"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber"

"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber"

Ernest Hemingway

"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" by Ernest Hemingway was an interesting piece of literature. It begins with the characters Francis Macomber and his wife known as Margaret Macomber. When first reading this piece of literature, I kept getting so involved that I just could not stop reading.

Margaret resembles a sweet hearted wife at first, but also seems to be money hungry. She is money hungry because within the passage she literally refuses a divorce because of her husbands money. Then with reverse reactions, he can not think of divorcing her because of her elegant beauty.

The other character that the author begins mentioning is a gentleman known as Robert Wilson. Wilson is a professional hunter who is the guide for this couple while on the safari. It begins at first that the couple resembles happiness, but foreshadowing seems that things could possibly end up not so happy.

Margaret (aka Margot) seems to resemble a hateful person later on within the story. She thinks that it is necessary for her husband to listen and abide by everything she tells him. 

While on the safari, Francis becomes scared and nervous. He is scared because he is hearing a roaring lion. So while on the hunt, he encounters a lion but instead of shooting it he doesn't shoot it. If you were a hunter, would you not shoot the lion instead of running from it?

This seems to be an interesting passage. I enjoyed this one more than the one Edgar Allen Poe had written.

"The Cast of Amontillado"

"The Cast of Amontillado"

Edgar Allen Poe

What a very confusing piece of literature. I found myself reading the paragraphs repeatedly. I just could not get any understanding from this story when I began reading. I honestly do not think I can get a passage with 300+ words. This story seems to be about a crime that may have happened a very long time ago. The topic that goes with this story would be revenge.

This story of Poe and his writing is taken place in a dark underground doom. Fortunato does not seem to have any problems but Montressor seems to have all the problems. The narrator does not give us any background information about Fortunato. By reading the passage, I seemed to characterize Fortunado by being sort of wealthy and a lover of drinking wine.

I just wonder if Fortunado is really the one who did the crime or if he is just being blamed for a crime that happened that long ago? It shocked me in the end when Fortunato was murdered by Montressor. I thought the ending of this story was more interesting in the end than the beginning.

This is my blog on my thoughts about this piece of literature. This might be confusing to some of you when reading this, but don't feel bad because I am still confused!   :)

"The Horse Dealer's Daughter"

"The Horse Dealer's Daughter"

D.H. Lawrence

I thought that this piece of literature was a sad story. It brought some emotions to my eyes. D. H. Lawrence done an awesome job with this story. The main character in this story is known by the name of Mabel. She seems to be a nice person. She soon realizes that her family has basically lost everything. These children have came to the table for their last breakfast together as a family. The three boys will be moving on to work and marriage. She is left to defend for herself. Her future remains uncertain as to what the future will hold. 

The girl has the option of living with her sister, but she refuses to live with her. The other option that this character has is to become a servant, which she disagrees with and does not want to do that for her future either. I do think that Mabel is interested in what she wants to do with her future, but just can't decide. In my opinion, the author is trying to tell us something about what is going to happen in the story. 

Once she gets all the breakfast dishes cleaned up, she decides to do some lawn work around her mother's grave. When she arrives at her mother's grave she seems to be in a totally different world. She always seemed to be secure when she would visit her mother's grave. She also felt that her mother was there and was satisfied that she had some contact even though her mother was not there physically. It is very interesting to see that she goes to her mother through death. This part was interesting. I bet the people that went by was wondering what she was doing since she looked as she was in a different world.

I do have to say that I loved the part when she fell in the water and Jack saved her. I thought that this part was sweet. The best part is when he pictures that they love each other. I think that this was the climax of the story. I would want someone to save me if I happen to fall in water. It does not mean that I will love them like Mabel did Jack, but it is still a awesome part of the story. Jack is a strong character by bringing her to the surface since he is a doctor.

I think this story become a love story when Jack bring Mabel to the surface. This is when Mabel asks if he was the one who rescued her and undressed her. Then this is when she persistently kept asking him if he loved her. Now is that not sweet! He had the right to undress her since he was a doctor, but most doctors would not do this just to look at a naked woman. I thought this part was interesting. This is where my suspense in the story rose because I wanted to know what happened next.


I thought that this story would not have any suspense, but as I kept reading and got to that part there it was. This was an amazing story how it ended and how the author done things to foreshadow this event within the story.

"Girl"

"Girl"

Jamaica Kincaid

This piece of literature was short and to the point. At first I was a little confused that I had to read it twice to understand what it was about and get some understanding of it. It is a piece of literature written as a single sentence. There is some symbolism. The dialogue is that of a mother and daughter. It is where the mother is giving the daughter instructions on how to grow up and become a lady. 

