"Motherfucker" by Aimee Bender

     "Motherfucker" by Aimee Bender is about a man who's soul desire is to seduce and have sex with mothers.  Once the seduction and the sex actually happens he never sees them again.  I guess it is the thrill of pursuit that gives this man such a rush.  When I question why he goes after only mothers my best guess is that they represent love, responsibility, and they know what it is like to love unconditionally.  Mothers have a lot more issues than women without children, when mothers meet a man they have to think "Is this man good for me, and more importantly, will he be good for my kids?"  This might make the seduction just a little bit more difficult, having to basically earn the trust of someone who can't just trust every man she meets.  It seems a little cruel to me that he seems so genuine and trustworthy just for sex, for that feeling of desire that he gets when he has sex with a person for the first time.  He teaches an actress mother about containing her desire and condensing it so it becomes stronger and stronger.  Of course once he has sex with her he disappears but he taught her a lesson about owning your desire and this leads to her becoming even a greater actress.

Michael Savage

"Ironhead" Aimee Bender

    "Ironhead" if taken literally is an unbelievable tale of  a man and woman who are cursed with the heads of pumpkins that gave birth to a boy with a head made of an iron.  I actually like to look at the story as a little boy who was born with a serious birth defect.  Not only was this boy totally different from the other kids at his school, his life was mad even more difficult because as kids often do they picked on him for being different.  This story is a sad story that happens in every school in America, if you are different you get picked on.  Sadly this little boy with the head of an iron dies, he really shouldn't have lived much past birth.  I feel old enough to know that being mean to people with disabilities is wrong.  This story would probably benefit children in elementary school to teach them a bit of a morale lesson.

Michael Savage

"Sex Scenes from a Chain Bookstore" Aryn Kyle

     My opinion about Eric Moe is that he is a terrible husband.  His poor wife has a bad body because of the fact that she was a figure skater.  Her skating made it very hard for her to have or enjoy sex.  Instead of standing by his wife and putting his own sexual gratification second he decides to have an affair.  Instead of going to a bar and meeting a stranger to have sex with he makes a stupid decision to have sex with his subordinate Jillian.  She is connected to his family because she gives Eric's daughter flute lessons once a week.  At first (as it usually goes) Jillian and Eric commit to the fact that it is "just sex" with no strings attached.  That little agreement is the starting point for most extra-marital affairs.  Even though I have never done this I know enough people who have and after two people have sex long enough feelings eventually start to creep in and cause big problems.  Eric is strictly thinking with the wrong head because he tells Jillian after each sexual encounter that "this will be the last time," but of course it never is.  Now to the other issue in the story, Aryn Kyle captures what it means to work retail and what it takes to deal with unruly jerks who come in as costumers.  Jillian ends up in a verbal confrontation with an asshole and he actually gets physical when he reaches over the counter and chokes her.  Eric being a man jumps in and beats the hell out of the choker.  I totally think Eric did the right thing and deserves no punishment.  Once a man starts hurting a woman it gives every other man there a "free pass" to beat the hell out of him.

Michael Savage 

Signifying Nothing

     First off I believe that the memory you have about your Dad is true.  If you were 3 or 4 years old I may question it's validity but since you were 9 and the actual description of the scene (and the penis) is so vivid I have to believe it happened.  Since your Dad did something so perverted and bizarre I wonder if there were more instances of abuse that you might have blocked from your memory.  There is absolutely no excuse for that kind of behavior and he actually committed a crime.  I respect the fact that you called your Dad out about it.  The reaction he had was also quite bizarre.  You decided to cut your Dad and by default your Mom out of your life for a year.  My only advice is that you should have told your Mother about the memory so she wasn't left to question why you left.  I hardly believe that your Dad will tell her, therefore furthering the fact that he did it and is embarrassed about it.

Michael Savage

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

B.I. #11 06-96

Dumbass,
      If you want to break up with a girl just be a man about it.  Don't be such a moron and try to turn all the blame on her.  In your interview it appears that you have no backbone.  Your excuse for breaking up is that she always worries about you breaking up with her when you get moody or withdrawn.  Considering the fact that you have broken up with her before when you get withdrawn, makes me believe she had a valid concern.  Why are you trying to be the victim here?  Why can't you just be frank with this girl and not try to run her over and make her feel guilty?  Your statement "Maybe if I loved you a little less or cared about you less I could take it.  But I can't.  So yes, that's what the bags are, I'm leaving."  Are you a fucking idiot?  Do these words that came out of your mouth actually make sense to you?  I love you too much, therefore I'm breaking up with you.  Are you 11 years old?  Were your parents first cousins?  Be a man and place all the blame on yourself (even if it is not all your fault) and leave this girl with a little bit of confidence.  You also said "And don't think this is about something wrong with you."  That statement contradicts everything else you said.  You clearly are trying to confuse this young lady by making her think there is something wrong with her.  If you care about her at all tell her you're an idiot and gracefully leave her the hell alone.

