First, allow me to address the comments regarding the less than weekly updates. The Scottish poet Robert Burns famously pointed out that "the best-laid schemes of o' mice an' men gang aft agley". That means that the updates were thwarted by a mistake I made with the automatic update setting and ,more happily, my wedding. That means you benefit by receiving points for less work.
I want to take this time to encourage some of you to revisit your comments and see if they truly answer the questions posed. See if they are actual discussions with weight or if the are merely filler that you posted just to have it done. I read with a critical eye and I want substance from you.
Make certain you have read the stories and that you have your papers ready for me. Some of you have already shared them with me, and I'm appreciative of the effort.
Here's the question of the week.
Choose one of the stories you read and write a personal reaction of no less than 300 words in the comments section. Address the characters, the writing style, the plot and the emotional reaction you had to the piece. Be very specific in the details you use and EXPLAIN your thoughts.
For example, don't merely state something is ironic. Explain the irony and the effect on the character and the story.
The story that I read and had the greatest emotional reaction to was “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin. Chopin portrays a short time in the life of Mrs. Mallard using dramatic language and heavily written paragraphs to make readers aware of how crucial this hour was in Mrs. Mallard’s life.
ReplyDeleteThe emotional reaction that I initially had to this piece was sadness and shock. The shock I had stems from the moment when Mrs. Mallard’s husband walks in, as he was assumed to have been killed in a terrible accident on the railroad. I was also a bit saddened by the fact that Mrs. Mallard had mourned her husband’s death but then found a sense of joy shortly after. Her happiness was short lived however, as she died when she saw her husband walk in the house.
The plot of this short story is interesting. Mrs. Mallard is said to have a heart condition in the beginning. Mrs. Mallard’s husband, Brently, dies in an accident, and Mrs. Mallard’s friends and family must break the news to her gently. After mourning her loss, she realizes she is free from the strain of her marriage. Shortly after, she sees her husband walk through the door and “when the doctors came they said she died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.”
There is a great deal of irony is this story. I find it a bit ironic that Mrs. Mallard found joy after learning of the death of a loved one, and then she dies “of the joy that kills” after she sees Brently, her husband, walk through the door of their house. This irony affects both the characters and the story. Mrs. Mallard is dead as a result of this, which puts a spin on how I first thought the story would have ended.
The story I choose to write about is "The Story of An Hour" by Kate Chopin. I had a very strong emotional reaction to this story mainly cause of the words Choplin uses. She uses very vivid words to describe Mrs. Mallard's feelings for her husband and for her life. It opens your eyes to how trapped she felt. Also the way she makes the characters act when they hear the news pulls on your heart strings a little.
ReplyDeleteThe plot to the story is very intriguing. In the beginning Mrs. Mallard seems devastated when she finds out her husband is dead. Then you find out she is relived he is dead because she can be free for the rest of her life. She can do what she wants when she wants to. She is a widow now. Then at the end of the story she finds out her husband survived the accident, and as he is walking in the door she falls all of a sudden and dies. The doctors say she had a bad heart condition. But in all honesty she did from heart break she knew him being a live she was no longer free.
The emotional reaction I had from the story was surprised and a hint of sadness. The sadness happened when her husband came home ad she fell dead right in front of him. He had a miracle that he was alive and I'm sure all he wanted was to see his wife, and she died as soon as she saw him. The surprise came when I figured out she would rather be alone and free then have her husband and be with someone. It also surprised me when no one picked up on that she was glad her husband was gone.
The story is filled with irony it is ironic that her so called dead husband walks in the door and instead of excitement she drops dead as if they traded places. I never thought the story would end that way it was certainly and unexpected twist.
In the short story "A&P" by John Updike, the characters include Sammy, Quennie, Lengel, Stokesie, "Plaid", and "Big Tall Goony Goony". Sammy is the narrator of the story. He is a nineteen-year-old boy working the checkout line at an A&P in a small town. Quennie, "Plaid", and "Big Tall Goony Goony" are three together and walk into the store just wearing bathing suits. Lengel is the store manager who is a Sunday school teacher and is highly upset when the girls walk in dressed the way they do. Stokesie is the other store clerk ringing up customers throughout the whole story.
