Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone

I found this poem to be very moving. I interpreted this poem by someone who has lost somebody very special in their life. They feel like their life can't go on any more and may seem like there is nothing left to live for. There seems to be nothing good that can come in the future because somebody is dead. The use of the word aeroplane was used to mention a plane that is more heavier than a regular air plane and it has fixed wings. This represents the emotion of how the author was making us feel about the extent of the loss. This person that died meant the world to the mourner. I feel like I could relate to this person by loosing a mother, father, child, sibling or spouse. I have only lost my Grandfathers in the past year and they meant a lot to me, but not so much that I felt I couldn't live any more.

The weather as an excuse?

In the short story, The Storm, the weather puts in motion a series of events that leads to a man and woman to cheat on their spouses. Some may say that the storm is to blame. I think that blaming the storm for the behavior of these characters is quite the far fetched excuse. I believe that the characters in this story, as well as anyone else who choses to commit adultery is responsible for there own choice. However, the storm does parallel the events that occur in the story very well. The calms and the fury of the storm helps the reader get a feel for the story and stay interested.

The Lottery

The significance of the following in ‘The Lottery’:
Village Square – that is the meeting place, and usually a lively one, for the towns people in a community; usually a happy and social gathering.
Mrs. Hutchinson’s apron – showed her as a working woman; she even managed to forget what day it amidst her daily tasks in the home.
Old Man Warner – oldest man in the community; describes giving up the lottery like going back in time, like living in caves. It is almost as we would describe giving up computers, air travel, automobiles, etc. if we were to “go back in time”.
Slips of paper – originally used wood, but now too heavy due to the population, so slips of paper was an okay sacrifice of change.
The black spot – black always signifies the dark side; black spot becomes a “blot” which is a negative. The black spot signifies the person who wins the lottery and must be stoned.

The names Graves, Adams, Summers and Delacroix signify upstanding and old names. Graves might refer to death as graves in a graveyard; Adam(s) goes back to Adam and Eve and original sin; Summer is when all things should be happy and bright, yet the 27th of June, which appears all normal and bright to the towns people, is when one of their own is doomed to death; Delacroix has no meaning to me. I believe these names have significance in that they all move toward sin and that we must all die, even though Christ died and saved us from sin. It appears they are ‘hanging’ an individual each year to pay for the sins of the others in this essay.

Doe Season

The conflicts that arise when a child has experiences that initiates her into adulthood, or at least toward that end, can be both a growing and learning process, and it can reveal that the individual is not willing or able to follow that path toward an identity that they initially thought they would embrace. In ‘Doe Season’ David Michael Kaplan describes Andy (real name is Andrea) as somewhat tomboyish. She may want to go hunting with her father because she is close to her father and wants to enhance that bond, or she may just want to experience that first deer kill, which is a rite of passage for male or female in modern days.
There seems to be a back and forth play between the ocean scenes, where her mother is very comfortable and carefree, and the woods, where Andy’s father is at ease. It is now the time to try her hand at deer hunting, and Andy goes through the motions of drinking coffee and sleeping in the tent that all go along with being out in the woods. She has to deal with Charlie Spoon and his son, Mac, who try to act macho at times, including making fun of her boyish nickname (109) and Mac talking about male body parts (90), but Andy is able to keep up with them all in spirit. She prays she will get a doe (96), most likely just to prove herself more than anything.
Andy finally gets her doe, but it runs off as if just maimed. Andy is upset because “I don’t like to think of it suffering” (180). She dreamed she saw the deer and actually caressed its heart. When they found the deer in the woods and the men started to gut it, Andy came to reality that she did not like the killing. At that point her mind retreated to the ocean where her mother could find peace. It became a character building at the least.

