(pg. 192
First of all, there are just so many things wrong with the characters in this story. Tub seems like a nice enough guy. Then he turns out to be lying about his glandular condition and reveals his insecurity. (By the way, his name sounds like "tubby"- is that important?) And Frank (whose name shows his personality) was very honest and kind of the "voice of reason" in this story. And then he confessed that he's going to leave his great wife and kids for the fifteen-year-old babysitter. That's just weird. I think that might be his tragic flaw. And then there is Kenny. I'm not sure if his name reveals anything about his personality, but I don't think so. If so, his name would be Jerky or something really inappropriate. Obviously, because of his foul language, constant provocative jives at Tub, and really mean attitude throughout the story, I really hated him. I think he was by far the least-likable character. Even though he didn't totally deserve to get shot by Tub, with his belittling, mean temperament, he was sort of asking for it.

Hunters in the Snow

"'I'm going to the hospital,' Kenny said. But he was wrong. They had taken a different turn a long way back." -(p. 201)

I think an important literary device here was irony. This last line of the short story throws in a final piece of irony to give extra "umph," I think. The actual irony is that Kenny thinks he is going to the hospital and will recover shortly. However, since Tub forgot the directions, and they made a wrong turn, that won't happen. Basically, Kenny is going to die because of Tub's mistake- when he shot him and now when he forgot the directions at the bar. So the way I see it, Kenny is paying the price and suffering because of Tub's idiocy and Frank's unawareness. This shows a bit of the theme which I think is that stupid things come back to haunt-either they hurt the person performing them, or they negatively impact that person's surroundings. So, for me, the main message of this story, revealed throught the final lines of irony, is to act the exact opposite way of the main characters.

Which Would You Pick?

Fantasy                                                   Reality
Chris Watters                       or                    ... Carmichael

"How I Met My Husband"...the mailman

"We saw it come over the treetops, all red and silver, the first close-up plane I ever saw. Mrs. Peebles screamed." (pg. 130)

This short story was definitely my favorite. I think it was because it was extremely relatable. Every woman can remember her earlier years, probably spent swooning on some movie star or celebrity. For my mom, Tom Selleck, for me, James Marsdon, for a billion little snot-nosed pre-teens, J-Biebs, and for Edie, Chris Watters. As the quote shows, Chris Watters coming in with a bright, shiny plane caused any girl around him to be blinded by the wonder and awe of his suavity and coolness. Because every girl has this romantic image of the ideal man, this story (as cliche as it sounds) transcends time.

My favorite part of this story was probably the ending, because of its intense irony. Although the title implies that most of the story, about Watters, would be about the speaker's husband, it is actually referencing the mailman, who doesn't even appear until the last page and doesn't receive a name other than "Carmichael." This irony, however serves more of a purpose than amusement. It shows the immaturity and naiivity of teenage girls who dream away their lives, waiting for "the letter" that is never coming. Basically, the author wants women to come to their senses and take what life really has to offer instead of implementing fantasy instead.

Interpreter of Maladies- Lahiri

"Mr. and Mrs. Das bickered about who should take Tina to the toilet. Eventually Mrs. Das relented when Mr. Das pointed out that he had given the girl her bath the night before." (pg. 147)

The literary device that came to mind in this short story was characterization. My overall opinion was that the Das's are a dysfunctional family. First of all, as this quote shows, the parents are arguing over their kids. It's not a good sign when parents don't care enough to take their kid to the bathroom anymore. Then, on page 149, Mr. Das asks Tina, his daughter, "Where's Mina?" Noticed by Mr. Kapasi, the taxi driver/ tour guide, the father speaking to his daughter while addressing his wife by her first name shows a certain lack of respect - that's what I think at least. Then we have Tina fidgeting with buttons in the car. And then we have Ronny getting attacked by a monkey for food. We also have Bobby not following his father's orders and Mr. Kapasi's observation that the parents treat their children like friends, not children. This reminded me of a quote that goes something like: "A great ruler should be feared and loved. If only one is possible, though, it is better to be feared." That i basically what I was taught growing up: parents are not supposed to be friends, they're parents.

 I was, however, somewhat relieved at the end when Mrs. Das says, "'Come here a second. Let Mommy fix your hair'" to Bobby as she brushes his hair. This direct characterization showed that deep down, Mrs. Das really did care about her children after all- even after the whole story shows her neglecting them. If that isn't ironic, I don't know what is. 

How I Met My Husband- Munro

"So I stopped meeting the mail. If there were women all through life waiting, and women by and not waiting, I knew which I had to be." (pg. 146)

I think the most important literary term here is plot structure. Basically pages 130-145 reveal the childhood innocence and naiivity of Edie through her work as a servant for the Peebles'. The last page, then, is a complete 360 turn. The last paragraph actually explains the title- when she met her actual husband. Whereas the majority of the story talks about a chivalrous, heartthrob and pilot, Chris Watters, the ending shows who she married after all, the mailman. Now, not that I have anything against mailmen, but generally speaking, I think teenage girls would rather swoon over a handsome pilot than a postal worker. The way plot structure is important is that it ties in the theme of facing reality. By giving the majority of the story to a childlike fantasy description of a lover, the author creates irony at the end of the work by showing the main character settling or "coming to her senses" and marrying the mailman. For me, the structure emphasizes the moral of the story: don't spend your life waiting on mail that never comes = don't fantasize when you have a real mailman in front of you. :)

A Rose for Emily- Faulkner

"When she opened the package at home there was written on the box, under the skull and bones: 'For rats.'" (p.286)

This story was by far the creepiest for me. I think one of the important literary terms applied here is the narrator. Here, I viewed the story as having multiple narrators. The speaker was not a single person, but Miss Emily's community as a whole, sort of all chiming in with memories of her. That is also why the structure is confusing/out of chronological order. Because of this, the story was really difficult for me to read, but the gist was clear.

The biggest "creepiness" factor I noticed was not all that harmful inandofitself- that Miss Emily was resistant to change. However the lengths she went to to ensure this was a bit drastic. First, one of the narrators mentions that she kept her father's body for days. "She told thm that her father was not dead. She did that for threedays, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body." Again, at the end, it is revealed that Homer, Emily's lover, has been dead for some time - most likely by Emily's doing since she didn't want him to leave. With the detail of "a long strand of iron-gray hair," the separated structure of multiple speakers creates great suspense and an eerie tone for the reader.