My first impression of the mother in this story can kind of be compared to the step mother in the Cinderella fairy tale. She seems to be strict and possible hateful. There are some placed within the story that are the daughters first person point of view. I really have to say this story had no pazazz because Jamaica Kincaid, the author, did not introduce no character, no purpose, no climax, and no suspense. I love to read a story or book about suspense that leaves you wanting to know more. 

I just wonder if this could have possibly took place on the Caribbean island of Antigua?Our textbook gives us a little bit of information about the author, where she was born, and what awards she got from her writings. This is why I think it took place where she was born. Maybe writing this piece of literature brought back childhood memories for the author.

As a reader, the author portrayed a young girl growing up with no morale. I conclude this because she gives instructions on making medicine for a cold and how to make a good medicine "to throw away a child before it even becomes a child." The statement about the medicine to abort a child made me dislike the story because it is so wrong to do such a thing. How can anyone be so inhumane? This story leaves me with some unanswered questions.

"Barn Burning"

"Barn Burning"

William Faulkner

This piece of literature started confusing me as I began reading it, but as I kept reading I got more understanding of it. The story begins with being in a store with the main characters father. The main character known as Colonial Sartoris (aka. Sarty) who was in a crowed room towards the back. His stomach read all the cans of soup and fish and kept smelling the scent of cheese.

The boy had already stereotyped the Justice as his "enemy". It was real interesting that the Justice called a "trial" even though it took place in a small store. The boy Sarty was accussed of setting a barn on fire over a dispute about a hog not being pinned in a fence. However, the trial and case was closed because there was no proof or evidence that Sarty had done this.

It was shocking to see that the Justice told Sarty and his father to leave the country and never come back. At this point in the story I began to feel sorry for Sarty and his father because they had no where else to go. It is nice to see as I was reading that the father had already found a place for them to stay before they were literally forced out of their current living place. 

Whenever the Justice asked Sarty to testify against his father, it was very troublesome for me to even think about such a small boy doing this. He probably knew right from wrong, but Sarty was faced with an obstacle. This obstacle Sarty was faced with was whether or not he should lie for his father being he had to testify. I figured that he would lie for the father, but he ended up not having to testify. 

The father had gotten into another predicament when they arrived at the new homestead. He had tracked mud all over the landlords rug. The landlord did not like this too much so he had ordered Sarty's father to clean it up. So instead of him cleaning it, he made the girls clean it up. After cleaning it up so well, Sarty did not like that it was that clean and he made the girls re-clean it. 

Very interesting story this was. At first I had the opinion that I would not like it, but after reading it I thought it was an alright piece of literature to make become a story.

"Revelation"

"Revelation"

Flannery O'Connor

This was another interesting piece of literature that I have read this week. It starts off with the character known as Mrs. Turpin and her husband Claud. I really disliked her as I began reading this short story. It took place inside a waiting room at a doctor's office. Mrs. Turpin resembled a judgmental person. Everyone she seen in the office, she had something to say about them. She is not judgmental about her husband Claud. She seems to really love him by taking care of him and telling him "not to stand on his leg" because he is not able to.

As the other characters had started to judge her, she did not take to kind of that. But I had the feeling that she got what she deserved. You should never judge anyone, you should pray for them. She did not pick a good topic for a discussion inside a doctor's office because of the different religions, cultures, and races you see in the offices sometimes.

At first I had believed that this short story would be about the bible. Like the book of Revelations. However, as I continued to read, it was nothing like that. I kept thinking that Mrs. Turpin was the devil and was acting well past her age to sit there and judge those in the office as well. What if the colored boy who brought the food on the tray would have been in there the whole time to hear the conversation? Well, Mrs. Turpin could have been in an arugnemtn. I know that African-Americans have different skin colors, but you should NEVER judge anyone no matter who they are or from where they come from.

I was very shocked in this story. I thought that it would have been about Mr. Claud getting really sick or something, but boy was I wrong. I have enjoyed all the readings for this week. They were actually pretty good and I could read them over and over again. I love stories like these since I can get in them with my personal opinions. I hope the rest of the class enjoyed this weeks assignments as much as I did. I just hope that next weeks are even more suspenseful and interesting.

