The Storm

Putting aside the adultery part of this story, I liked it. The anxiety everyone was feeling while watching the storm come in, you could almost feel it too. That fear for another person that you love.Then at the end when everyone makes it home and is ok, you feel relieved. That's when life resumes back to normal for everyone, no matter what happend during the storm.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

I believe that it was the Grandmother who kept her true faith. No matter what was put in front of her she still believed in God and that all people are good deep down in their souls. Even when she was pushed to her limited she still held on to her faith. Right before the moment in which she was murder she still prayed to God. She knew it was coming and yet she still wanted to believe that even when evil is right in front of you, you always can have your faith in God that it will all be ok.

The Yellow wallpaper

In the yellow wallpaper the author has proven to her husband that there is really a problem with her. There are many different points that shifts occur. There are different points of view when the authors husband tries to evaluate her condition. The author shows many different problems that she has that her husband and brother says that she doesn't have at all.

A&P

In the short story “A&P,” John Updike uses a “have I got a story for you” dialog mixed with an exceptional array of teenage jargon, to paint a wonderful picture of Sammy. I think using a seventeen year old aids Updike immensely as he paints a picture of non-conformity, which I feel is his overall motive. My reasoning for this revolves around the fact that he writes about a beautiful swimsuit clad girl in an every-day grocery store, where you are expected to be clothed. By placing a scantily dressed, barefoot girl against a backdrop of dull conformists one can see the opposing thoughts that Sammy has about normality. Updike also alludes to the regular customers as “sheep” in more than one instance (221, paragraph 5; 223, paragraph 20), which insinuates they need to be led. Sammy’s epiphany is his realization that he doesn’t want to adhere to the rules and become a dull supervisor. I feel he realizes this when his manager, Lengel, goes out of his way to scold the girls for not being properly dressed. Sammy wants to portray himself as a hero to these pretty girls so he quits his job while they can still hear. Sammy’s disdain for what he could become if he stayed around (Lengel) could also be a major reason he quits.

A&P

The story "A & P" by John Updike, narrates the experience of a 19yr old grocery clerk, called Sammy. Three girls walked into the A&P grocery store during his shift. The girls wore nothing but bathing suites.Sammy notices that they don't have shoes on. He takes another look at the girl in the green bathing suit. He scrutinizes her suit and decides that it must be new because it still has sharp seams in the bust. He then turns his attention to the girl next to her. Immediately, he is not attracted to her, but he thinks that she is the type of female other girls would call striking. I believe this story is about feminist protest.Sammy’s epiphany is his belief that people should be allowed to be to be frivolous when they want to. They should be able to come into a store in bathing suits to buy snacks, and they should be able to turn heads when they do it. Young men should be able to be attracted to young women without feeling guilty, and when they do, society should be able to withstand the trend. On the contrary, it was the opposite with his boss who thought it to be against societal norms, and causing them embarassments. Sammy's epiphany also manifested in the last sentence of the story, where he realizes, as he walks away from the store, "how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter" -- but it will only be hard in the sense that he will forever be forced to buck the Lengels of the world, who will outnumber him a thousand to one.

A Good Man is Hard to Find

A good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Conner can be looked at two ways. The first way a person can view it by is that the grandmother was the only one with true faith. When she was faced with a terrible situation she started to pray and turn to god. She talked to the Misfit group about God and forgiveness. She told them to pray and they could be better men. Mean while the rest of her family just gave in. They didn't fight for life or prey to God, so they are the pretenders. Another way to look at it is that the grandmother was the pretender because she was begging and pleading for her life. If she was really a believer she would be accepting that this was God's plan. The rest of the family went into the woods without a fight. They knew what was going to happen, at least the adults did. They were the true believers in faith. They knew they would go to an internal resting place. Either way they all faced their faith when they were faced with death. It was handled differently by all.

A & P

In A & P by Updike, I believe that the short story displays a lot of feminist protest. When the girls walk into the store with only their bathing suits, knowing this is against social norm. They wanted to be seen and make known of what they are doing. For example; they walk the opposite way down the aisles as everyone else is. They are making it known that they want to be treated equal. In my eyes, the biggest display of feminism protest, is when Lengel confronted the three girls of their outfits. Now, in a regular society, one would apologize and make sure it won't be a problem again. But this was definetly not the case here. The girls fought back and stood up for their own rights. Lengel did not treat the girls appropriately. I believe this is why Sammy quit. He finally realized, or had his epiphany that how Lengel is treating the girls, is not appropriate. He realizes that it isn't "normal" for him to be treating the girls that way.

