"'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.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
"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.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
"Miss Brill"
"Oh, how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here, watching it all! It was like a play. It was exactly like a play."
"Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield was a very strange story. I did not really understand what the theme of the story was. I just thought the story was about a crazy old lady that liked to people watch. She would dress up and spend every Sunday eavesdropping on conversations of strangers in the park. Then she got it in her head that it was some kind of play and everyone showed up each week to act out their parts. As usual, she made sure she showed up each week for her part. However, towards the end, Mrs. Brill heard a boy and a girl talking about her and it really upset her and she broke her routine. I guess after reading it a second time I thought the theme might be about confidence because Miss Brill's level of confidence changed from beginning to end.
"Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield was a very strange story. I did not really understand what the theme of the story was. I just thought the story was about a crazy old lady that liked to people watch. She would dress up and spend every Sunday eavesdropping on conversations of strangers in the park. Then she got it in her head that it was some kind of play and everyone showed up each week to act out their parts. As usual, she made sure she showed up each week for her part. However, towards the end, Mrs. Brill heard a boy and a girl talking about her and it really upset her and she broke her routine. I guess after reading it a second time I thought the theme might be about confidence because Miss Brill's level of confidence changed from beginning to end.
"Once Upon a Time" - irony
"Then the man and his wife burst wildly into the garden and for some reason (the cat, probably) the alarm set up wailing against the screams while the bleeding mass of the little boy was hacked out of the security coil with saws, wire-cutters, shoppers, and they carried it - the man, the wife, the hysterical trusted housemaid and the weeping gardener - into the house."
"Once Upon a Time" was a depressing story. It kind of added a new meaning to the phase "once upon a time." Whenever I hear that phrase, I usually think it will be followed by a story with a happy ending. However, this was not; it was the opposite. The ending was very sad, but it was also ironic. The family was so afraid of the outside world that they kept adding barriors between them and the world. Their fear of the world crippled them more than it helped them. Every time they add a new security measure to their home they became more vulnerable to intruders because they had gotten so used to false alarms. Then the parents end up killing their little boy because of their over-the-top security system. The irony here is that the wall was meant to protect the family, however the wall killed the little boy instead.
"Once Upon a Time" was a depressing story. It kind of added a new meaning to the phase "once upon a time." Whenever I hear that phrase, I usually think it will be followed by a story with a happy ending. However, this was not; it was the opposite. The ending was very sad, but it was also ironic. The family was so afraid of the outside world that they kept adding barriors between them and the world. Their fear of the world crippled them more than it helped them. Every time they add a new security measure to their home they became more vulnerable to intruders because they had gotten so used to false alarms. Then the parents end up killing their little boy because of their over-the-top security system. The irony here is that the wall was meant to protect the family, however the wall killed the little boy instead.
"A Worn Path"
#5 Discuss the elements of plot and structure that dramatize Phoenix's journey. What are the obstacles to her quest and how does she overcome them?"
"Her eyes were blue with age. Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead..."
In "A Worn Path," Welty uses a lot of imagery to describe Phoenix's journey into town. The imagery in the story is of the obstacles she encounters. She has to persevere and overcome many obstacles to get to town. Some of the obstacles were her age, the thorny bushes, the scarecrow, the dog, and man with the gun. Phoenix faced these obstacles with courage and overcame them because she was determined to make it to town. She overcame her age and her poor eyesight because she knew the way without being able to see because she had walked the path so many times. Phoenix had courage and persevered in order to get the medicine for her grandson because it gave her some satisfaction to know that she was helping her grandson.
"Her eyes were blue with age. Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead..."
In "A Worn Path," Welty uses a lot of imagery to describe Phoenix's journey into town. The imagery in the story is of the obstacles she encounters. She has to persevere and overcome many obstacles to get to town. Some of the obstacles were her age, the thorny bushes, the scarecrow, the dog, and man with the gun. Phoenix faced these obstacles with courage and overcame them because she was determined to make it to town. She overcame her age and her poor eyesight because she knew the way without being able to see because she had walked the path so many times. Phoenix had courage and persevered in order to get the medicine for her grandson because it gave her some satisfaction to know that she was helping her grandson.
"Eveline"
#3 At just about the middle of the story (end of paragraph 9), Eveline sums up her life in Dublin: "It was hard work-a hard life-but now that she was about to leave it she did not find it a wholly undesirable life." What about it makes it attractive to her?
"In her home anyway she had shelter and food; she had those whom she had known all her life about her."
In the story "Eveline" by James Joyce, Eveline is preparing to leave her life behind for a new life. As she reminisced about her past, Eveline began to wonder why she was leaving. She realized that her life was not that bad after all. She had a home and a family. Eveline was attracted to her lifestyle because it was comfortable. She had a daily routine that she followed and she was okay with that. Even though there was a possibility of a better life, Eveline was not sure that is what she wanted anymore. By the end of the story, the reader realizes that Eveline is afraid of change and a life in a strange new country because she chose not to go with Frank.
"In her home anyway she had shelter and food; she had those whom she had known all her life about her."
In the story "Eveline" by James Joyce, Eveline is preparing to leave her life behind for a new life. As she reminisced about her past, Eveline began to wonder why she was leaving. She realized that her life was not that bad after all. She had a home and a family. Eveline was attracted to her lifestyle because it was comfortable. She had a daily routine that she followed and she was okay with that. Even though there was a possibility of a better life, Eveline was not sure that is what she wanted anymore. By the end of the story, the reader realizes that Eveline is afraid of change and a life in a strange new country because she chose not to go with Frank.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
"Bartleby the Scrivener"
"I would prefer not to."
I thought "Bartleby the Scrivener" was a very strange short story. At first, it did not seem like there was a point and it was very slow. I was really bored reading this story because it seemed like it to along tome for the plot to develop. Once Bartleby entered the story, the plot started to develop more. I thought Bartleby was a very interesting character. When he started working, he was a very dilgent copyist, but he would not review anything. His only response was "I would prefer not to." While I reading, I started to wonder if the werethe only words he knew how to say. Eventually, it got to be annoying. I do not know what his situation was but I want to know more about him and I am confused as to why he died.
I thought "Bartleby the Scrivener" was a very strange short story. At first, it did not seem like there was a point and it was very slow. I was really bored reading this story because it seemed like it to along tome for the plot to develop. Once Bartleby entered the story, the plot started to develop more. I thought Bartleby was a very interesting character. When he started working, he was a very dilgent copyist, but he would not review anything. His only response was "I would prefer not to." While I reading, I started to wonder if the werethe only words he knew how to say. Eventually, it got to be annoying. I do not know what his situation was but I want to know more about him and I am confused as to why he died.
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