ReplyDeleteThe writing style of the short story "A&P" by John Updike is very casual and informal. The narrator switches between past and present tense all throughout the short story to make the reader feel like it is his or her own thoughts they are reading through. This writing style makes the passage more easily for the reader to comprehend and understand because our minds read the informal approach on this story quite well. I personally had to read the story twice over to pick up on this writing style and once I noticed it began to pop up all throughout the passage. I really like the fact John Updike used this writing style in "A&P".
In the story three girls come into the store wearing only bathing suits. This is look highly down upon because this town is a very small town and they want you to dress decent. The girls are barked at by the store manager, as a result, Sammy quits his job, hoping to impress them, but then is worried about what will happen in the near future for his life.
My personal reaction to the passage is that Sammy had great intentions of making himself into a hero but the whole idea just was not thought out the whole way. The passage is one that could happen in everyday real life and I think that is why I enjoyed this short story so well.
I really enjoyed "The story of an hour" by Kate Chopin. I truly believe Richard was trying to help ,and Josephine too in a overbearing way. Kate Chopin kind of makes you see Mrs.Mallard as a tender hearted person. I don't think she was mean in being happy about her husbands death just relieved. I think the story was very well written because it was extremely descriptive and well put together. The plot to me was good I liked how they made you really think Mr.Mallard was dead and then he just calmly waltzes through the door to see his wife die. Emotionally I was confused with this story. At first I didn't understand what was going on when she found out her husband had died ,and when I did I was confused by why she was happy. Needless to say I was a little slow on receiving the what's and whys but thankfully I caught on. All in all it was a good story.
ReplyDeleteThe story that had the greatest effect on me was probably "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin. The first time I read the story, I missed the part that said they were a younger couple so it did not fully make sense to me. Once I saw that Mrs. Mallard and her husband Brently were a younger couple it clicked to me. I feel that none of the other characters understand how Mrs. Mallard felt about the situation, and it was rightly so. They would have thought she was a terrible person if they knew her true feelings. Brently Mallard was oblivious to the whole situation.
ReplyDeleteKate Chopin wrote this short story and filled it with irony. First off, you would think Mrs. Mallard would be devastated by the tragic news of the death of her husband. She is at first but then she realizes that she is free to do as she pleases from now on. That just amazed me how she could even feel like that, I could never imagine being able to feel like that after the loss of a spouse. Another instance of irony appears when Brently comes home while everyone is grieving and thinking he is dead. When Mrs. Mallard sees that he is still alive and kicking, she dies from heart failure. The doctors said she died from all the joyed, but i think she died from the disappointment of finding out that Brently was still alive. Her dying instead of him and the cause of death the doctors determined were both very ironic to me. The story just was opposite of everything I thought was going to happen. I never thought such a short story could have so many twists and then also bring out emotions in me. It was my favorite story without a doubt.
“A worn Path” by Eudora Welty had the biggest impact on me as a reader. The story was very vivid and riddled with great imagery. Welty does a great job of giving you a complete character by using dialogue to bring out personality.
ReplyDeleteThe main character, Phoenix Jackson, is an old, but spirited, lady that must make a tiring journey to get medicine for her suffering grandson. She is a very strong willed individual and altruistic. Everytime she makes the trip, she risks injury or possibly death. Obstacles she faces include; crossing a fallen log over a flowing creek, a barb wire fence, a wild dog, thorn bushes, and a crazed hunter. Although Phoenix Jackson is strong willed, she is weak and feeble. Her walking is described as slow and with a swaying motion. A cane/umbrella is always at her side to keep her balance.
I think the reason this story had an impact on me was because I could relate to it. Phoenix Jackson sort of reminded me of my grandmother in a few ways. My grandmother is getting older, and you worry about the well being loved ones. But on the other hand, you can’t dictate what someone else should do to be more careful. I felt this way towards Phoenix Jackson. In that, I was worrying about her well being. After finding out Phoenix Jackson made the journey to get medicine for her sick grandson, I felt a sense of admiration towards her. Then at the very end, Phoenix Jackson took all the money she had and went out to buy paper windmill for her grandson. This character is an example of complete and utter selflessness. A standard in which everyone should try to strive for as human beings.