"Good Country People"

"Good Country People"

Flannery O'Connor

Yet another great piece of literature. O'Connor picked just the right characters for this story. The character known as Joy-Hulga is a non-believer and seems to look down on many people because of her religion. I felt sorry for her because of the incident with her artificial leg and the bible salesman. Mrs. Hopewell is a major character throughout this piece of literature. She is the type of person that would give you the shirt off of her back if you needed it. For example, when the bible salesman come to the house and wanted to sell some bibles. Joy told her mother to tell the "salt of the earth" to leave so they could eat, but Mrs. Hopewell said that she could not be rude to anyone. Then it comes to the character Mrs. Freeman. I really did not like this character because she thought that she knew everything whether it was true or not. She seemed to think everything she had to say was right no matter what she said. 

I think that Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Hopewell are introduced at the beginning of the story to gain suspense in wondering what had happened to Joy. As the reader knows, Joy had a hunting accident in her younger years where it literally blew her leg off so now she has to wear a prosthetic leg made from wood. I also think that these ladies were mentioned first because of their usual routine of eating over the breakfast table talking about the weather or about Mrs. Freeman pregnant daughter.

So what is so significant that Mrs. Hopewell's daughter has two names? I honestly have to say that it is because of the accident she had when she was younger. I feel that she thinks her life is over. She had to miss out on so much during her earlier years that maybe if she changes her name, she will get a new life and can try to start over again. 

The effect of O'Connor's use of the phrase "good country people" throughout the story is because of Mrs. Hopewell's reactions toward the bible salesman. Mrs. Hopewell thinks that every one is good and abides by the rules. However, I honestly have to say that after the reader gets done reading this short story, the reader will think of a different title besides the one given. I would label this story as "the way a person is known as "dirty"! 

I feel that this title is inappropriate because of the incident. The incident was where that Joy and the bible salesman takes off to the barn. The bible salesman starts making moves toward Joy. Finally comes down to where the salesman asks Joy where her wooden leg attaches. How in the world could someone be this dirty to ask a person that is handicapped this question. But the worst part is that he takes her wooden leg and leaves her up there and leaves the barn. Does he not care of how she feels? Or even where her ego or self-esteem went? Could you say down the drain? I think that it was so pitiful to read this and see something like this happen to someone because of a nasty minded person. 

I think that the author left the readers in suspense because I was wondering how she was going to get down and would someone find out about the tragic and horrific thing that the "bible" salesman did. WOW, he is not right at all. He should be prosecuted and hung for doing something like this to someone that had an accident and could not help that she had to have a wooden leg. 

This week has been real exciting for me. I have enjoyed the readings that we have read. This story in particular was the most suspenseful for me. It just amazes me how someone that is "Godly" can do something so inhumane to a person. Hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I have.

"A Good Man is Hard to Find"

"A Good Man is Hard to Find"

Flannery O'Connor

In the beginning of the short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find", the Grandmother's concerns about the trip to Florida foreshadow events in the story. The grandmother doe not want to take a vacation to Florida because she is trying to persuade them not to go. She is persuading them because of a Misfit who is on the run as an escapee. She has read about this escapee who is heading to the Florida area. The family ignores what grandmother is trying to tell them. She was a talkative lady. She seemed to be a very comical type of person.

This was a very interesting and suspenseful piece of literature. After learning about this "Misfit" escaping from a  penetituary, it made me very suspenseful about what was going to happen to the family. It shocked me even more at the end of the story to actually find out what had happened. 

O'Conner portrays the family as a typical family. Mother, father, children, and grandparent going on a family vacation. They are very comic because of the main character which I think is the grandmother. I was very shocked when I had finished reading this short story. I did not expect to read about the family getting killed. However, I should have thought something when three men in a hearse came to help the family after their vehicle overturned. 

The grandmother was a funny lady. O'Conner made her the central character. She thought she was right in everything she said and done. The other family members seem accustomed to her talking all the time. When she kept talking, one character read the paper and the children continued reading the comics even though the Grandmother was talking about different stuff. It was ironic to know that the grandmother dressed in her best Sunday clothes and then get killed. 

The Misfit is an escapee in the story. I think he could be written as insane because he exits a hearse with guns. The grandmother responds to him by recognition. She shrieks and just stares. She automatically recognizes him as the misfit.

I think Red Sammy's purpose in this story is a target for the Misfit. Red Sammy has a conversation about how people aren't nice anymore and that everything is going terrible where you can not leave your doors unlocked anymore. It also resembles Red Sammy as already being a victim of the Misfit when he mentions that if there was two cents in the cash register, the Misfit would take it for sure. 

This was a very interesting piece of literature for me. I really enjoyed this story. I think that I have enjoyed this one more than some of the others that we have read during this semester.