A & P Unit 3

In John Updike's, A&P, Sammy works at the local grocery store and got this job because his parents know the owner, Lengel. I think this story has alot of feminist protest in it. In walk the three girls "in nothing but bathing suits" (220) when clearly people know you are suppose to where clothing and shoes into a store. The girls caught they eye of most of the customers in the store, especially the old ladies. There was a leader of the pack, "queenie." "She kind of led them, the other two peeking around and making their shoulders round." (220) It seemed as though they liked to be noticed. They even "were walking against the usual traffic." (221) All these make me think it is a story of feminist protest.
It seemed like Sammy may have been really bored with his job when this incident took place. It could have been the icing on the cake. He does not agree with the way that Lengel treats these girls. He knows that they came in for one thing, and even though they broke the rules, he thinks Lengel should have been a little easier on them. I also wonder if maybe he spoke too soon and did not really want to quit his job but just wanted to get the attention of the girls. This leads to the epiphany of the story when Sammy realizes what he has done and now has to face his parents and the real world without his job at the A&P.

A Rose for Emily

"A Rose for Emily" is a short story written by William Faulkner. No matter how crazy The narrator made Emily sound, they made it clear throughout the story that they had some kind of respect for this woman. The narrator being the not on single person but all the townspeople. "Our whole town went to her funeral," " set on once had once been our most select street." (pg 206) First of all, the whole town had gone to her funeral, the narrator states "Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care." (pg 206) Because colonel Sartoris made it believable that Emily's father had loaned the town money. The narrator keeps the reader in suspense about Emily's boyfriend. You never really know until the very end if he is dead or no. I like the clues that he gives you though. The poison that she buys and the fact that whether he comes out of the house or not, she is the only one anyone sees peeking out of the window. Overall, I think that this story was the best out of the two. This one really kept me interested. It had enough length to the story to give you more details whereas I believe the other story was too short and just didn't keep me interested.

A&P

John Updike's story, "A&P" is best described as a story about "manly decisiveness" because here is a young man named Sammy who decides to make a life altering decision in the face of what he believes is the right thing to do. He feels that these three girls are mistreated by his manager when they are lightly scolded for not appearing to be dressed in an appropriate manner. There is a strong sense of during the story that Sammy is not content with his job. "The store's pretty empty, it being Thursday afternoon, so there was nothing much to do except lean on the register and wait for the girls to show up again" (pg 222). This is the main remark made to explain how it is slow and dreary most of the time in their small town store. Sammy comes to his decision the moment the girls feel uncomfortable and decide to leave quickly. He feels that he might be seen as some sort of hero in their eyes if sticks up for them (pg 223). This moment was probably the longest few seconds of Sammys life. He felt his opportunity to make a move and get out and he took it. I think most people would have backed down to Lengel and changed their mind. Even though Sammy didn't win the girls hearts, he is shown to be a man of his beliefs.

A & P

A & P is a short story written by John Updike in 1961. I think it's important to know when it was written because the time period was that of a rebellion. A younger generation aspired to see how far they could go, almost daring the ancient conservative to make a comment.
Manly decisiveness is apparent throughout this short narration. Sammy showed manly decisiveness when he quit his job. "Did you say something, Sammy?" "I said I quit." (223) Sammy had a chance to recant his resignation, to verbally backtrack, yet he stood firm in his decision. Lengel is adamant about his male decisiveness too. There is nothing the girls could have said to make Legel change his mind. He was determined to make the girls, in particular Queenie, understand her error. " "...it's our policy." He turns his back." (223) Legel wasn't interested in hearing this juvenile trio any longer, he turned his back to say, finished, end of conversation, I have the last word. Male decisiveness.
Did Sammy's reason for quitting walk in with that threesome one sunny afternoon? Not really. He didn't care about the customers, thinking derogatory thoughts like "...they would have burned her over in Salem." (220) and calling customers old, bums, and sheep. He never said these things out loud, mind you. He just thought them as a way to pass the day, to overcome the boredom of the job.
Sammy's epiphany was the last sentence. "...my stomach kind of fell..." (225) Here is a 19 year old man whose mom had got him employment and even ironed his shirt, yet he threw it away for a few girls who piqued his interest one sunny afternoon.
Sammy and the threesome were all part of the rebellion. The youth of the day who refused to conform, aspiring to see how far they could go.

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

In this story it throws a person for quite a rollercoast ride. When you think of who the religious "pretender" was, it was the grandmother. She was the only one praying and trying to solely use her faith to get her through the whole experience. Grandma thought that if she would pray and try to persuade the Misfit that they would change their minds and not proceed to kill her. The people with the true faith would be the family. They just took life as it was happening. They just had faith in God and knew they wouldn't be left alone after they proceeded to Heaven and taken by the Lord. They didn't need to express their feelings, they just had inner faith. God calls everyone home for a reason and it was their time to go Home! When you achieve a moment of religious grace I believe it gives a person closure and reasurrance. Violence plays a big role with the Misfit when he had killed the family and had shown no remorse. He believed what he was doing was okay. Even going as far as denying the death of his father and that he didn't kill him. Just be glad to have everyday God gives you. Don't ever take anything for granted and follow your heart. That's the key to life!