In the story "A&P" (written by John Updike) First off, there is Sammy who is the sarcastic and very judging narrator. Sammy works at the A&P but does not want this as a life-long job. Stokesie works at the A&P like sammy, and is only a few years older than Sammy, but will probably work at A&P for the rest of his life. 'Queenie' is the only girl out of the three that was actually testing authority. She knew that they were being stared at but she didn't even look up. When Lengel interrupted her however she quickly lost her confidence due to her embarrassment. 'Plaid' and 'Big Tall Goony Gonny' are considered somewhat attractive by Sammie but are mostly ignored due to Sammie's obsession with Queenie. Lengel is very uptight and was sarcastically thought to be a kingpin by Sammie before he quit. The writing style of A&P was overly detailed. Sammie included lots of information that would for the most part be considered unimportant. For example, he uses sixty-one words to describe the way that she test the floor on her heels first. He used two hundred and twenty-five words to describe her bathing suit and it slightly showing her neck. The plot of A&P is that a young boy is working a checkout center in a small town, when three girls in bathing suits walk in. The boy admires them for a bit before they go to check out and are interrupted by the manager who embarrasses them. The boy then rashly quits his job in hopes of impressing them, but they don't notice in their rush to leave. This story is one that I judge harshly, despite me actually having enjoyed it. I was actually proud when Sammy quit his job because even if it is a minor form, it's showing Lengel that embarrassing people is not okay (even if they did break a rule). It really is unfortunate that Sammy didn't get recognized by the girls for his heroic decision.
ReplyDeleteThe story that had the biggest impact on me was "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty. Phoenix Jackson is a negro woman in an American time where whites were not always so fond of negroes. She is very old and uses a cane to walk. She regularly walks a long way to town to buy things not only for herself, but most importantly for her grandson. I find it amazing that she has practiced her way to town for so long that she can make the whole trip without making a singe wrong step. She also talks to the animals as though she is friends with them which I thought was really interesting. She runs into a white man who seeks to add conflict to her journey. She is not frightened or scared in any way. She waits for the man to leave so she can continue on her path. As she gets into town she is friendly with all of the people she meets because that is just the way she is. Her refusal to let others bring her down is awesome in its own way, but her care for her grand son is just as great. She admits that neither of them have been able to get an education because of hard times but she still lives her life and protects her grandson as well as she can. Phoenix Jackson is a remarkable woman and her loving nature leaves a great impression on anyone she speaks to.
ReplyDeleteI think the story that had the most emotional impact on to me personally was "A Worn Path' by Eudora Welty. The main character in this story is an old woman named Phoenix Jackson. She is an African American grandmother that will do just about anything to make her grandson get better. Phoenix takes a journey to town every month at the same time to get her grandson the medication he needs to live a normal life. She goes through so many obstacals as if they are nothing which shows how truly courageous she is.
ReplyDeleteThe writing style of Eudora Welty also made this story great. The amount of imagery she used painted a picture in my mind of exactly what Phoenix was going through. She aso used tremendous vocabulary to really give a detailed description of what she was talking about. She wrote to where you would see yourself going through her stroy not just observing someone else doing it. That made the story easy to read and to comprehend.
I felt a connection with Phoenix. I was encouraged by her strength and ability to go through so much and still be so confident. She did what was thought to be impossible for a little old lady who walks with a cane. I was worried for her throughout the story and I was also worried for her grandson. If something was to happen to her then her grandson would not get the medication he needed. Her character not only inspired me to push through whatever I am going through, but also everyone else that reads this story.
The story that impacted me the most was "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty. When I read it, I felt sad for both Phoenix and her grandson. I felt sad for her grandson because he relies completely on Phoenix and she is so weak, aged, and mentally rattled that she could give over at any moment. I feel sad for Phoenix because she is weak, aged, and mentally rattled and can not give her grandson the attention and care she wants to give him nor the care that he needs. This fact eats her up everyday of her life.
ReplyDeleteThis story was written from Phoenix's point of view which gives the story and the reader an endowment of appreciation for elderly colored people living in that day and time because of the racial cruelty and the physical challenges of everyday life. The imagery used in this story also helps the reader capture the surroundings and situations that Phoenix is put into while trying to help her grandson. The dialogue in this story showed how lonely Phoenix was. She talked to herself more than other people and that is a good way for someone to go insane.
While I read this, I felt like I was Phoenix and I was going through each struggle and aggravation with her. Feeling as Phoenix felt, I felt as though the world had turned against me. The bushes, the trees, the people encountered, and my own mind. Hallucinations and memory loss did not help the feeling of insanity. I also felt a little insane while at the doctor's office when memory loss interacted and the nurse could do nothing about it. Phoenix was very tenacious in the way she handled each trial. The plot of this story gave Phoenix a list of different struggles to go through and conquer including nature, white people of that day and age, and herself.