Chrysanthemums

John Steinbeck wrote about Elisa Allen and her natural planting hands in the short story, “The Chrysanthemums”. The overall theme of this story seemed to center around her ability, as a woman, to do work as meaningful as a man’s work. Her big, beautiful chrysanthemums that she had nurtured and cared for were to grow beautifully as she prepared them for the season. Her husband, Henry, observed “you’ve got a gift with things” (12), and said she might try her hand in the orchard and raise big apples. Henry had just sold steers for close to his asking price, so he was likely feeling successful at that point, and asked Elisa to celebrate with dinner and a movie in town.
The peddler comes along as she finishes her transplanting that afternoon. At first, Elisa appears to try to avoid prolonging his visit as he is asking for work at fixing pans, etc. The man obviously knows how to reach her heart by asking about the ‘mums. Her excitement is apparent as she pulls out plants for him to take to one of his customers on his route. Elisa becomes transcended as she tells the man how he should inform the customer about the plants care and nurturing. As she talks about how “you can feel how it is” (71), she wells up with passion for her work.When Henry arrives home, after Elisa has cleaned up for their outing, the passion and glint is still in her eyes as she looks strong and happy (101). When they pass by the chrysanthemums that the peddler has thrown away, she knows that she has been taken advantage of. She is saddened that he did not really want the ‘mums after all. The peddler had known her weakness and enthusiasm for her flowers, and she had given in to allow him to make money from fixing pans that she did not care about. He had preyed on her weakness. Her sadness seemed to lie in that her interpretation of the peddler and what he stood for was false and that he was not real and genuine

WAYGWHYB

This story by Joyce Carol Oates may have been better understood if read in the time it was set in, presumably the mid-60s. It was a time when male and females were not considered equal, and females did not have as much power as males. Men could use force and brute to get their way, and in this piece of fiction, Arnold tried to cajole Connie into coming with him for a ride. He first used sweet talk and reference to popular music lyrics to get into her head. Finally, he resorted to threats regarding her family’s well being if she would not come with him, or if Connie called the police.
Arnold had said he was “gonna get [her]” when she had walked by him with Eddie the night before, yet she barely remembered who he was when he and Ellie drove out to her home the next day. It was likely just a game to her, and flirting from a guy that meant nothing to her. Connie was enjoying her coming of age and was too naïve to realize the dangers that could be involved in freely expressing sexuality. She was enjoying things for the moment and did not realize how it might look to others.
Whether Arnold Friend (facetiously named or at least called himself!) intentionally set out to rape Connie or just thought he could get a “piece” is not known. But in the end, she gave in to be taken away as she was either protecting her family, meaning she cared about them after all, or she felt her situation was helpless. She may have even thought she deserved what she was about to get for having two sides to herself—the side for her family and the wild side for boys!

Where are you going where have you been

I thought this story was very good at what it gives for how Connie acts with her two different personality's and how it ends up getting her in trouble with an older man who finds out where she lives along with where her family took of to go do leaving her vulnerable to Arnold. He makes his threats as nice a possible and them threatens her family. She tries to call for help but ends up not able to for her fear has passed and she made it seem that there was no way out of this and goes to where Arnold takes her and she is a prisoner of her own body.

The Lottery

Dear Diary,

It was a nice day today, summer has been good to us thus far. I went to the store today and everyone in town was looking forward to the lottery tomorrow, they were going to get the village square ready for the event. I am not sure what to think about the lottery anymore, in a way I like going, but I do worry so about our name being called. I am sure it will be fine, just like every other day. Tonight my husband Joe and I had to get the slips of paper ready for the lottery, so I helped count out 300 pieces out and Joe marked one of them with the dot. I better go get my rest for tomorrow, I will need my strength.

Dear Diary,

The lottery was today, it was a glorious day with beautiful weather, and Bill Hutchinson was the one who choose the slip of paper with the dot on it, so Tessie and the kids all had to go with Bill and see who would then get the slip with the dot on it for their family. Tessie said that "it isn't fair", she thought that Joe didn't give Bill enough time to pick out of the black box. I think that she was just worried for herself. Tessie ended up getting the dot and then she really thought that it was a mistake. I don't know if she would have rather had Bill or one of the kids get the dot than her, but it sure did seem like it. Some ladies in the village went for quite big rocks to start with, and others went for many small ones. All said and done, it turned out to be a good day, just like every other lottery day.