Eveline

"She knew the air Strange that it should come that very night to remind her of the promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could."

My small group decided that the theme for this story could be: "Irish people are afraid of the unknown and don't like change". It makes total sense, right? Well, I think it does. Eveline lives in a basically terrible home. Her mother and favorite brother are dead. Her other brother never visits. Her dad is abusive. I know that she promised her mother to keep the house together, but I think it's already broken up. Not that I'd advise to go to Buenos Aires with this random man. I think she should move out first of all. She needs a place of her own. Somewhere that doesn't evoke painful memories with every glance. She's torturing herself by finding excuses to stay at home, but I also don't think she'd be happy in Buenos Aires. I think Eveline should slowly begin to make her own life for herself. If I were to put myself in her shoes, I would want to leave. Maybe not to a far away, foreign land, but to somewhere new. I think that would be the smartest decision for Eveline to begin a road to happiness.

A Worn Path

"Then Phoenix was like an old woman begging a dignified forgiveness for waking up frightened in the night." -Eudora Welty

My first guess as to why Phoenix was a little on the strange side was that she was blind. She seemed to be struggling to walk and she spoke to her surroundings. I figured I'd give her the benefit of the doubt before I just wrote her off as crazy. But she wasn't blind, because she could see certain landmarks during her journey, according to the narrator. I do think Phoenix was a little bit crazy, just because of the way she talked and acted. However, I think she was senile possibly due to Alzheimer's?  Also, she was being driven by a love for her sick grandson. That motive was not revealed until the end; she didn't even remember why she was going into town until she was reminded. Phoenix reminds me of Mama Odie from Princess and the Frog. Mama Odie is blind (yes, I know that Phoenix isn't) and she is a little bit crazy at first glance. After a while we learn that she has great intentions to help the Prince and Tiana that are revealed after a wonderful, typical Disney musical number. 

Miss Brill - Climax

"But to-day she passed the baker's by, climbed the stairs, went into the little dark room–her room like a cupboard–and sat down on the red eiderdown. She sat there for a long time. The box that the fur came out of was on the bed. She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside." - Katherine Mansfield 

This passage is the climax of the short story, Miss Brill. During the story, Miss Brill just wants to be accepted by her community. It's clear that she is not originally from the  town she's currently living in. After her weekly trip to the park to listen to music and attempt to socialize, she usually gets a pastry and hopes for an almond. After hearing a couple who was obviously young and in love make fun of her, which was what she desperately wanted to avoid, she was heartbroken. That's why she skipped her trip to the baker's. The resolution - which I've learned does not mean everything is solved or happy - comes shortly after. Miss Brill takes off her fur; the fur was the only thing connecting her to her peers in the park. When she took of the fur, she came to the realization that she would never fit into that community. No matter what she wore or where she went, she would be the English teacher living in a foreign land.

Once Upon A Time - Situational Irony

"For when they began to live happily ever after they were warned, by that wise old witch, the husband’s mother, not to take on anyone off the street." - Nadine Gordimer

The family in this story was warned again the dangers of strangers. They head the witch's (mother-in-law's) advice to never take anyone in off the streets. They are scared to death of robbers and other any other bad thing that could happen to their home. Throughout the whole story they add on more and more things; since they have never personally been robbed, I think they are doing this to follow their neighbors. They are somewhat paranoid when it comes to protecting their house. In all of this protection, they get too caught up to realize it could harm their family members. It's to be expected that the "concentration camp" style barbed wire would ultimately keep the family safe; however, their son gets tangled up in the wire and dies. This ends a children's story that is not really a children's story at all. This is a depressing, morbid story written by a stubborn, scared writer. 

Hunter's In The Snow - Kenny

"'Now look, Kenny,' Frank said, 'it's no use whining about being cold if you're not going to try and keep warm. You've got to do your share.'" - Frank, Hunter's in the Snow pg. 197

I absolutely hated Kenny in the beginning of this story. He was being arrogant and rude. When he shot the farmer's dog, I thought I was going to throw my book. You can't just shot dogs?!? Then things began to unfold and my opinion changed - mainly due to sympathy. He was doing the old farmer a favor by shooting the dog. Granted, he should have told his friends to avoid confusion and the whole ordeal, but still Tub overreacted. He was then left in the bed of a truck to die! That's not okay; no matter what a person has done. Frank and Tub spend time complaining about issues that are completely self-made and could be avoided, while their friend is at risk of losing his life. Then they took a "different turn". Not a wrong turn, a different turn. I think they knew Kenny was going to die, and they just didn't care. It's safe to say that my opinion changed. At the end, I felt sorry for Kenny having to be friends with such huge idiots who have no regard for their friend's life.

Everyday Use - Dee's Contradiction

"'She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.'" - Dee, Everyday Use pg. 180

Dee returns home as a walking contradiction. She changed her name to be more authentic African, since she's trying to get in touch with her heritage. However, she completely disowns her family's African American heritage. She thinks her sister will put to good use the quilts that her ancestors have made. It's almost a metaphor for her life. She wants to embrace her heritage in her own way, but she doesn't accept other people's views. She is also only doing all of that at her convenience. She only cares about her family when she feels like it. That is why I am not a huge fan of her character. No one truly embrace who they are unless they know about their past- true. BUT, they also have to take into consideration their childhood, family, home, and simply their experience of growing up. For that reason, Dee is being hypocritical. Her mother has a right to be fed up with her after listening to her disown her family name, but then act as though she's supreme because of her "authentic African-ness".