Michael Savage

"Captain's Club" Aryn Kyle

    In "Captain's Club" I believe the author wanted us to feel Tommy's quick maturation caused by a far away trip to the Mediterranean with a boy from his class.  Tommy was forced to grow up and rely on himself during this trip because the boy he went with was not a good friend and they spent much of the vacation separated.  It was also Tommy's first extended absence from his mother, causing homesickness.  As the vacation went along Tommy spent more and more time with Tree an attractive adult woman.  Tommy had such great times with Tree that his emotions got confusing and he ended up misinterpreting Tree's motives towards him and he told her he loved her.
     The character I relate to is Tommy.  I was invited to a lot of trips with my friends out of state when I was a young teenager.  My family was poor so my mother allowed me to go on all these trips so I could experience the country and broaden my horizon.

"Me and Miss Mandible" Donald Barthalme

     Miss Mandible stands out in my mind because I experienced some hardships in my life at ten years old.  I know that a large part of my being remained 10 years old as I grew older.  The main character is in a fantastical place where he was allowed to return to the sixth grade with the mind of a 35 year old.  My memories of sixth grade center around liking girls for the first time, I had no idea what sex was but I knew that some of the girls in my school were attractive.
     The main character is in his thirties and has served in the Army.  I am the same in those respects.  99% of the Army was a big fat waste of my time and talents.  The quote about the Army being a waste of time and the fact that it took him a long time to figure out what a waste it was is totally accurate.  After basic training I realized I had signed up to waste 5 years of my life, and I hated myself for that.
    Miss Mandible is a difficult read because his actual circumstances in class aren't told.  I believe he was in a class of adults but the sexual tension and the long time it had been since he sat in a classroom made him think of sixth grade.

"The Drunkard" by Frank O' Conner

     The point of view used in Frank O' Conner's "The Drunkard" is 1st person.  The story is told through the eyes of a child but also includes reflection from the child as an adult.  The theme of the story is a drunk father who is able to stay sober for long periods of time only to succumb to alcohol periodically.  The son shares great acts of kindness that his father performs during his sober stretches.

     The reflection as an adult about his own childhood is necessary because the child is an unreliable narrator because of his age and also because he is drunk at the time.

     The inciting incident in this story is the death of the father's friend.  After the man's funeral the father figures it is a deserving time to race to the bar and have a drink.  The son accompanies his father to the pub and steals a drink causing him to become greatly intoxicated himself.  The father then has to face an angry public when it becomes obvious that he allowed his son to get drunk.  Seeing the affects of his action the boy actually becomes a lesson to the father and he is compelled to stop drinking.

"The Supper" by Tadeusz Borowski

     Tadeusz Borokowski author of "The Supper" suffered tremendously during his short life, surviving one of the most torturous environments in human history, a Nazi concentration camp.

     Foreshadowing is used in this story as Borowski defines the absolute insanity humans will show when deprived of food.  The concentration camp was used to get free labor from prisoners while starving them to death.  Borowski uses sensory images in the first paragraph, foreshadowing how cold and dark this existence is.  He needed his readers to understand what limits man will cross when faced with hopelessness and starvation, coupled with the will to survive.

     Cannibalism is performed by the Jews when Soviet soldiers are executed, it is a terribly bleak yet appropriate message written by a man who knew this sort of desperation entirely too well.

"The Piano" by Anibal Machado

     "The Piano" by Anibal Machado is written in 3rd person omniscient point of view. 

     Joao is the proud owner of an old piano that he views as almost priceless.  This value is defined because it was passed down to him by his family.  Joao's character is structured to show a passionate man who wants to do the right thing for his daughter, and this means he must get rid of the piano to create room in his small house for his newly married daughter and son in law.

     The conflict in this story is Joao versus himself.  He simply needs to get rid of something he greatly treasures.

     Irony is used heavily because Joao dumps the piano in the ocean because he cannot find anyone that will pay him a fair price for it.  After the piano is gone Joao discovers that his new son in law loves to play the piano and would love to own one.  Another irony is when a buyer for the piano comes soon after it is set in the ocean.

     The piano is used symbolically as a representation of freedom and softness while Joao and his family are living through a war which his son in law is a fighter.

"In the Penal Colony" by Franz Kafka

     "In the Penal Colony" by Franz Kafka is written in 3rd person omniscient point of view.  The main character in the story is the commandant, one of the most sadistic characters I have ever read about.  The Commandant designed a "device" that tortures a person for twelve hours slowly cutting the person in half.  The antagonist in this story is the commandant.  The explorer who is introduced as a witness to this device is expected to give criticism and to state his horror when a prisoner is about to face this torture.  The characters in this story represent different parts of society.

     The imagery surrounding this device is well crafted.  Kafka describes to the reader a device that is so complicated as well as foreign expertly until the reader can actually imagine the device.

    The main conflict for the commandant is that he is a member of an old dying regime and he finds himself on the outs with new leadership.  He doesn't need to use the device but he loves it dearly.  The sickness and the dialogue in this story is amazing to me.

"Thirst" Ivo Andric

     Thirst is written in the 3rd person Omniscient point of view, this P.O.V is used so the audience can see different character's thoughts of the brutality regarding a prisoner being held without food or water. 

