The Lottery

I was not as surprised as probably many other would have been, only because I had heard about it before. What really struck me with this story is the fact that they all participated in the Lottery and were actually coming off as excited to do it. They all came and the kids got prepared, and they were talking and having fun with it. The sections that they talked about some town were doing away with the lottery; I thought they would be happy to do so. Old Man Warner called the towns that were talking about doing away with the lottery a “Pack of crazy fools”. Another think that I don’t understand is why they do the lottery in the first place? I know they say it is tradition, but why was the tradition started? Was it because they were running out of food, or room? Just something to think about I guess.

A Worn Path

This story had amazing detail as I read it. I felt like I was sitting in the woods watching Phoenix walk to her destination. She seemed like a very old woman and as she was walking through her trail she made comments and had conversations with the nature around her. To some people they could have viewed her as crazy, but to me I think that she had traveled this path so many times that she needed something to keep her going and needed something to do. In the middle of the story when she came to "the end" I realized the great dangers she encountered every time she had to take this trip. Would I do it for my child, definitely! I think that she was a slave and had to get to a free land to get the medicine for her grandson. If she had gotten caught bad things may have happened to her and that is why she chose not to tell the hunter with the dog where she was coming from. She was very brave to pick up the nickel he dropped and slip it in her pocket. She has great meaning in life to help her grandson and seems to have a lot of courage.

The Lottery

My first impressions of this story were interesting. The title lead me to believe that this was going to be a drawing for money throughout the community. As I was reading I noticed the way the story kept talking about the black box that contained all the names. It seemed to be important for the people that the box contained original things from the box that was used to first start this lottery. As all the town people started gathering it seemed as people weren't scared and they all came as they were supposed to. I noticed that it was important that the men of the family drew the name out of the black box. One case of a man not being able to make it lead the wife to be able to draw for him. As I kept reading the whole situation played out equal to me. They all did the same thing and it seemed very organized. When they called the Hutchinson family and Tessie started yelling that it wasn't fair and that there wasn't enough time to take any paper her husband wanted I then realized that this wasn't a lottery for money. I started to wonder what kind of a bad lottery it could be. It wasn't until the end of the story that I realized the intent of the story. I never would have thought it was a murder. That is what I gathered out of it. The people used the stones the children gathered to kill whoever was chosen out of the black box. I really didn't understand why and how the children can play this role in this lottery.

Yellow Wallpaper

In "The Yellow Wallpaper," I think the narrator suffers from a nervous condition. Her husband who is a doctor, recommends that she recuperate in solitude. He forbids her to write, because he insists it is to taxing, so she writes her journals in secret. She sleeps in a large room she believes was once a nursery. The room contains a bed, barred windows and "UGLY" yellow wallpaper. The woman slowly becomes obsessed with the wallpaper. Sha stares at the pattern and evetually decides that it depicts a woman trapped behind bars. Ultimately she locks herself in the room and starts peeling the paper off the walls, she begins to think that she is part of the wallpaper pattern and crawls along the floor following the pattern. Her husband returns home to find her crawling along the floor. He faints across her path, and she continues to crawl over him.
I found it interesting that although men are controlling women throughout most of the story, that he would faint at the end, with his wife crawling on top of him (maybe showing weakness and the eveyual triumph of women ?). Was it really a nursery she was living in, or were the items in the room contraints for the crazy woman, was she really the one that was crazy, or was it John?

A Good Man is Hard to Find Journal Entry #1

A Good Man is Hard to Find My first impression was shock. I was wondering when the grandmother was going to wake up from a dream. I re-read the story and I began to realize all the foreshadowing the author uses. When the family leaves for Florida it seems like they will encounter the Misfit because the grandmother states"I wouldn't take my children in ant direction with a criminal like that aloose in it." The grandmother also refers to the Misfit at the restaurant stating that if criminals like him knew about this place they would for sure drop by. Even though it is a shock that the grandmother recognizes the Misfit at the end stating "Why your one of my babies. You're one of my own children!" It was foreshadowed when she was thinking that she recognized him as if she had known him all her life. The author also referrers to death when they drive by a cemetery, and refers to Gone with the Wind. The Misfit must have felt out of place with his family not to have been around them for years. His own mother didn't know him at first. It is ironic that the Misfit kills his own mother especially when she asked him about his family and he stated "God never made a finer woman than my mother and my daddy's heart was pure gold." The grandmother also tells him that he must be from common blood. It was a tragic ending and it seems unreal.

I stand her ironing

Emily’s mother is unable to meet the needs of her daughter and Emily suffers the drastic effects. The mom’s character directly relates to the poor up bringing of her daughter as evidenced by the mother’s own entrapment to her circumstances.