The story that impacted me the most was “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty. The main character was an old woman who had a great deal of courage and love for her grandson. She had such poor eyesight that she had to rely on her feet to remember each little step of her trip to get her where she was going. Although she was not in the best of health, she took the risk to travel the same journey every month for medicine to help keep her grandson alive.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this story because of how well it was written. The author did a tremendous job with making you feel like you were taking the journey as well. He used slang to help you get into the mindset of an uneducated old black woman. The author’s use of imagery allows the reader to paint a picture each and every part of the womans journey. He used description of touch and sound to appeal to the readers senses to let them relate to the woman who had such poor eyesight she relied on her own senses to help her along the way.
I think this story impacted me the most over the others just because the woman had so much courage and determination. She did not let any obstacle that she came to stop her because she knew she had to get the medicine. I also admired that she collected money along the way to get a Christmas gift for her grandson. Not only was she doing something to help keep him well, but she was doing another to lift his spirits as well. I learned that sometimes in life we just need to push through the obstacles to reach our goals and that love can keep anyone going no matter how hard the journey.
A&P was a narrative piece of writing. It tells the story of a young man who stood up for what he believed to be right. In the beginning Sammy sees girls, who are only wearing bathing suits, walking in the shop. The story builds as he watches them look for something inside the store. He likes watching them to figure out who the leader is and seeing how little clothing they had on. The girls walk up to him to check out, and his boss comes into the building. The climax happens when Sammy’s boss gets onto the girls for their lack of modesty in his store and Sammy quits. Sammy tells his boss after the girls leave that he did not like the way he had embarrassed the girls for what they were wearing. The story ends with Sammy being out of a job and the girls being gone before they can see that he stood up for them.
ReplyDeleteI did not have a very big emotional reaction to the story A&P. I thought that the way Sammy reacted to his situation was very childish in the fact that him quitting did not help anyone with anything. The way that he waited until the girls were gone from the store before he took a stand for them made it to where the girls did not even know someone stood up for them. He either should have quit while the girls were still in the store or he should have handled the situation in a more mature way. He could have waited until he could have had a meeting with the store owner to talk about how he did not appreciate the young girls were treated and they could have worked something out to where they did not embarrass any other future shoppers in the store. The way Sammy handled it was childish and did nothing but give him a reputation for being a quitter.
The story I enjoyed most was definitely The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin. Mrs. Mallard, the young wife of Brently Mallard, is told that her husband died in a railroad accident. Upon recieving the news, she is heartboken. However, after the initial stage of grief, she realizes that her life is now her own again and she no longer has to live for anyone else anymore. She is estatic, until she comes down the stairs of her home to see her husband standing at the door. The events of the day are simply too much for her to handle, and she dies. Although the doctors say she died from joy because her husband was still alive, I believe she really died because she was so upset that the freedom she had recieved from her husband’s death was taken away from her before she could take advantage of it. I do not think she was unhappy about him being alive; I think she was solely focused on being her own person again.
ReplyDeleteIn The Story of An Hour, Chopin uses repetition to emphasize important pieces of information. For instance, Mrs. Mallard repeats “free” over and over again. She only speaks sixteen words in this story, and five of them are the word free. Mrs. Mallard is absolutely consumed by the thought of how free and happy she can be because of Mr. Mallard’s death. Chopin also says that Mrs. Mallard “breathed a quick prayer that life might be long” and that “only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.” The repitition of “that life might be long” in those two sentences shows how drastically Mrs. Mallard’s feelings about life changed in such a short period of time.
While reading this short story, I felt many different emotions. At the beginning when I found out Mr. Mallard died, I was disappointed because I obviously was not going to be reading a happy story. When Mrs. Mallard wept “with sudden, wild abandonment” I was heartbroken because I could not imagine losing a spouse, especially like that. When she begins to describe how she feels about finally being free, at first I was caught off guard because that is an unusual response to the death of a loved one. But then I thought of my own life, and there were ways that I could somewhat identify with Mrs. Mallard, and then I was very empathetic. When Mrs. Mallard dies, I was disappointed again because she did not get to exercise her newly found freedom.
