Everyday Use

(response to question 4)
This question asks if the mothers choice to not give her quilts to Dee shows a permanent or temporary change in character. Personally I don't think it is an indication of either. On the contrary, I feel that her determination to hold on to the quilts and to give them to a daughter who will appreciate their true value and history fits her character. As a hard working African American, I feel like she has a very strong personality. Their family worked hard for everything they had (especially since they have been through so much like the fire). I think it is only fair that Maggie should inherit the quilts because she is not embarrassed of her heritage like Dee is and the quilts are a representation of that heritage. Also, Maggie took the time to learn about her family and how to quilt and since Dee, or Wangero, only wants the quilts for decoration she doesn't really deserve them.

Bartleby

This story was long and boring about a job that seems extremely long and boring. Coincidence? I think not. Alright, so this story was about 4 main characters (and of course the narrator who is the boss guy at this office). (This sort of answers Q1 ) Nippers, Turkey, and Ginger-Nut are all introduced first. In fact, Bartleby really doesn't enter the story until about paragraph 15. I think that the author did this for a few reasons. First of all, Bartleby is new to the business and the others have been at the office longer than he. Secondly, because the story is named Bartleby and focuses on Bartleby, I think this was a good was to separate him from the other characters. Alright, so not only did the length of this so called "short story" bother me, but also the repetition of the phrase "I would prefer not". Just say no. In addition to "i would prefer not" Bartleby also says "I am not particular". This kind of reminds me of something you say just to be nice although you don't really mean it. For example, around paragraph 200 the boss is talking to Bartleby and explaining that there needs to be a change and that he may need to find a new job. Bartleby, in his annoying way, says that he would prefer not to make a change although he is not particular. I can just tell that the way he said it made it perfectly clear that he was particular and he was only saying that to sound more considerate.

Hunters In The Snow

The word "friendship" definitely does not come to mind when thinking about this story. When I started to read this story I thought, "okay, this is a story about a group of friends (somewhat sarcastic ones) are going on a hunting trip together. sounds nice." Well, I was wrong. There are three main characters in the story: Tub, Kenny, and Frank. Tub is described as overweight and picked on probably the most throughout the story. However, there are a lot of "shifts" in the story. At some points it seems like Tub is being picked on (for example paragraph 34 where Frank and Kenny make fun of Tubs weight). At other points in the story however Tub is trusted. (for example pages 197 and 198 when Frank creepily admits to having a secret love for his 15 year old babysitter). In response to question 4 I don't think any of the characters really underwent a major change in the story. If i did have to choose one character I think I would say Kenny. This is because before he gets shot he seems to have a lot more insulting and argumentative dialogue. However, after he is shot he sort of just goes with the flow listening to whatever Frank and Tub tell him to do. I thought the characters in this story were just unrealistic and rude. I would never go on a hunting trip with people who were so hateful towards one another(i hate hunting anyways so it doesnt really matter).

How I met My Husband

So I know I just spent my whole last blog complaining about this story, but I really did like it. It was really unexpected. The curve-ball at the end was kind of cute. I really liked the main character in the story because she seemed really relatable to a younger girl- she was a little naive and curious. I especially liked the ending because I think the mail-man suited her much more. What I was thinking was if this Chris guy has a fiance and leaves her for a little girl (which I pretty much had the feeling was close to illegal) how in the world could she believe that he actually loved her? It was really sad that Edie was so gullible to believe what he said. Even worse than that is the fact that she didn't have a doubt in her mind he was lying to her; for months she just waited by the mailbox hoping to hear from him. I like happy endings (and legally appropriate ones) which is why I really liked the fact that she ends up falling for the mailman. However it does make you wonder if she really did love him or if he was kind of a rebound. I mean the girl never had a boyfriend and she practically had her heart broken by some stranger and then this guy comes along and she just falls for him like that. Quick enough that it really only requires one sentence to explain it.

How I met My Husband

This story was kind of cute and annoying at the same time. I really disliked the authors organization/structure in this story. This story jumped around way too much. At every new paragraph i felt completely thrown off. Line 80 for example starts with "The yard and borders didn't get trampled, it wasn't as bad as that." This line really comes out of nowhere and doesn't even seem like a complete thought to me. I had to do a double take the first time I read this to stop and think "okay, we are shifting thoughts now". I felt like I was doing that a lot throughout the story which is weird because unlike "A Rose for Emily" the whole story is in chronological order. Another thing that I disliked about this story was the syntax. Some sentences (like the one previously mentioned) didn't seem like complete thoughts to me. On the other hand, a great number of the sentences seemed like run-ons.. for example at the bottom of page 146 "So I said yes, and I went out with him for two years and he asked me to marry him, and we were engaged a year more while I got my things together and then we did marry." Not only is this sentence really long, but it has a lot of information in it. I just think it is weird that the speaker spends the whole story talking about the few encounters she has with this one man but then only dedicates a paragraph to her husband- most of which is summed up in this one sentence. Personally, if I were her husband I would be rather insulted.

Interpreter of Maladies

At the end of this story question #5 really stuck out to me "How do the characters' views of one another differ from the way the reader is encouraged to view them?" I think this question stuck out to me because I thought it was really weird the way the characters interacted with one another. First of all, it was odd how Mr. Das referred to Mrs. Das as Mina when talking to their daughter. Sometimes my brother calls my mom Karen and I honestly don't think there is something in the world that upsets her more so I really found it strange that the father actually set an example to call the mother by her first name. Next there is Mrs. Das who obviously does not care about her family quite as much as she does Mr. Kapasi. The way she talks to him about his job being romantic is really odd. I think there was much more dialogue (or mention thereof) between Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi than there is between Mr. and Mrs. Das. Mrs. Das seems very cold and distant the way she wore her glasses almost throughout the story. Also, I didn't really like the way in which she ignored her children (like when her daughter was asking her to paint her nails). Finally Mr. Das seemed very indifferent to everything. He never really showed any authority or concern for his children. When they were playing with the goat or making noise in the cab he simply acted as if nothing was wrong. In conclusion I thought the characters in the story made the story seem pretty far-fetched or unrealistic (not to mention the crazy monkeys jumping on the car).

A Rose For Emily

Alright, this story is right up there on the creepy factor with the poem "Edward". Also what struck me about the story was the unique structure. I felt like the story really didn't flow very well but the author did make an attempt to put it in some kind of order. The whole story is basically like a flashback or a retelling of events that happened in the past. I noticed a lot of the paragraphs started with phrases such as "the next day.." "when..." "the day after.." "So the next night.." etc. To me it seems like the author was trying to progress the story as well as give the reader a heads up that time was passing. I didn't really like that because it felt like nothing in the story really flowed or blended together.
One of the questions at the end of the unit in the book was "Compare the effectiveness of first-person in any of the following stories". I think that the use of first person is really helpful in this story because it helps the reader understand the story a little better. As I was reading the story I obviously thought the woman was crazy, but because the speaker describes the pity and sorrow the community felt for her I could understand more why no one ever really tried to bother her or question her about the smell coming from her house (although they should have since a dead body was rotting away). Over all, creepy story.