Bartleby - Allusion

" 'Eh!- He's asleep, ain't he?' 'With kings and counselors,' murmured I." - Bartleby the Scrivener

“For now I would have lain down and been quiet; 

I would have slept then, I would have been at rest, 

With kings and with counselors of the earth, 

Who rebuilt ruins for themselves;" - Job 3:13-14

That is the verse that the narrator was alluding to. I think the narrator was saying that Bartleby did this to himself, but he didn't know why. The narrator believed that he was being hard on himself, just as Job was in the Bible. Death was the happiest place that Bartleby could have been, which is why he starved himself. The narrator had an odd sympathy for Bartleby which I still don't understand. This sympathy caused the narrator to feel a sense of peace when Bartleby dies. It's as if he were a very sick (which in the mind, he was) person whose family is waiting for them to be out of their misery. This allusion to the Bible would make more sense to someone who was familiar with the story, but it still is understandable to people who have no knowledge of the Bible.

Turkey and Nippers - Direct Characterization

"In truth they were nicknames mutually conferred upon each other by my three clerks, and were deemed expressive of their respective persons or characters." - Bartleby the Scrivener pg. 644

Turkey is described by the narrator, his boss, as a short and somewhat older man. He somewhat resembled a turkey. Halfway through the day, he would get drunk after working diligently through the morning. The narrator says how he was "a most valuable person" in the office. Turkey was a sloppy drunk with a bad temper in the afternoon, but Nippers made up for that. Nippers is ambitious, but he he only works hard during the later half of the day. Nippers is almost too ambitious; he sulks all morning about having to work for the lawyer. I think the narrator doesn't fire the 2 workers because he really enjoys settling for average, actually, I think he settles for below average. Anything goes with him as long as the work is done. Turkey and Nippers are unprofessional, but since they do a minimal amount of work the lawyer doesn't fire them. Don't even get me started on his attitude toward Bartleby. 

I think it's a little strange that when you google the word turkey this (the national flag of Turkey) is what the first image is. You learn something new every day.

A Rose For Emily

"So the next day we all said, 'She will kill herself'; and we said it would be the best thing" - narrator, A Rose For Emily

The narrator of this story is simply telling the town gossip about Emily. I feel sorry for her. She sits in her house, trying to stay away from the cruel people, and yet they say awful things like that. What makes them think that everything she does have some psychotic ulterior motive. Maybe she does, but they can't go around telling people unless they know for sure. Maybe she just wants to be weird all by herself; she never asked them to read in to every move she makes. If I were her I would feel disrespected and very angry. She probably could not care less, but I still don't think that gives them any right to say things about her personal life. This story may as well be told in a hair salon while nosy middle aged women sip lemonade.

A Rose For Emily = Bathilda Bagshot

"When we saw Emily next, she had grown fat and her hair was turning grey." - narrator, A Rose For Emily

Emily immediately reminded me of Bathilda Bagshot from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (when she's actually a cover up for Voldemort's snake, Nagini) by the creepy way she acted. She seemed to evade people, just as Bathilda did when she wasn't actually herself. The real Bathilda was dead, and I think the real Emily partially died when her father died. She had a terrible time letting people go, which is why she held on to Homer's dead body until her death. She just crept around town and around her house. Granted, she never had a giant snake jump out of her body as Bathilda did. Other than that, the two are strikingly similar in my mind. 


I sincerely hope you all watch this clip. If you didn't scroll back up and click play. Much appreciated.

How I Met My Husband - Suspense

"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."- Edie Carmichael 

This story builds on the fact that you don't know who Alice marries. The whole story seems like she is being sort of courted - although I thought it was kind of creepy and pedophile-y - by Chris Watters. Then the suspense of whether or not he would write began to build. I didn't think he would, but I was waiting to be proved wrong. I wasn't. Then this other man comes in to the picture and all of the sudden the long, drawn out explanations are gone. It happens quickly without any real suspense. The story thrives on the suspense of the relationships present, but then it abruptly ends. Edie describes the whole Chris incident very detailed, as if it were a very important moment in her life. Yet when she talks about her marriage, she tells it nonchalantly. This leads me to believe she isn't too enthralled with married life, or her husband. I think she was still hung up on Chris.

Interpreter of Maladies - Irony

 "And so the doctor asked me to work in his office, interpreting what the patients say." - Mr. Kapasi

The irony leads to the conflict in this story. Mrs. Das thinks the tour guide's job as an interpreter means he can solve people's problems. Truthfully, he's just a translator. This leads to Mrs. Das being very friendly with Mr. Kapasi, because she wants her problem solved. This made Mr. Kapasi think falsey of her actions; he thought she had feelings for him. I think it was a mistake on both accounts. Mrs. Das was being rude to her husband, which didn't help her attitude, and made a stupid mistake, but Mr. Kapasi also let his mind wander too much. The irony in the story amplifies a small misunderstanding.