There is no doubt that the mom is in a difficult situation. She is tending to her younger children, writing to her husband who’s gone away at war, and all the while trying to support her family by working. She consistently uses these tasks as excuses for time not spent with Emily. She has not the strength to give a smile or show joy to her young daughter and in response; “She does not smile easily…Her face is closed and sombre” (285). Because Emily’s mother is preoccupied with other things such as with her second child; she was not able to be with Emily who was crying out to her.

Emera Gould

The Yellow Wallpaper

This was a very dragged on story which the climax keep getting more and more until the very end building up the the last moment of what was going to happen to her which the ending was a little weird to understand. I think that she needed help but her husband the doctor only thought that fresh air and a lot of rest was the cure. Her mental state was that she was very depressed with a newborn child that someone else had to take care of. She was always tired to matter what she did she seamed frail. The yellow wallpaper in her room with a bed nailed to the floor and bars on the windows which use to be a play room for children was a bit unusual because she became obsessed with that paper on the wall, after she got over the part that scared her for a bit. For the most part she was a very depressed women who got no support from her husband and felt overwhelmed about her health and no matter what she said or did they thought that she just needed rest and air.

A&P

In this story I thought Sammy was a typical young boy. Sammy's intrest in the girls was normal, as was his inability to concentrate on his work. Although Sammy made a bad discision in quiting his job, I feel Mr. Hagerty (or I think that was his name), also made a bad discision in making the scene with the girls. Did it really accomplish anything of value, to him or his business? I don't think Sammy should have quit his job over the girls either, but that is typical to the age, what boy would'nt stick up for a girl he would have liked to had a chance to talk to. I guess my real point is, is that Sammy acted as most typical young boys would have in that situation.

Diary for A Good Man is Hard to Find

Dear Diary-
I am so sorry that I convinced everyone to go and find that old house that I remembered from years ago. I NEVER wanted anything bad to happen. I should have said something when I first realized that we were in the wrong state.
I am so sorry. I should have kept my mouth closed when I remembered where I had seen that man before. Maybe then we could have lived through this. I find it kind of odd that they were the fist people that we saw us. I wonder if they put something in the road that would make us crash, just so that nobody could sneak up on them. Misfit corrected me when I said that “We turned over twice!”(pg 360) He said “Oncet, We seen it happen.” So I know they were watching us coming down the road. Who knows what Misfit did? I guess we will never know for sure. I wonder how long it will take for someone to find us, hopefully not to long!

Miss. Brill

I am not a hundred percent sure if this is one of the stories that we are supposed to Blog about but I thought I would just in case.

In the story where she begins to think that they are all actors/actresses. Paragraph 9 says “How she loved sitting here, watching it all! It was like a play. It was exactly like a play… Miss Brill discovered what it was that made it so exciting. They were all on the stage.” I loved this passage, because I also think about this all the time. I often feel that people or something is watching, and we are all just a show to them. Whether you want it to be God or Aliens looking down on us, you never know. How are we to know any thing different than what we are all used to on a day to day bases. I may think of this more because I have worked in a lot of places that have cameras on you all of the time and you don’t want to do anything stupid on camera. So when ever I go anywhere I try to think that someone is watching you and you may never know it.

Does anyone else think of this or am I the only one?

A & P

I felt that Sammy acted as a typical 19 year old boy. All they think about is girls and food. I have two brothers that are 18 and 20, so I know from experience that they don't think of much else.
We only got to see Sammy thinking about girls, but I am sure that he doesn’t think about much else. He deals with the situations as they arise and he will deal with the consequences later.

I had a few questions after reading the story A&P.

1. Was he looking for a reason to quit?
I got the impression that it was just way to easy for him to quit without thinking about what his parents would say until to late.

2. What would he have done if the girls did stop and watch him?
They sounded to me that they were stuck up and wouldn’t have really cared anyway. They didn’t give him the time of day while they were in his lane, even though they were busy with the manager. Sammy didn’t even say that they smiled at him or anything. It was kind of like Sammy was just a pawn in their little game, to get a rise out of people.

The Storm

I do not think that the storm excuses Calixtra and Alcee from kissing. I do believe that it was because of the storm that brought Alcee to the house to wait out the rain. Beings both of them are married I really so no excuse for it. I really didn't expect it to happen. I gathered the conclusion that Calixtra really loved her family because she made many comments about the where abouts during the storm and hoped that they were safe. I think that Alcee has had a crush on Calixtra for many years and that is what lead him to kiss her.
In Alecee's letter to Clarisse he told her "not to hurry back, but if she and the babies liked it at Biloxi to stay a month longer." I really didn't understand if he sent the letter out of love or guilt. Why would he really want them to stay away longer?
This was a really neat story. It was fun to read and the details in it were like I was there watching. I could picture so much of what I was reading. I could picture Bibi sitting on the keg watching out the store, and Calixtra sitting by the window sewing fast worrying where they are. I think stories that have good details are fun and easier to read.