     This story is about a powerful leader of an outlaw clan being caught by a commander.  He is suffering from infection and he smells of rotting flesh.  The commander is a dynamic character situated between a loving husband who wants to go home to his wife and a stern leader who kills his enemies without guilt.  The commander's wife feels tremendous sorrow and pity when she hears the outlaw begging a guard outside her bedroom for a simple drink of water.  During the night the wife cannot sleep because of the prisoner but her husband is sleeping soundly.  The wife is a round character.

    Imagery is used in the writing when the narrator describes the awful smell coming from the outlaw's wound.  Imagery is also used when the wife hears the sounds of the outlaw begging for water and the different ways the outlaw tries to get sympathy for his situation.

    Conflict in this story centers around the commander and the outlaw, also the commander and his wife.

"The Other Wife," Colette

This story's point of view is third person omniscient, the narrator moves the audience between multiple character's personalities.  In "The Other Wife" we are moved between two character's thoughts.  Marc, a recently divorced/ recently re-married man and his new wife Alice a submissive and controlled wife.  This point of view gives me the impression that Marc is a bad husband, by referring to Alice as "darling" commenting about her recent weight gain, and ordering for her at the restaurant.

The setting technique Media Res is used to set the reader down in the middle of things.  Following Marc and Alice to a restaurant where Marc's ex-wife happens to be.  His new wife has never seen her so Media Res places the audience into that same instance of not knowing her.

The controlling idea is that Marc has a past, which is an ex-wife that his new wife gets to see while dining.  This meeting sends thoughts through Alice about Marc's ability to keep a marriage together.  Eventually Alice is envious of the ex.  Perhaps because the ex is free from Marc and his snooty arrogant nature.

"The Necklace" Guy de Maupassant

"The Necklace," by Guy de Maupassant is written in third person limited P.O.V., the reader understands the thoughts, feelings, and actions of one character, Mathilde.  As in third person limited the narrator is not the character.  The audience has intimate knowledge of Mathilde

Mathilde has an internal struggle which is that her only worth is "beauty, grace, and charm," she wants money and she wants to be desired by men in upper-classes.  She also thinks she is too good for her husband and deserves better.

The story uses personification while describing the "mean" walls inside Mathilde's house giving a human quality to an object.

The inciting incident in this story is when Loisel tells Mathilde that they are invited to a formal party.  Having nothing to wear immediately makes Mathilde bitter and angry. 

She solves this problem, during the rising action, by buying when she buys a dress with her husband's savings and by borrowing a diamond necklace from Madame Forestier

The climax of this story is when upon returning home the necklace is missing.  The couple lie to Madame Forestier to buy some time, searching endlessly for the necklace, they eventually give up looking and switch the necklace with a new one on credit for thousands of Francs.  This missing necklace takes 10 years to repay and Mathilde is weathered from the hard times.  Finally after ten years she runs into her old friend Madame Forestier.

The Denoument of the story is when Mathilde admits to losing the necklace and replacing it with a costly look-alike.  Madame Forestier is shocked because she explains that the necklace was a imitation worth no more than five hundred Francs. 

The story is written chronologically.

The controlling idea is that material things were all Mathilde cared about and that her desires for riches cost them 10 years of their lives repaying debts and become old and rough.

Lorrie Moore "You're Ugly Too" 1990

Lorrie Moore's "You're Ugly Too" follows a young American History Teacher Zoe Hendricks she is unmarried and feels alienated in the mid-west.  Sexual discrimination issues prompted the college into hiring Zoe.  She is often late for class and through the reading you learn that Zoe sings or tells jokes (often using dark humor) when she feels nervous.  Lorrie Moore is well-known for using this "dark" humor. 

Evan is Zoe's younger sister from Manhattan, she invites Zoe to a Halloween party.  Evan is on the verge of getting engaged and she worries about Zoe's love life.  In the mid-west Zoe goes on a couple of dates.  One of the men even have the nerve to flirt with the other woman while out on a double date.  Zoe doesn't go on many second dates.

Evan invites Earl to the party to introduce to Zoe, he is dressed like a naked lady and he is going through a divorce.  He wants to talk about love out on the balcony with Zoe, but she can't seem to take him seriously.  The story ends  with Zoe pretending to push Earl off the 21st story balcony scaring and appalling him.  Zoe's character is totally developed, she is given the trait of feeling alienated in the mid-west, a trait that Lorrie Moore also has.  She is self-involved and she is true to herself.

"The Best Girlfriend You Never Had" Pam Houston 1999

Wanting something that you can't have is the theme I see throughout this story.  In 1999 the year Pam Houston wrote "The Best Girlfriend You Never Had" I was 19 and I was for the first time on my own trying to decide what I wanted; what I thought I needed.  The story's main character Lucy knows what she wants, she wants her friend Leo.  They hang out watching weddings performed outside Leo's window, they talk of poetry and love. 

The only thing keeping these two apart is the fact that Leo loves Guinevere a woman that doesn't know he exists even though they have met several times.  All of Houston's characters in this story want something; some want love; some want money.  A great part about this story is the small details that lead to people getting what they want, namely a beggar holding a sign saying he wants no money only a smile, this heartfelt sign leads to Lucy given him all her money. 