A&P by John Updike was the story that got to me the most. This story was the only story that really elicited a response from me. When I read it my reaction was, “either the author is a great writer or a terrible one.” I thought like that because I saw the main character, Sammy, as a fool. If the writer was trying to make Sammy Seem like an imbecile, then he did a great job. If his point was to make Sammy look like a hero, then he did a terrible job. While I was reading this, I put myself in Sammy’s shoes. I work at grocery store of sorts, and I could not seem to figure out why Sammy acted the way he did. In the beginning he describes the girls as what I can interpret to be unattractive and slightly childish. I became confused because how he describe the girls and how he acted towards them seemed to be opposite actions. In my mind, the way he acts is not the way anyone would act, in his position, toward childish, unattractive girls. His conduct of wanting them in his line does make sense, if he finds some or all of the girls attractive. I do not know in what time period this might take place, but it does not seem like the girls attire would be socially acceptable in any era. This makes me wonder why it took the manager so long to address the issue. Then my attention is directed to Sammy reaction to his manager practically throwing the girls out. I think I speak for ninety nine percent of the world when I say that I would not quit my job over my manager doing what he should have done. This story made me interested, confused, and partially angry all in a matter of minutes.
ReplyDeleteThe story A&P by John Updike impacted me the most. It is about a young man named Sammy who stands up for what he believes is right. He is at work one day and these three girls walk in wearing nothing but swimsuits. When they walk in, he watches them until they find something trying to figure them out. They eventually find something and they come to his register. About this time Sammy's boss comes in and says something to the girls about what they are wearing. When they leave, Sammy talks to his boss and quits his job because he did not like the way he embarrassed girls.
ReplyDeleteI really did not have an emotional reaction to this story. I think the way Sammy reacted made him look immature and he should have done it in a different way. He should have handled the situation better because it did nothing for him.
"A&P" by John Updike was a narrative that confused me very much. It took me a few times reading it before I finally caught on honestly
ReplyDeleteSammy who is a young boy who works at the store is just having a normal day at work. Then three girls come waltzing in dressed like they just came for the beach. They are searching the store kind of suspiciously looking for something. When they find the item they are looking for the "Queen" of the group leads them to Sammy's register. About the time they get to Sammy so does his manager, who informs them that they are under dressed. The girls reacted rudely to the man who was just doing his job. They eventually get the item bought and Sammy idiotically decides he is going to quit because his boss was being "mean".
The emotional reaction I had too this narrative was that we must think before we act. Recently I have not thought before I acted and it has came back on me in ways you could not imagine. Sammy lost his job and his support of money due to his reaction not his thinking.
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ReplyDeleteThe piece that touched me the most was " The Story of An Hour " by Kate Chopin. Mrs. Mallard is informed that her husband has been killed in a railroad accident. Like any wife, at first she wept with " wild abandonment " and seemed in deep sorrow. After she got over the initial shock, she began to realize that she was her own person again, and she was overcome, not with grief, but with happiness. She was elated until she came downstairs and saw her husband standing there. It all became too much for her, and she died. The doctors said she was so overjoyed that her already sick heart couldn't take it. But her death was from the realization that her new found freedom had been taken away just as quickly as it had came and that she would not have that same opportunity again.
ReplyDelete"The Story of An Hour" is not written in the traditional paragraph form, but rather in short descriptive stanzas. To me, it gives it more of a dramatic feel and better emphasizes the emotions of the character. Also, Mrs. Mallard hardly speaks in the whole story. The main word she keeps repeating is "free". It was almost as if she couldn't believe it herself. She kept repeating it to make it seem real.
This story struck me kind of odd at first. It's hard for me to imagine being relieved that your spouse or loved one has died; I guess though if you felt trapped and this was your way of escape, you might feel that way. It's sad that she wished life would be long only after her husband had died. It's almost as if Mrs. Mallard died twice. She was dead during her marriage; She was given a second chance at life when he died. Seeing him alive again was her final death. It was too much for her.
I really liked the story "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty. This story impacted me more than the others did by far. This story is about and old black women that has to travel through rough terrain in order to get medicine for her grandson every month. You can tell by the way she speaks that she is uneducated and the author does a good job of showing her character through the dialogue. This women may have been old but she showed a great amount of courage.
ReplyDeleteThis story stood out and impacted me more than the others for several reasons. One was that she used very vivid imagery to take you along the journey and keep you in tune with the story so you are not lost in boredom. Another reason was that the story has you on the edge and worried about poor old Phoenix Jackson and that she makes it to her destination safe. You cannot help but to admire the courage and commitment she has to help her grandson.