Yellow Wallpaper ~ Unit 3

In the story, Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Gilman created a piece that represented the internal liberation of a suppressed woman through the use of creative imagery and symbolism. It was obvious that the narrator was upset with certain aspects of the house, particularly the yellow wall paper and the creeping smell that lingered in her hair and throughout the entire house. I think what upset her most was the fact that John did not value her wishes to stay in the downstairs rooms and laughed at the sight of the yellow wall paper. “I wanted one [bedroom] downstairs that opened on the piazza and had roses all over the window, and such pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings! But John would not hear of it” (368). In reality, the yellow wallpaper was a representation of her struggle between submission and freedom. She became grossly involved with the intricate patterns of the paper. It was apparent that the narrator had lost touch with the reality, but by completely submerging herself in the fantasies and patterns of the yellow wallpaper, she came to the realization that she was in fact the frantic woman trapped underneath the wallpaper trying desperately to be free. It appeared that the image of the woman behind the yellow wallpaper was also congruent with how the narrator’s life was portrayed. “By daylight she is subdued, quiet. I fancy it is the pattern that keeps her so still. It is so puzzling. It keeps me quiet by the hour “(374). As the narrator became more intrigued with the woman behind the paper, she began to enjoy watching for new discoveries and it gave her something to look forward to. She began to fantasize less about the world outside the window and grew increasingly more paranoid about the motives of her husband and Jane. “He asked me all sorts of questions, too, and pretended to be very loving and kind” (376). The narrator’s perception of reality really began to change when her husband refused to leave the house despite her efforts to convince him otherwise. “’Better in body perhaps-“ I began, and stopped short, for he sat up straight and looked at me with such a stern, reproachful look that I could not say another word” (373). The point of view changed when the narrator became angry and desperate after the wallpaper began to mock her efforts. Looking out of the window at the creeping women she thought, “I wonder if they come out of the wall-paper as I did” (377)? At this point, the narrator’s sentences become short and precise as if to imply a sense of initiative. As the narrator tore each piece of paper, she had symbolically torn away the outer submissive pattern of her life and was liberated from that power of her husband and Jane. “I’ve got out at last in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back” (378). Although the narrator did not reach this realization through normal rational thought, she was able to use the disillusionment of the yellow wallpaper to solve her inner most desire- liberation.

A Rose for Emily

In the short story of A Rose for Emily by Faulkner, I believe it was very hard for Emily to live and survive in such a small town full of gossip and different opinions. She lost her father at a young age and had to make it on her own with noone to love until she met Homor who was a foreman working in the town. She had to deal with the sheriff knocking on her door so often for taxes which she claims she never has, "I have no taxes in Jefferson." (pg 207) It was really hard to believe that she'd killed Homor, regardless of her bitterness towards life and the town. She was affraid of loosing another loved one, which is why she figured she'd poison him and keep him until death. There were so many feelings about Emily from all of the town folk, "Poor Emily" but then people were also against her along with the sheriff and her neighbors. The narrator, I believe, was the whole town when it kept saying "we" instead of "I". People of the town thought she wanted to kill herself when she bought the arsenic, "She will kill herself." (pg 210) She obvioulsy wanted to die by Homor though when she would lay by him at times, with the pillow indented in the shape of her head and a long piece of hair on the pillow.

A&P

The story A&P by Updike is a story about conformity. It takes place after the Second World War in a small town. It shows how each generation seems to have differences in opinions as far as how they want to dress. This small town is used to being more conservative, “the women generally put on a shirt or shorts or something before they get out of the car into the streets.” The girls feel there is nothing wrong with the way they are dressed and are just stopping to pick one thing, but the manager feels differently. He states to the girls “this is not the beach” defining that this attire should not be worn at the store “we want you decently dressed when you come in here.” The girl feels they are doing nothing wrong defending themselves by saying “we are decent.” The girls felt they were appropriate but the manager felt differently. “That’s policy for you. Policy is what the kingpins want. What the others want is juvenile delinquency.”
Sammy was getting sick of working at the A&P it seems he wanted out and this was his out. The monotonous of the store was one thing to make him want to quit, “Hello (bing) there, you (gung) hap-py pee-pal (splat)!” Sammy is annoyed with work mocking the customers several times in the story. “I bet you could set off dynamite in an A&P and the people would by and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists…” This was all an excuse and opportunity for Sammy to quit.
Sammy’s epiphany was realizing that it is not easy going against the “norm”. Sammy says “ … and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.”