Lucy is strong in some ways and terribly weak in others.  She stays with Gordon, an incredibly smart and incredibly jealous, through many altercations that a stronger person wouldn't have accepted.

Houston's mother was an actress and demanded her daughter be "thin and perfectly made up." I believe actor's are mostly insecure people pleasers who possess many problems the second the camera gets turned off.  Maybe her mother's lifestyle of acting gave Houston the personality that led her to write many stories about self-reliance and love.  

"Proper Library" Carolyn Ferrell, 1994

Carolyn Ferrell's "Proper Library" is centered around an inner city, the story follows Lorrie, a homosexual teenager trying to survive his peers and his lifestyle.  Lorrie skips class often to be with Rakeem, the boy he secretly lusts for. 

This story Lorrie attempts to help his relatives survive poverty through education.  On page 706 he teaches his brothers "math 4."  Lorrie states "I never hate anybody," and "I keep moving, it's the way I learned keep moving."  This shows the reader that Lorrie has plenty enemies including a white girl that calls him "faggot" on the bus, but he still pushes through life. 

This story has characters that are pulling Lorrie in every direction.  Rakeem wants Lorrie to skip school, his mom wants him to study hard, the street lives of gangs trying to target him as a member or a victim.  Mrs. Gabrini's positive reinforcement in school helps Lorrie keep focus.  He is influenced everywhere he goes.

Carolyn Ferrell wrote this piece capturing many different dimensions of a character's life, complicated many times over because of mixed sexual feelings, trouble in school, and having everything falling around him as he tries to climb out of his life's problems.  Ferrrel felt alienated in her younger years growing up in Brooklyn, her own childhood seeps through in her character's own alienation.  In the scene that shows Rakeem getting out of a beating by threatening a gang by saying "I have Aids," stays consistent with her reputation of using AIDS as subject matter in many if her writings.

John Updike's "Gesturing"

John Updike's "Gesturing" uses third person omniscient point of view.  Updike's story tells the tale of a middle-aged couple that have decided to separate because their marriage has grown "stagnant."  The husband Richard through the narrator is shown to still be in love with his wife Joan, but both Joan and Richard had taken on outside lovers.  The narrator jumps between Richard's thoughts of hurt and also his discovery of happiness when it came to his new found freedom in bachelorhood.  Richard's lover Ruth who also is married to another man gets mad at Richard for having sex with Joan in his new apartment even though she continues to have sex with her husband, Richard does not feel guilty telling Ruth about his sexual encounters with Joan.  This story is written for playboy, written about love affairs with no guilt attached, this story's attempted audience is middle-aged men living in the eighties that find themselves unhappy and fantasizing about sexual liberation in a stagnant life.  It also says something about excessive behaviors of the 1980's questioning "Why have one sexual partner when I could have many?"  Followed closely by the widespread outbreak of AIDS ironically.

Cynthia Ozick's "The Shawl"

In Cynthia Ozick's "The Shawl," the narrator is using the third person omniscient point of view, this point of view is used to jump between the character's thoughts and actions.  Magda is an infant suffering and on the verge of death in a WWII Nazi concentration camp.  In spite of her Mother Rosa's normal desire to not let her child suffer the fact is that she is starving and she cannot produce milk to feed her daughter.  Rosa's other daughter Stella a fourteen year old is jealous of Magda, the narrator uses third person omniscient point of view to show this, "Stella wanted to be wrapped in a shawl, hidden away."  Ozick uses third person point of view professionally, she doesn't overwhelm the reader by "jumping" too much between characters.  This story's narration is absolutely heartbreaking because it displays how each character is suffering individually and also as a family unit, wanting the other to be saved.  Ozick's writing of "The Shawl" is her way to display the struggle of her people, she had to survive her own struggles in America surrounded by anti-Semitic people in her own life.  She does an outstanding job of describing the struggles of her characters to her readers, Ozick's ability to describe thought, worries, smells, torture, despair, and love makes this story extremely painful and powerful.

"Verona: A Young Woman Speaks" Harold Broclkey

In "Verona: A Young Woman Speaks" Harold Broclkey writes of a Christmas time train ride across Europe shared with a little girl and her parents.  They were not a rich family but had saved money and were spoiling themselves during the trip.  The mother a strong woman with potential she may never reach finds herself jealous of the love that her husband has for their daughter, I would define it as unconditional love, the love between a man and his wife however, has many conditions.  The father was a people pleaser as if he was an actor in a play.  The trip was full of shopping and art and meaningful situations so full of love that the girl almost bursts at the seams.  Broclkey sadly did not have this love in his childhood, having his mother die and his dad giving him up for adoption.  I feel Broclkey's message is when you experience true love, recognize it and take it for all it is worth.  People in this life feel love for other's but each case of love is unique.  There is a difference in the love the little girl felt for her mother compared to the love for her father.  Broclkey in his life experienced a passionate love for men as well as women, but I assume love was still present.  I also find it impressive that Broclkey writes in the point-of-view as a little girl, and does a totally convincing job at it.

