Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

Plot
The plot of this story was absolutely perfect to parallel with Andy's character. The way the plot was advanced was sort of in a way that the events were just stated and explained. Red narrated the story by talking about one element, then building off of that element to explain a different one. For example, Red mentioned escape attempts and jailbreaks (pg 80), then went into how Andy escaped from Shawshank. The plot also plays off the passing of time. The way Red told the story seemed to have no limits. He went on whatever tangent he wanted to but it always correlated with the plot. He seemed to have no care about time because in prison, no one really cares about time. Andy worked on the hole for twenty-seven years before he made his escape. The plot was created over Andy's twenty-seven plus years at Shawshank and it is reflected in how the plot is shaped.

Point of View
Because of the story starting out with Red stating a few facts about his life, I thought this story was going to be about his life in prison and his redemption. But as the story progresses, I realized that Red is the narrator who relates Andy's story and his revenge to Shawshank. By Red telling Andy's story, readers are able to get a different take on the story and the situation. If Andy was to tell his own story, I think the readers would have lost important elements that made the story so moving. For example, if Andy explained his events, I don't think he would have mentioned his coy, little smile he always had on his face (pg 84). Without this smile, readers would lose a part of Andy's character, his almost always cool attitude he kept with him and which no one could break.

Characterization
Since Red is the narrator, he does a lot of direct characterization about Andy and some of the other characters. For example, "despite the problems [Andy] was having, he was going on with his life" (pg 31). Red was the relater of information about the characters to the readers. As explained under Point of View, I think if Andy was the narrator, readers would lose important parts of his character. Also, if there was an omnipresent narrator, the characterization of the characters would not be as deep. Red is telling this story was a witness to the situation and as a friend as Andy's. He had first-person details and personal contact with Andy and what he was really like.

Setting
Eighty-five percent of this story takes place in the Shawshank Prison. The other fifteen percent is split between Andy's trial at the beginning of the story and Red's parole at the end. Since the setting is mostly at The Shank, readers become familiar with prison life and how it works. Readers are able to have a personal connection with Andy, Red, and other prisoners by understanding what they are going through, like trying to escape (pg 80) or spending Sunday's in the exercise yard (pg 28). The setting contributes to some of the characters' actions and the feeling of being "institutionalized" (pg 79). The prisoners become accustomed to being locked up and eventually feel scared to go on parole or live outside the walls of the prison.

Theme
Although there were a few themes, like perseverance and imprisonment, I am going to focus on one that seems the most important to me. It is the power of hope. Throughout the whole story, Red talks about "an inner light that Andy always seemed to possess" (pg 55). Andy always had a composed and nonchalant attitude about him. It was as though he always knew he was going to get out of the prison, either it be a re-trial or him breaking out. With this hope, he eventually was able to leave The Shank behind him and head for Mexico. Hope is a very important element in this story because Red eventually picks up on it at the end and build up enough courage to violate parole and head to Mexico, just like Andy. "I hope Andy was down there. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope" (pg 107).

Miss Brill

Once Upon a Time

I feel like this was a sarcastic story trying to get back at the people who said Gordimer should write a children's story. She thinks that she "'ought' not to write anything." Therefore, the author gives in to write a "children's" story. This piece is definitely not something that should be read to little children. Especially at the end of the story, the author describes in detail what happens to the little boy. I would not want my children to read a story like this.

A Worn Path

"Is the grandson really dead?" I can see why someone would ask this question after reading the story. Phoenix annually walks numerous miles to town to get medicine for her sick grandson. After meeting different people, like the hunter who helps her out of the ditch, she always explains her situation and why she walks that far. I think if her grandson was dead, she wouldn't be walking. Taking a look on the other side, she could be walking to cope with the death of her grandson. It could be a way to remember what she had to do with him.

Eveline

Frank was sort of a flat character. He was the one Eveline was supposed to leave with. When Eveline's father found out about Frank, he forbade her from seeing him calling him a "sailor chap" and also that he knows that kind of man. To me, Frank seems like a kind fellow who would have provided for Eveline and tried to make her happy. I don't think he would have succeeded to make her happy because she would always be thinking of home and the promise she made to her mother. If she would have left, I don't think she would ever be as happy if she left after fulfilling her promise.