"The Yellow Wallpaper" - A Look Into Insanity

The first person point of view used in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” creates a very personal feeling between the narrator and the reader. It is written in such a way that the reader feels the emotional roller coaster the narrator is on, and cares about what will happen to her at the end of the ride. Through stream-of-consciousness phrasing, Gilman invites us into the narrator’s mind, as she spirals further down into insanity. By the end of the story, as she is peeling the wallpaper down from the wall, she is filled with frustration and it is not clear if the narrator’s intention is to kill herself when she proclaims, “I am getting angry enough to do something desperate. To jump out of the window would be admirable exercise “ (377). This poor woman has come to believe that she has peeled herself out of the wallpaper, and refuses to let them put her back in. She tells John “I’ve got out at last [..]in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back” (378). The narrator’s insanity stemmed from a case of post-partum depression, and could easily have been cured but was only made worse with the cure of the times.

The reader can sense a real shift in the plot after the narrator has her talk with her husband one night. She tries to ask him to leave, as she can feel her sanity slipping away rapidly, but he is not sympathetic to her request, worrying instead that “our lease will be up in three weeks, and I can’t see how to leave before” (373). From this point on, the wallpaper seems to take over the narrator’s mind and soul, until she believes she is “feeling ever so much better, “ even if she does not “sleep much at night, for it is so interesting to watch developments” (374). It is at this point that her husband becomes less important to her, and the woman behind the wallpaper becomes part of her.

After reading this story, you would most likely come away with the belief that the house, the garden, and specifically her room is haunted. In reality, the house is just an old musty, the garden is a little overgrown, and the yellow, faded wallpaper is just rotting and possibly molding on the walls. Not a haunted house, but more like prison for Jane. As the story begins, she seems frightened by the wallpaper itself, watching as the pattern “suddenly commit[s] suicide – plung[ing] off at outrageous angles, destroy[ing] themselves in unheard of contradictions” (368). She loves the grandeur of the house, and the “delicious garden,” but she is unhappy with the nursery that will become her room (367). It is funny that by the end of the story, she will not leave the room she hated, and shuns the garden she loved.

The Yellow Wallpaper

What happens to the protagonist in The Yellow Wallpaper is that she fulfilled the label of being crazy. Even though her sly husband did not directly come out and call her that. After hearing her husband talk to her like a child, “What is it, little girl?” (373) the narrator begins to have doubts of her mental stability.
The husband also tries to convince the narrator that she is not of a sound mind by telling her, “Can you not trust me as a physician when I tell you so?” (373) I think that by after spending so much time in a some-what confined room any person might start to have fanciful thoughts, maybe more so a women who has just given birth.
In the beginning of the story the narrator sounded sure of her self. Strong and upbeat, she kindly brushed aside her husband’s remarks. On page 374 the narrator says “I have no intention of telling him it was because of the wallpaper—he would make fun of me.” He might even want to take me away.” As I continued to read the story, the narrator’s belief in herself seemed to waver. By the end of the story she had to tear down the wallpaper to prevent herself from going crazy.

A Good Man is Hard to Find

A Good Man is Hard to Find
In this story The Misfit is a religious pretender; in a way he almost mocks the old lady’s religious beliefs by letting her believe that he shares them. For example when the grandma tells The Misfit “If you would pray, Jesus would help you” (363) after he tells her about his father and that he never killed him, The Misfit agrees getting her hopes up that he won’t kill the rest of them just to tell her that he does not want help.
The Grandmother has true faith in that she believes that there is good in him and that he will show them mercy if he sees that she has hope in him. She maintains her faith until the end as she continuously asks for help from Jesus. She achieves religious grace when her head cleared for an instant. (364) Then she murmured “Why your one of my babies. Your one of my own children” (364) she is seeing him as one of Gods children not as the monster that he is. For this she has paid with her life when she reaches out to touch him he shoots her three times in the chest. You really see how cold hearted The Misfit is when he makes the comment about the grandma that “She would have been a good woman, if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.” (365)

A&P

The short story A&P was written by John Updike. I believe this story is about feminist protest. First, because the three girls walk into A&P with nothing but bathing suits (220). They know this is wrong and they should be fully dressed. Second, the girls walked against the traffic in the aisles of the store (221). Also, “the queen” showed feminist protest by having her straps down (220). They also argue with Lengel, the store manager, about being dressed decent. They feel, they are dressed decent but Lengel doesn’t (223).
In the end Sammy, one of the cashiers, quit. I think he quit for several reasons. One, I feel he didn’t’ like how Lengel treated the girls. He felt that they were just in a hurry to get the things their mother asked them to get and get out (223). He also felt Lengel didn’t have to embarrass them (223). I think he also quit because he wanted to impress the girls by sticking up for them.
Sammy’s epiphany is that he doesn’t want to work at the store anymore even if his parents care. It occurred to him when Lengel embarrassed the girls.