"Roses, Rhodendron," By Alice Adams

In Alice Adam's "Roses, Rhododendrons" her habit of great detail and the plight of independent women in her writings are on display.  Her main character is Jane, a teenage girl who recently moved with her mother Margot.  Margot is recently separated from her husband and is trying to make it as an antiques dealer.  Her husband's actions make Margot question a Ouija board, trying to see the future of their marriage.  He has taken on another lover, but her hope is that they will reconcile.  Margot lives in the past and this broken home leads her daughter into befriending a young girl Harriet and her seemingly normal parents Lawrence and Emily Farr.  Jane holds the Farrs in great esteem, even after witnessing a nasty fight that occurs one night while she is visiting.  Margot is jealous of Jane's new friends and she displays this by spreading rumors to her daughter.  One of the rumors is about Mr. Farr having a relationship outside of his marriage, the effect this had on his wife may be shown by the way she cares about her personal appearance, she cuts her own hair, doesn't dye it, and wears unflattering clothes.  Mrs. Farr years later does leave her husband, perhaps she just stayed for the benefit of Harriet.  Jane and her mother move away from the Farr's, Jane subconsciously copies some of Harriet's personality traits, which I find interesting because I found myself doing that as an adolescent, when I saw a trait I admired from someone, a trait that I did not possess, I would try to mimic it until it came naturally to me and was my own.  Alice Adams herself was divorced and she did not become published until in her fifties so I can see a lot of similarities with her characters, especially Mrs. Farr.

"How To Win" Rosellen Brown

The 1970's were a barbaric time if you suffered from a mental disability, shock treatment, lobotomy, Thorazine, and lifetime lockups in underfunded, understaffed mental wards were common.  In "How To Win" Rosellen Brown writes about a family with a deeply troubled six year old boy named Christopher.  Christophers's mother Margaret is at her wits end, she simply cannot control her son's violent outbursts and his overall lack of reasoning.  In 2010 this boy would probably be labeled autistic, in the 1970's, in Magaret's world there is no definition.  Christopher's father deals with his family's circumstance by down-playing the boy's troubles and dismissing them as acts performed by a normal rambunctious little boy.  Margaret feels guilty about her children, which I believe is shared by every good mother who has ever lived, she fantasizes about life without Chris about a different loving normal six year old.  The 1970's saw the design of Individualized Education Programs (IEP's) which are designed to give kids like Chris the support they need to one day succeed in their lives.  Christopher is hand-cuffed by a now outdated drug Thorazine which slows people to a snail's pace and gives Chris the appearance of moving "underwater."  There are two points in Rosellen Brown's biography that lends clues to her writing this piece, the first is the story revolves around a disaster that could have been found in any American family, the second is the way Brown investigates these "ordinary" parents reactions to circumstances of fate.

Philip Roth "Defender of the Faith"

If one were trying to explore the difficulties a Jew might face trying not to lose their religion or identity the United State' s military, boot camp, and especially war-time boot camp is a great place for that exploration.  In the military all races, religions, and beliefs are all forced to co-exist in extremely difficult situations.  In Philip Roth's "Defender of the Faith" three "green" Jewish privates are forced to undergo the pressure of boot camp and forced to break rules of their religion (eating non-kosher foods).  I served five years in the military, meeting thousands of soldiers but only one time did I meet a practicing Jewish soldier.  I will not explore why but it is hard to explain.  Philip Roth liked to write about American culture and the problem of Jews losing their "Jewishness."  From my own experience the Army is a great place to find God, but it is also a great place to lose Him.  In the military you are nothing more than an instrument to be shot at and an instrument to return fire, that is it, there is nothing more.  Sheldon Grossbart was a lousy rat of a soldier, looking out for himself while disregarding his fellow soldiers.  But at least Grossbart was trying to keep himself intact.  Sargeant Marx, a non-practising Jew, and a war hardened infantryman lost himself, but managed to get a little back by helping Grossbart and his fellow Jews experience a little piece of Judiasm before war.  Grossbart also took away Marx's faith by being a rat.  I feel that Jews belief they hold no home on this planet so why should they die for a piece of land whose inhabitants don't respect them.   

"The German Refugee" Bernard Malamud

Bernard Malamud found Jewish characters to be "the ideal metaphor for the struggling human being.  acceptance of the Jewish identity becomes, for his characters, acceptance of the human condition."  The main character in "The German Refugee" is Oskar Gassner a misplaced Jew trying to find a place for himself in America.  Germany turned on him, Nazis wanted to kill him.  In Germany Oskar was educated and articulate, but he lost the only language he knew so he in many ways was as helpless as a baby in America.  Oskar's life was made more bearable by a young English teacher.  Oskar was a lonely man who has lost his faith in humanity.  His people where being exterminated from this Earth and through a letter Oskar, which finds no comfort in being able to read, discovers his wife has been murdered by Nazis.  Her story being only one of millions.  Oskar upon hearing this news takes his own life.  Through Malamud's creation Oskar learns too much about sadness and the bleak state of the world and human conditions, the 40's were a suffering time. 