The Birthmark

"The Birthmark"

Nathaniel Hawthorne 

I was very confused with this story by Hawthorne. This piece of literature is all about science. Aylmer is a character who was presented to be evil. He seems to be a character to think nothing is too complicated to figure out. Aylmer viewed everything as wrong no matter what it was. For example, he thought Georgiana's face was messed up on her left cheek with a deep interwoven mark. In my opinion, Aylmer is trying to be like God and go above God's creations. I think Aylmer is simply a stock version of a mad scientist. In one way he might be regarded as an idealist because he is influenced by ideals that often conflict with practical considerations. 

Aylmer thought he could remove the birthmark. To Aylmer, the birthmark resembles a mark of earthly imperfection. Is he playing God? It seems that he is going to try with all his might to. It amazes me that she gave into him about removing this mark from her. Especially when she said, "no matter the cost." I knew he was playing God when he said, "doubt not my power."

I think Georgiana loved Aylmer more than he did her. This is because she tells Aylmer to find a way to rid the birthmark from her face. Aylmer is characterized as guilty of the sin of pride. Georgiana took pride in her appearance until Aylmer stared at the mark after they got married. He then thought of a special formula to get rid of it. If he loved her, he should not have judged her of the mark that he said was an imperfection.

Despite the risks to Georgiana, Aylmer conducts his experiments in the hope and expectation of achieving a higher goal. He devotes his life to science, and yet he is an egotist. Aylmer places his self at the center of the world and not being concerned with the one he loves. It is like he loves himself and his powers. He is concerned that his powers are mightier than God's. I see him as being the devil and seeing everything as an imperfection. It is like he can do everything right with no mistakes.

The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky

"The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky"

Stephen Crane

Stephen Cranes piece of literature entitled The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky is a representation of crime that happens in the town of Yellow Sky. Crane's setting, theme, characters, and action is a picture of rivalry between the east and west. This piece of literature was quite confusing for me at first while reading. The nature of the conflict that Marshal Potter feels on the train in Part 1 of the story is the fact that he married his bride and had uneasy feeling about taking her back to Yellow Sky where none of the townspeople know he is a husband now. He feels he has committed a "crime" in bringing home a bride to Yellow Sky. I think he may feel uneasy because he is unsure of how the townspeople are going to react.

The Drummer is a traveling salesman who loves to talk. The Drummer was telling some tales and not sure what was going on in Yellow Sky. He is a new-comer to the town and seemed swayed between the interest of a foreigner and perception of personal danger. The drummer kept asking questions and paying no attention to what the bartender was telling him. The bartender was telling the drummer to get behind the bar because that was probably the safest place for him to be. The drummer kept refusing until he realized it might be much safer. 

There are many details to support the story's theme of being Western. For example, the bride wore a dress of blue cashmere. It had small reservations of velvet in different places with steel buttons. The dress also consisted of puffy sleeves that were stiff, straight, and high. Scratchy Wilson wore a maroon colored flannel shirt. The revolving guns that some people carried also go along with the Western theme.

"Killings"

"Killings"

Andre Dubus

Killings by Andre Dubus was a very interesting piece of literature. It is all about revenge and retaliation which is an action taken in return for an injury or offense. At the beginning, Matt Fowler had to take part in a terrible event that no parent could ever imagine; burying his son Frank. This raises questions of whether or not committing murder is fair or unfair. If someone killed my son, I would take revenge by murdering that person. I understand there were some mixed emotions and point of views while reading this story. My feelings about Matt's act of revenge is lawful. The emotions that Dubus produces from this character are very emotional. As I was reading, I got emotional because Matt had to bury his youngest son and knowing the suspect was out and about made me very angry. Of course some of us would want revenge, but I would take matters in my own hands. The saying, "an eye for an eye" could possibly be the right course depending on the situation. For a situation like this, it would be the right course in my opinion.

The title is very interesting. Dubus chose the title "Killings" instead of "Killers" because there was only one killer but two killings. Matt was trying to protect his family. I would have probably done the same actions that Matt did. Being a parent of a boy or any children, I feel that it is a parents right to harm someone if their child was involved. I love my son more than anything in the world and do not want to see him being hurt or mistreated.

The family of Matt will never be able to live life like they once did. This left an impression on the hearts of the family. Now they will have to live life with having flashbacks of this horrible event. I would have no compassion on the person who was to kill or even harm my child. Therefore, I have no compassion on Strout. It really bothered Ruth because there was swelling beneath her eyes that gave the readers an image of how she suffered.

