#1 Discuss the story's final lines. What is the "issue" that is "decided"?
"But he would not let go. He felt the baby slipping out of his hands and he pulled back very hard. In this manner, the issue was decided."
"Popular Mechanics" by Raymond Carver was definately strange. I did not expect the story to end the way it did. In the last few lines of the story, the husband and wife basically tear their baby apart. The "issue" that is "decided" is who will get the baby. The last few lines reveal that neither of them get the baby because the parents killed the baby by fighting over it. The issue was decided when the father "pulled back very hard." the last line implies that the baby was killed by the parents tugging back and forth on it like they were playing tug-of- war. I think it was a sad story of how divorce can destroy a family, and divorce is a sad reality that many people face in today's society.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
"You're Ugly, Too"
"'Maybe I sound whiny to you,' said the girl, 'but. Simply want my history major to mean something.' 'Well, there's your problem,' said Zoe, and with a smile, she showed the student to the door. 'I like your bow,' she added."
"You're Ugly Too" by Lorrie Moore was strange. I did not really know what the purpose of this story was. However, I did find some irony in the story. I though it was kind of ironic that Zoe had characteristics of a man and Earl was dressed as a woman. It was also ironic that when Zoe was trying to be funny, no one else though she was funny. Everyone else just though she was being rude. The quote above is an example of how Zoe interacted with others. Zoe is very sarcasitic and her students take it as her bein rude. I think Zoe was just a little socially awkard and did not know how to act appropriately around other people.
"You're Ugly Too" by Lorrie Moore was strange. I did not really know what the purpose of this story was. However, I did find some irony in the story. I though it was kind of ironic that Zoe had characteristics of a man and Earl was dressed as a woman. It was also ironic that when Zoe was trying to be funny, no one else though she was funny. Everyone else just though she was being rude. The quote above is an example of how Zoe interacted with others. Zoe is very sarcasitic and her students take it as her bein rude. I think Zoe was just a little socially awkard and did not know how to act appropriately around other people.
"The Drunkard" - irony
"'My brave little man!' she said with her eyes shining. 'It was God did it that you were there. You were his gaurdian angle.'"
"The Drunkard" by Frank O'Connor contains a lot of irony. The main irony of the story is that the boy gets drunk instead of the dad. As the father is talking and ignoring his son, the boy drinks his father's beer. This is ironic because the reader does not expect the little boy to be drunk. It is also ironic because in the end the mother calls the boy a gaurdian angle instead of punishing him. That is not what I expected at all. The boy acts as a gaurdian angle because he stopped his father from drinking and makes a scene embarassing his father. This makes the father think twice about drinking and he gets up and goes to work the next day.
"The Drunkard" by Frank O'Connor contains a lot of irony. The main irony of the story is that the boy gets drunk instead of the dad. As the father is talking and ignoring his son, the boy drinks his father's beer. This is ironic because the reader does not expect the little boy to be drunk. It is also ironic because in the end the mother calls the boy a gaurdian angle instead of punishing him. That is not what I expected at all. The boy acts as a gaurdian angle because he stopped his father from drinking and makes a scene embarassing his father. This makes the father think twice about drinking and he gets up and goes to work the next day.
"The Lottery"
#1 What is a "lottery"? How does the title lead you to expect something very different from what the story presents?
"The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock; in the same towns there were so many proplr that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 26th, but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner."
By definition, a lottery is any happening or process determined by chance. Usually, most people associate a lottery with something good. Most people are happy to win the lottery. The most common prize for a lottery is money. However, the lottery in this story is not a usual lottery. The title suggests that someone would want to win the lottery. But, this story is the opposite; no one wants to win the lottery. The "winner" of the lottery gets stoned to death. In the story, there were hints that no one wanted to win this lottery, but I did not expect someone to be killed.
"The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock; in the same towns there were so many proplr that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 26th, but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner."
By definition, a lottery is any happening or process determined by chance. Usually, most people associate a lottery with something good. Most people are happy to win the lottery. The most common prize for a lottery is money. However, the lottery in this story is not a usual lottery. The title suggests that someone would want to win the lottery. But, this story is the opposite; no one wants to win the lottery. The "winner" of the lottery gets stoned to death. In the story, there were hints that no one wanted to win this lottery, but I did not expect someone to be killed.
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