Lawrence Sargent Hall "The Ledge" 1960

In Lawrence Sargent Hall's "The Ledge," the story centers around a gruff fisherman.  Hall's biography connects to this story at every angle.  Hall lived on the ocean.  Hall's writings are concerned with people acting under pressure.  The fisherman in "The Ledge" is very skilled at pressure situations, he relies on his planning and his ownership of lifelong knowledge and the best fishing/hunting equipment money can buy.  The fisherman's planning is so flawless that when he discovers he has left his tobacco at home he is floored, this man is not used to making mistakes.  The main character even though designed by Hall to have very limited interpersonal relationship skills shows a sign of warmth by taking his son and his nephew duck hunting on Christmas with new shotguns he had bought for them.  The day implodes on the three when while docked on a ledge, which is submerged when the tide is high, and their skiff floats away.  Leaving the three surrounded by freezing water and the thought of rapidly rising water levels.  The fisherman keeps his composure and tries without success to get rescued but slowly the three all lose their lives.  This fisherman I consider a "John Wayne" type was a man that was tough, ornery, and loyal.  This story written in 1960 shows the newer more dark realism that happened after America had time to process atrocities that had happened in the war and a sense of fear that is brought forward by artists.

Paul Horgan "The Peach Stone"

 It is easy to recognize the fact that Paul Horgan took great care in richly developing his characters, "The Peach Stone" centers around a mournful car ride to a family's burial plot to bury a two year old little girl.  The driver of the car is a guilt ridden father who blames himself for not clearing the tumbleweeds that caught fire and burned the girl to death.  This father was quiet but had much emotion that was boiling inside.  The dead girl's mother was trapped in a robotic like gaze, unable to respond to the needs of her other two children both confused and lost in the days following their sisters demise.  A fifth figure Miss Latcher, a teacher, may be the roundest character in the story.  She has religious based daydreams about martyred Christians, and she imagines herself filling the Christians destinies, she is overly concerned with herself.  I found this reading difficult.  If I had to analyse the message from Horgan I would say that the travellers in this car find themselves surrounded by three things, first they are surrounded by loved ones, second, sadly a dead girl, and also the lonely feeling that their family and friends can only accompany them to a certain point in this life, after that point, on the day of their demise, they will travel that great distance alone.

"Miami-New York," by Martha Gellhorn

In Martha Gellhorn's "Miami-New York" piece I feel that Gellhorn's habit of taking new, often famous lovers may have led to her story about a 35 year old wife who has a momentary fling with a man she is sitting next to on a long flight.  This wife had just good-bye to her husband for an extended period of time.  Sadly, these good-byes were common in the 1940's.  These departing men were not simply going on business trips they were headed to war.  A terrible war that saw some men come home, saw many die tragically and left all with crippling memories.  Gellhorn spent plenty of time with these young, war hardened men during the second world war where she wrote about her experiences as a war correspondant.  Being a veteran myself I am sure Gellhorn saw many man recieve the dreaded "Dear John" letter written by lonely wives that could not take the separation any longer and had moved on to new lovers.  These wives aren't terrible people they are just lonely and depressed.  This story of two misplaced travellers was no long-winded, eighty year relationship with a picket fence and grandchildren, this was a lustful, sexual, momentary burst of sudden gradification that made these lover's hearts race just a little faster for a short time.  Gellhorn loved adrenaline, she placed herself in war which produces a rush, she needed multiple lovers, which also produces a similar high.  She was a wildfire seeking fuel, she would not allow herself to suffer from boredom, the fact that she killed herslf at such and old age tells me she wasn't going to let physical pain dictate her life either.  I think I would have liked her.

"The Hitchikers" Eudora Welty

In 1940 door to door sales was a booming industry, cars were commonly owned which allowed men like Tom Harris, a travelling salesman and the main character in "The Hitchhikers," to travel to places where his merchandise was affordable and wanted.  In the early 40's, because of the war, unemployment was almost unheard of.  Even children like my grandfather were making money by collecting rubber, metal, and paper to sell to companies in support of the war.  America had a safer reputation in those days, and hitchhiking to destinations was common.  This false sense of security coupled by boredom and the fear of falling asleep leads Tom into picking up two drifters.  One of the drifters was talkative and carrying a guitar, the other quiet and stoic.  To try and explain this safer reputation that was in the U.S. at the time I am led to believe that since televisions were still a luxury and media didn't cover national stories with as much frequency people never heard of the murders, rapes, and other horrific crimes that were occurring in other areas.  Fear in strangers that were Americans was nowhere near the fear level that has been instilled in my generation.  My mother and father told me fear strangers and never ever pick up hitchhikers because they may just murder you.  Tom could have used this little piece of advice.  According to Eudora Welty's biography this story seems a little outside of her normal works.  Welty was known to write about childhood and love.  "The Hitchhikers" centers around a murder, a murder committed for no good reason.  Harris's reputation was also addressed, people that knew him seemed to love him.  I feel this love for Harris may be contributed to his constant travels, he blows into town, has some fun than fades away as quickly as he appeared.  .