Bartleby the Scrivener

Before I started to read this story, I had to look up what "scrivener" meant. According to dictionary.com, scrivener simply means "a person who writes out deeds, letters, etc; copyist." Therefore, I came to the conclusion that this short story would obviously be about Bartleby who is a scribe and his adventures. Although the story is in fact about Bartleby, another narrator describes the story. The narrator is actually a lawyer who is the boss of Bartleby. He tells this story because he finds Bartleby to be the most interesting scribe who has worked for him. This story was long and a little hard to understand and stay in focus. Overall thought, I found it enjoyable.

Hunters in the Snow

Of the three principal characters, I find Tub to be the most sympathetic. At the beginning of the story, he is waiting on the sidewalk for Frank and Kenny to come pick him up and they are an hour late. Then, when they finally arrive, Kenny pulls a prank on him and tries to run him over then laughs about it. "The driver was bent against the steering wheel, slapping his knees and drumming his feet of the floorboards" (187). Throughout the story, Tub keeps getting picked on because of his weight and how he cannot keep up with the other two guys or get through the fence. Although Frank is the most level-headed of the three, he still at times treats Tub just like Kenny does. Tub never did anything to either of them so when he shoots Kenny out of self-defense, I am not surprised at all for him finally standing up for himself. It has been long overdue.

Everyday Use

The mother's refusal to let Dee have the quilts indicates a permanent change of character. Before this took place, Mother always had a dream that Dee and her would get on a talk show and come to good terms. It wasn't like they were not on good terms before, they just never talked. Mother had never done something like this before because of the dream. She loved her daughter so much that she couldn't do anything to put her in her place before this. Mother does this now because she was tired of Dee picking on Maggie and didn't like that she was denying her true heritage. "You just don't understand," was Dee's reply to the mother and Maggie. Although Dee claims that Mother and Maggie don't understand their heritage, it is really Dee who doesn't know where she really came from.

CrAzY!!

It is sage to say that this story is way weirder than the poem "Edward". Emily reminds me of some crazy cat lady who never come out of her house, minus the cats. At the beginning of the story, she seemed normal; but towards the end is where she started to seem a little crazy. First, she shuts her doors and never comes outside. No one comes to see her except to confront her about a foul smell or to collect taxes, which she does not pay. Even her Negro seems a bit odd. He never says anything to anybody so Emily's life becomes a mystery. It remains like that until the day she dies and the towns people find out how crazy she really was by the dead man still in his bed.

A Rose for Emily

An alternate title for this story should be "Rat Poison." When Emily went to the store asking for poison, one could easily tell she was not going to kill rats. For some reason, she decided to kill a man who seemed to like her a lot. Her murder of Homer Barron was not really a surprise. The speaker hinted to the fact that the townspeople believed her "[to be] crazy" (285). Also, the speaker mentions Barron entering Emily's house but never leaving it. The only think that was surprising was that she kept the body still in the bed. One can safely assume that Emily was in fact crazy.

Interpreter of Maladies

In this short story, the author provides an insight to two different aspects of life and culture. Both Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi are unsatisfied with her family life. Mrs. Das is "tired of feeling so terrile all the time" (164). These dissatisfactions lead to the central conflict of both people wanting something different in life. Although Mrs. Das confides in Mr. Kapasi about her problems and how she hates her life, the conflict is not resolved at the end of the story. An event like a child being attacked by monkeys will not change or resolve the conflicts of the story. Mrs. Das will continue to be dissatisfied with her life. Only a major change in her husband or in her life will make her happy.

How I Met My Husband

Throughout the whole short story, the speaker describes an event that eventually leads up to how she met her husband. Up until the last section of the text, readers assume Edie's future husband is Chris Watters, the plane pilot. Watters is an ex-army pilot who claims to move from the war. Really, he is just trying to avoid his less-than-pretty fiancee, Alice Kelling. After messing around with Edie, he promises to write her, then leaves for the next town without Alice knowing. Edie waits everyday by the mailbox until she realizes "no letter was ever going to come" (146). Her waiting for a man who the readers assume will be her future husband actually leads to her meeting her real future husband, Carmichael, the mailman. Instead of promising a letter, Charmichael pursues Edie and asks her on a date.