After every obstacle, old Phoenix stayed optimistic and trudged on through. It seemed she was more worried about her dress than she was about her life it's self.
She was even faced with having to hide from a white man that wanted to give her trouble. This tells me that it must have been a time of racism. Also she made sure to collect all of the money she could so she could get a Christmas gift for her grandson. This is insanely selfless of her to do all of this for her grandson. She must truly have adored and cared about him to risk her life like this and it must be very exhausting for her. This was a very well written short story.
A Worn Path by Eudora Welty got a strong reaction from me. In this story, Phoenix Jackson walks from her home and into town to get medicine for her grandson. On the way to town she forgets why she is making this long and tasking trip, but keeps on going. Many obstacles get in her way, such as thorns, a spring, and a dog. The dog pushes her into a ditch and she is not able to get out on her own. A young man comes along and helps her out. He advises Phoenix to go home, but even though she can not remember why, she keeps going. When she gets to her destination in town, Phoenix has to sit down and think about why she has come into town. when she remembers, she starts talking about her grandson. You can tell she loves him and does not like the fact that she forgot him for a short while.
ReplyDeleteThe writing style of this story is split. When the author is describing the scenery and events, the writing is very formal fluent. When Phoenix is speaking, the style is very slang. The author writes the way a southern person would talk.
The reaction this story gave me was very strong. Phoenix walked a very far distance to get her grandson the medicine he needed. This made me very emotional. She sacrificed a lot to go on that trip. She started to hallucinate and she fell down a ditch. The trip was to far for someone her age, but her determination to get her boy his medicine was to strong. Phoenix even forgot why she was going to town and had to be reminded by the nurse. This story made me feel compassion and sympathy for the old woman trying her best to help her grandson be happy.
The story that i enjoyed the most was "The story of an Hour". It was the shortest one but yet had the biggest impact on me. The story is about a young woman named Mrs. Mallard who suffers from heart disease. After a railroad disaster that her husband was believed to have been killed in, she hits a turning point in her life only to die of the sight of her husband coming home.
ReplyDeleteTo me it's a very ironic and powerful story. She feels somewhat free after she is given the news that her husband died. She prays life might be long, even though she had been fearing life would be long. She did not want a long life with her husband, and when she saw him come in their home she died. That was, in a way, the long life she had prayed for.
The emotional reaction I had to the story is a mixture of things. The first thing I did after reading was I sat back and thought about it. It is kind of a sad piece, but the joy in it overshadows everything. Her life ended so fast, but she went happy. It made me look at the things I enjoy doing in life. Everything is crazy today in society aand anything can happen to anyone. Looking at it in different perspectives can make you relize things, and could lead you to joy that some other people might not understand.
A Worn Path by Eudora Welty was by far the best of these stories. This story had the biggest impact on me. A Worn Path is about Phoenix Jackson, a very feeble old woman who sets out on a journey to town to get the medicine that her sick grandson has to have. To get what she needs she must travel through the woods on the same path that she travels every year. Thus the making of the worn path. The rugged path that she must travel throws many obstacles at her, but she overcomes these because of her love for her grandson. She goes through barriers such as barbed wire, thorn bushes, and fences. When she arrives in Natchez, she must rely solely on her memory to get her to the medical clinic. Phoenix has to trust herself and allow her memory to guide her along the path. I think that the author has a very creative writing style. The way she uses the dialogue of the characters really makes them come to life. The characters seemed so lifelike that it made me feel as if I were in the story myself and I was watching Phoenix forgo her journey. The author also had a great way of showing Phoenix's determination and strength. Despite the fact that her trip is very rough and difficult, Phoenix seems to enjoy this journey very much. The fact that the grandmother loves her grandson enough to make this trip to town and back every year for him really tugs at my heartstrings. The entire time she was gone, Phoenix did not know for sure whether her grandson was alive or not. In her mind she kept telling herself that he was alive. She did not think for a minute that the incredible journey she was making could have all been for nothing. A Worn Path made me put myself in Phoenix's shoes and ponder how much I would go through to get something for one of my loved ones.
ReplyDeleteThe story A&P by John Updike had the greatest emotional impact on me because the main character Sammy stood up for what he believed in and to me that means something. It did not actually make me emotional but out of all the stories it meant the most to me. In A&P Sammy's manager told three girls who were under dressed not to come back to the store like that again dressed inappropriately and Sammy did not believe that they should have been spoken to so rudely so he stood up for them and quit his job but that did not help anything. I believe sammy should have thought about his actions before he did them and that is the moral lesson. Think before you act.