"Here We Are" Dorothy Parker" 1931

"Here We Are" by Dorothy Parker is written about a newly married couple hours after their wedding.  It was an entertaining story written for Cosmopolitan.  These characters seem doomed in their marriage before they get to their honeymoon.  The wife is insecure and nervous, and the husband is nervous and constantly says things that the wife considers rude.  In the 1930's it was much more difficult to learn things about your mate before you got married.  This young couple as well as everyone else were held to a set of morales that we often ignore today.  Today it is common to live together and have sex before marriages are planned. In the thirties this would not be allowed.  This couple is thrown into sudden "togetherness."  The young couple are drowning in uncertainty and self-doubt.  I feel marriages in the 30's were often based on lust and they were often bad-decisions that led to much hardship because once you were in it was hard to get out.  This couple was naive and I feel that the 1930's was a naive era.  Today we are surrounded by too much reality, back then people were surrounded by too little.

"That Evening Sun Goes Down" William Faulkner 1931

In William Faulkner's "That Evening Sun Goes Down"  the story centers around a black woman Nancy who in is fear of her life by her ex.  She has many emotional problems, she is scared of the dark, had done cocaine, tried to commit suicide, and had gotten pregnant while prostituting herself to a white man.  Her ex Jubah carried  a razor with him and Nancy fears that this razor will end her life.  Faulkner wrote much about the decay of the "Old South" while examining the complicated relationships between blacks and whites.  The main feeling towards Nancy is that sometimes she is cared for by whites and other times reduced to nothing more than an animal, the first example is when she tried to hang herself in jail by hanging herself from the bars.  The jailer caught her doing this cut her down revived her then he beat her.  She was worth reviving but not worth a thing in the very next moment.  The man she worked for walked her home in the dark for protection but then had to stop because his wife felt like she was being neglected so he could be nice to a "nigger" who was worthless.  The children whom Nancy works for also enjoy and sometimes even show love for Nancy and then later would say "I ain't a nigger" showing their growing racism, the rasicm that surrounds them.  This story shows the process of change from old thinking to new thinking and taking two steps towards humanity then immediately taking one step back.

"The Killers" by Ernest Hemingway

I view the short story "The Killers" by Ernest Hemingway as a division between older simpler times, before cars, and the new faster paced lives that people could live after they were able to travel long distances quickly.  Three men working in a restaurant were suddenly in the midst of hit men looking for a man to murder, an ex-boxer who often frequented the restaurant.  These hit men were what I would call "wiseguys" the were working for a mobster.  The hit men were totally confident that they could commit this murder and never get caught.  They would jump in their car and disapear  They let the men in the restaurant see their faces and had conversations.  Once it was determined that the boxer was not showing for supper the hit men left.  One of the restaurant owners went to warn the boxer and he seemed like he had given up running and he accepted his fate.  Hemingway liked to write about life and death.  During the prohibition era new violence from mobsters was something normal people had to worry about.  Also it can be noted that the one black man who cooked for the restaurant wanted nothing to do with white men problems, he was concerned for his own welfare, which was a smart decision based on the time period.  I doubt any white man would stick out his neck to protect a black man so whites should have expected the same.

Blood Burning Moon by Jean Toomer

The short story "Blood Burning Moon" by Jean Toomer in 1923 tells the story of two men, one black, one white, lusting for the same black woman named Louisa.  The story defines racial tensions between white Americans and every other non-white citizen.  The white man Bob Stone feels that he "owns" Louisa since she works for his father.  Bob does not respect her because "she is just a nigger."  Tom Burwell, the black man is bitter at the relationship between whites and blacks saying that a white man can come in his house whenever they want and blacks can't do the same.  Bob, lusting for Louisa one night decides to sneak down to the negro camps to make love to her.  He is arguing within himself debating why he shouldn't walk right to her instead of hiding.  Bob and Tom end up in a confrontation and Tom kills Bob.  As soon as the white men find this out a mob forms and burns Tom at the stake.  This story, no matter how insane it sounds is a true depiction of the racial wars that went on long after slavery was abolished.   Blacks were still consider things to be owned and lynch mobs were the tool that kept those unwritten laws in effect.