The point of view that Dubus presents is that he is "in" the family. Matt is very protective of his family. Dubus makes this picture seem like reality. My imagination was like I was there throughout the whole story and seen all the events. The effects of Dubus's ordering of events in the story made me very suspenseful. I was on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. If these events were told in chronological order, the story would not have been as suspenseful or inviting to read.

Before Frank's murder, the Fowler family seemed like they were happy and loving. Matt Fowler seems like a kind hearted man to go to any extreme for his family. Matt and Ruth seem to have a loving relationship. The murder of Frank happens and it rips the family apart with hatred. It affects the family because Matt feels justice should be served, but he takes matters into his own hands.

At the end of the story, Matt tells his wife about the killing. Matt seems at ease for causing Strout's killing in consequence for killing his son Frank. Ruth was petting and hugging Matt. It was really shocking to know that Ruth was all for the killing of Richard Strout since he killed her son. As she was lying there in bed, she wanted Matt to tell her the details. She was very eager to know what happened while he was gone.

"A Rose for Emily"

William Faulkner

While reading this passage I was really confused. I was confused because there were no explanations and many unanswered questions. This is a Southern tale of a young lady who has been sheltered most of her life. Emily’s father would not allow her to find a suitor and marry him. She lived a disclosed life. I am assuming that Emily had no suitable suitors because of her background and father. Emily appeared to be very respected in the small town in which she lived. The town’s people felt sorry for Emily because they would always say, “Poor Emily.” After her father passed away, she found her a suitor named Homer Barron. When she had gone to get the poison arsenic, I think she had intentions of keeping Homer as her suitor forever. My first thoughts were she was buying the poison to kill herself, but it turns out she murdered him. It raises the question that, “If you loved someone, why would you kill them?” My attention was directed to the passage that she had slept with his dead body for so long. There is no way I could have done that. I also could not imagine living somewhere that I could smell a rotting corpse. At the end, I was left in suspense about the gray hair left on Miss Emily’s pillow. This story left me hanging with some missing details.

The Story of an Hour

"The Story of and Hour"

Kate Chopin

As I was reading this piece of literature, the first thing I noticed was Mrs. Mallard was affected by “heart trouble”. It was ironic to me that the condition was noted in the beginning. Mrs. Mallard does not grieve as we would if we lost our husband. Once her sister Josephine told her the news of her husband’s death, she would repeat over and over: “free, free, free!” This led me to believe that the relationship between her and her husband may have been too controlling like a prisoner in jail. She was not very vocal on the relationship. This piece of literature makes me believe that Louise was unkind and over protective of Mrs. Mallard. When she hears of his death, her feelings are over excitement because she can go on about her life without someone telling her what to do. I got the reaction that Mrs. Mallard was rejoicing over her husband’s death. In today’s society, people who lose their husbands show sadness and sympathy. There are many sensory images expressed in this passage. The sensory images in this passage made my imagination seem realistic. I could taste and smell the delicious breath of the rain, hear the sparrows twittering, and see the patches of blue sky as I just let my imagination wonder. For Mrs. Mallard, the vision through the open windows means freedom and no instructions from a man. In the story, Josephine represents the sympathetic person. Josephine shows sympathy and caring for Mrs. Mallards feelings. Mrs. Mallard is described as descending the stairs “like a goddess of Victory.” She feels herself victorious because she has freedom and has a new beginning of life by adapting to being a widow. The view of this marriage represents attitudes toward marriages in the nineteenth century. Marriages these days do not compare to those in the nineteenth century. I think Mrs. Mallard would feel better off dead than to have to deal with this was of living for years to come.

Introduction

Hello my name is Ashley Krapish. I am 26 years old. I am married to a wonderful guy. We dated 9 years and recently got married. I have a son which is 9 and will be turning 10 in November. I love my family and would do anything for anyone. The picture that you see is of my Grandmother and I. We recently had to place her in a Nursing home. She raised me since I was 2, so she is like my Mom. She has the severe stage of Dementia. The severe stage is the last stage that a person can have when dealing with this disease. I graduated from CCC&TI in May 2009 with my A.A.S. in Medical Office Administration. Unfortunately, there were no jobs. So, I am currently coming back for the Radiography program. I am taking English 113, Psychology 241, and my CNA class. I am staying busy all the time as you can see. I love to read many different books. I loved the Twilight series. I also like Nicholas Sparks, and V.C. Andrews. I read to my son and he reads to me. Well this is a little bit about me. I am looking forward to this semester. Good luck to you all!  :)