ReplyDeleteA Worn Path is about Phoenix, who is an older lady, who walks miles through the forest in the cold to get medicine for her grandsons. Phoenix is the type of person that would do anything for the people she loved, even if it could be hazardous to herself.
ReplyDeleteMy emotional reaction to this piece was admiration. For an older women to travel some very long distances and in harsh conditions, for someone other than herself, is amazing to me. I have much respect for Phoenix. In our time period, people feel that they can not do something for someone unless it benefits them. If everyone had half as much kindness as Phoenix, then this world would be a better place.
The author of this story does a great job of making you feel like you are right there with Phoenix through her journey into town. She uses a great amount of detail throughout her travel. The author makes you feel for Phoenix as she goes through hard times in her travels by making you feel connected with her.
The plot of the story was an elderly grandma, named Phoenix, who does not remember her age, travels miles through forests, fields, and over water , with no food or belongings, to make it into town so that she can get medicine for her grandson, which is the only family member that she has left.
My personal reaction to this story was shock. St the beginning of the story I thought the Phoenix was crazy for walking around in the forest, fields, and over water in the cold. She talked to herself and started imagining things, but once I got to the end of the story, I understood why she did it.
The authors writing style of this story is technical. The purpose is to ensure that technical information is easy to understand, and is not misleading or manipulative.
The story that showed me an emotional impact was " The Story of An Hour" by Kate Chopin. This story is about an old lady who has a heart disease and any sudden emotion could kill her. This story showed me about love and strength. When the main character Mrs. Mallard finds out her husband died she cries so much over him. Then the pain starts to ease when she realizes he's in a better place. She also tells herself she can do it without him being by her side. But the end had the most effect on me. The sudden emotion I thought would kill her did not. Joy is what killed her. " Of the joy that kills".
ReplyDeleteOut of the three story's we read my favorite was probably A Worn Path or The Story Of An Hour. I don't think I could chose out of the two which was the best. In the story A Worn Path an old lady travels all day on a very dangerous road where she could have been harmed or killed. She walks this road into town for medicine for her son so he doesn't die. I love this story because it shows how far a person will go and everything they will do to keep someone they love alive. In the story The Story Of An Hour a young lady is told that her husband was killed and she doesn't know how to react. She's sad because she loved him so much, but she's also happy that she's free of someone controlling her. When her husband does show back up alive she is so confused by her emotions that she actually has a heart attack. She was in so much shock of being sad, relieved, and happy that her body just couldn't keep up with her feelings. I love this story because I know what its like to have so many emotions that I am not sure how to feel.
ReplyDeleteThe story that had the most meaning to me was "The Story of an Hour". This story had more of an emotional impact than the others because it is more relatable to myself. It touched me how Mrs. Mallard was so distraught and lost when she finds out that her husband has passed away from a horrific railroad accident. This showed me that love and be a very powerful thing, especially true love because she just say in her room for days and days unable to communicate with anyone. Then Mrs. Mallard has a turning point, she realizes that she can make it on her own without her husband. Also that she could do more things without him, all the things that she could not do before. Then she is kind of okay with her husbands passing. At this point she finally gets the strength to come out of her room, but as soon as she did the door opens and on the other side was her "dead" husband. Then she drops dead. This is ironic because she had a heart disease and at the moment that should have been the most joyful moment of all she falls over dead.
ReplyDeleteThis story kind of scared me for a moment because who would be happy so to say about their lover dying? But as I thought about it she was probably just trying to have a positive outlook on things. She was trying to make herself feel better so that she could live out the rest of her life happily, which is probably what her husband would have wanted for her. Since she was young she still had a lot of life to live and probably would have found love again if the shock of her husband not being dead wouldn't have killed her.
The story that had the most lasting impact on me was "The Story of an Hour". It really moved me with the fact that Mrs. Mallard was terrified to live life without her husband, until she came to the realization that he was holding her back in a sense. She found that she could do things without her husband; things that she couldn't do with him. The writing style of this particular piece went through a series of emotions ranging from depression to joy and then back to depression. The emotional reaction that I had was overall melancholy due to the "death" of her husband and then her death because her husband never really died.