Susan Glaspell "A Jury of Her Peers" 1917

Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers" is a story written in 1917 about a once lively and beautiful young woman turned killer.  In 1917 the ratio of lifelong marriages to marriages ending in divorce was 1 out of 1000.  I believe this figure in no way shows the ratio of happy marriages to miserable ones.  The social stigma of divorce and the legal consequenses of sex outside marriage (which was a jailable offense) was terrifying to young naive women of the time.  This brings us to Minnie Wright  a young wife married to a cold man named John.  John and Minnie lived in a isolated area, in a sad home, with little to no visitors and no telephone.  Telephones were beginning to become common to own at the time of Glaspell's story, but her character John saw no need to get one because as he claimed "people talk to much anyway."  Minnie was lucky enough to buy a canarie with a nice black cage.  This bird was more than a pet it was a source of happiness in her cold bleak exsistance.  In a fit of rage directed at Minnie her husband John broke the bird's cage and grabbed the bird and wrung it's neck.  His exact motives to kill the bird are not directly spelled out but through the reading it was shown that Minnie was possibly not living up to the standards of a wife in her day.  Susan Glaspell goes to great length in this piece to display the common and devastating life a woman was forced to endure under a dominating male figure.  Women were to be seen and not heard, expected to cook and clean.  One cold morning a knock came on Minnie's door it was her neighbor Mr. Hale and his son Harry.  Through questioning Minnie revealed her husband was dead upstairs in their bedroom.  He was strangled to death by a "piece of rope."  A fitting revenge for a beloved canarie's neck being wrung.  The next day as Minnie sat in a jail cell Mr. Hale accompanied by his wife the sheriff, the town prosecuter and the prosecuters wife converged on Minnie's house to collect evidence.  A gun was found but was not used in the murder, an interesting note about how personal this killing really was.  Minnie's mental state was brought forth through the two women's discovery of faulty wifely duties of homemaking and sewing.  The women also discovered the dead bird tucked secrectly into a sewing box.  The two women formed a bond against the men and did not reveal to them any of their findings.  The men constantly joked about the worth of women.  Susan Glaspell developed an interesting sisterhood between Mrs. Hale and the Sheriff's wife.  A secret bond also grew that included the two and Minnie.  Susan wanted readers to value the intelligence and the bond, and the growing sense of wanted freedom of women in the early 1900's.  Susan Glaspell, a self-made women of uncommon education, stuck to writing pieces of literature focused around a woman's desire to find well-to-do husbands in the early days of her career.  Later on Susan made a bold move of the time and had an affair with a married man, whom she later married.  After the affair her writings took on a much different tone.  She flirted with darker stories like "A Jury of Her Peers." She was a trend setter and a figure in a growing women's rights movement that was sweeping the nation at the time, designed upon equality with male counterparts.  This story even though dark symbolized the internal struggle of defeated women of her day.  Glaspell struck back with this piece and laid a threat to the accepted roles of women.  Give us our equality and right to chose a life of our own or we will bring hell.

Mary Lerner "Little Selves" 1916

The main character of Mary Lerner's "Little Selves" is 75 year old Margaret O'Brien, an Irish-American immigrant, who is on her deathbed.  One of the first historically significant aspects of Margaret's life is the fact that she was never married and never had any children, both rarities in her time.  Margaret received many visitors (neighbors and friends) as her last day approached.  Most of her visitors kept conversation to a superficial level and many visitors like Mrs. Hanley reduced O'Brien's mind as "going back on her already."  Margaret's internal struggle, which is discovered by her thoughtful niece Anna Lennon, who enjoyed meaningful conversation with her aunt was the fear that Margaret's life and memories would disappear as she took her last breath.  Speaking with her niece she recalls Irish folklore that includes childhood belief in leprechauns and fairies.  She also describes her belief in the ivy test, which was a superstitious child's game she and friends played, the test consisted of writing a person's name on a leaf then soaking it overnight and reading the future by looking at the condition of the leaf.  This gives insight into children's games in the 1800's before the onslaught of media and technology that children face today.  Many of the immigrants of her time as well in this day in age are faced with the problem of losing their past because of coming to the new world.  At the time of Lerner's writing, during WWI, Irish-American were not wanted here, they were only tolerated because of their ability to fill an over-abundance of jobs.  Mary Lerner herself was a virtually unknown figure.  Lerner probably recognized parts of her own life in Margaret's struggle.  Perhaps it was Lerner's desire to use her writings as a way to not be forgotten, such as Margaret's conversations with her niece.

What makes great literature?

The greatest value of literature is the emotion that is brought forth to the reader.  Literature also is the starting point to creating other forms of art.  Stories are constantly being edited to create movies, plays, and songs.  Literature gives the reader the opportunity to feel emotions that may be new to them.  I also need to say that these valuable emotions aren't always positive.  There is great value to literature that brings forth sadness, anger, jealousy, or any other instance of self-reflection.  The power of words and the poetic way these words are brought together have changed mindsets and lives.  Human beings are the happiest when they feel they are not alone, regardless of what peril they find themselves against.  Being from a small town (like myself), finding someone you can relate to is not always quick or easy, but I guarantee that I can turn to literature and find in writing something that is relevant to my own experiences.

What goals will I set for myself in this class?

If I ask myself what goals I have set for in this class I guess I could simply state "An A+" would be nice.  But I guess that doesn't make for an interesting blog.  I am currently fulfilling my first goal of writing a blog which I have never done before.  Looking further into this question I look back to when I was in carpentry school.  In carpentry class as well as this class, I hope to be able to break down stories as I once had to break down the construction process.  Just like learning the framing, leveling, and finish work that creates a stable and powerful building  I want to be able to see the nuances and the subtle but totally necessary components that combine to make a story.  I hope to be able to hold my own in discussions of literature and maybe even impress myself a little with my progress.

What I hope to learn in ENG 121: The Short Story

In order to be a successful and legitimate writer I realize first I need to be a successful reader.  I am hoping to learn the nuts and bolts of reading, analysing, and eventually being able to properly critique literature.  I want my effort in this class to reward me with building a solid foundation that I can carry with me into a creative writing degree at the University of Farmington.  I want this class to challenge me and spark creative motivation.