ReplyDeleteThe piece of literature that affected me the most was "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty. I enjoyed the writing style with it's excessive use of descriptive words and phrases. The symbolism was interesting to see and read as well. It seemed as if the forest itself was trying to hurt the little old lady. Her own thoughts on her encounters are interesting as well. To see her seem so driven and unabashed against all of the obstacles in her way was a very nice change of pace from other stories where people in her position would just complain and struggle. The story also touched on a few serious points as well, such as the struggles of the poor, old-style racism, and the struggles of the old and feeble. These more serious undertones added a sense of reality to an otherwise otherworldly story.
ReplyDeleteThe little old lady herself was not very interesting except for her refusal to quit while she was ahead. She persevered with little incentive to do so and succeeded in getting what she wanted in the end. So many stories are written around basic characters with little to add to the stories themselves but I feel that a entire story could be written about just this little old lady and her views of the world.
The plot of the story was well developed and thought out. Each little description and occurrence had something to add to the plot and did so in a unique fashion. The plot is not immediately clear and I, personally, like that in a story. As it starts out you just know that an old lady is walking through the menacing woods. As the story progresses you begin to see she has a reason to be doing so, a goal driving her forward. Then at the end, all is revealed and the reader feels a sense of accomplishment as they finish their adventure with the little old lady.
The story "A&P", a narrative by John Updike was the most interesting of the stories to me. Reason being the way that the main character Sammy's brain works, as you learn it is very hard to understand Sammy's thought process, while moving further into the story. At the beginning of the story Sammy is working at a store, I would say a local store in his town. From this you think that Sammy is just your average young person trying to make a little extra cash, until three girls walk in and everything changes from there. The girls came into the store moving around threw it very suspiciously, and dressed in a way that would only be appropriate had they been on a beach or at the lake. Eventually the girls find what it is they came to the store for and the "Queen" leads them over to Sammy's register. At the same time that the girls get to Sammy's register his manager also comes over, the manager immediately informs the girls that they are dressed very inappropriately for his store, the girls begin to react rude to this jester. After the girls finally leave the store, Sammy decides to quit his job due to what was said by the manager.
ReplyDeleteMy only emotion towards this story was confused. Sammy deciding to quit just because the manager of the store was doing his job is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard. It also confused me and left me wondering, why were the girls in the store dressed like that in the first place? Should they not have known it was inappropriate, yes they should have. The story A&P is very interesting, but of the upmost confusing.
The short story "The Story of an Hour" is by Kate Chopin written in 1894. It was about a woman named Mrs. Mallard and how her husband was sent off to war to fight in a war for their country. Then there comes a message that Mr. Mallard had died in battle. At first Mrs. Mallard was morning for his death and how she was not as good of a wife to him as she should have been. So she runs up what I would say is this huge stairs and she locks herself in her room. Then she goes to the window and escapes from life and stares out the window out to the trees. Then she begins to think about what had just happened to her. She jumps up and runs out of her bedroom and swings the door open just as her sister is trying to unlock the door and they run down the stairs. But once the get to the bottom the front door opens and they see Mr. Mallard coming home from battle. Mrs. Mallard faints on the floor and once the doctor gets there they say she had died from heart conditions. I think that this story in very unique and shows some how peoples react to different things that happen in their lives.
ReplyDeleteThe story that I read that had the most emotional effect on me was "A&P". This story used so much detail and description. It really made you feel like you could see what was going on. The narration comes from a young cashier who is working a job he dislikes very much. I can relate to the cashier. I do not go around looking at young girls, but I have done nice things that went unnoticed and I put up with unkind customers just to get a very small pay check at the end of the week. He listens to people yell at him day in and day out for close to nothing. The one good thing he manages to muster up the confidence for doesn't even get noticed. He ruined the job he had for almost nothing. It makes me feel sorry for him. Even though this job was more than likely a part time crappy job, it was still a job. I personally know how hard it would be to go from having a job and a steady pay check to having nothing at all. There is so much disappointment in doing something for someone and getting no appreciation for it. This is so common in the world today. There a very small amount of people that will do something for other just for the simple fact of doing it. Most people that do something like cashier did would have wanted so much more in return. They wouldn't have let it go unnoticed. It seems like he's been shot down and disappointed so much that he doesn't even care. He won't peruse the girls and force them to appreciate the deed he did. I feel the same way. I want people to notice the things I do for them, but I'm not going to constantly hold it over there head or continuously bring it up.
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