Popular Mechanics - Raymond Carver

Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver was one of the more disturbing stories that I have read.  Instantly, readers know that there are bad things happening in the house.  " ...but it was getting dark on the inside, too"(Carver).  This comparison between the dark on the outside and the inside instantly allows the reader to realize the darkness on the inside.  This story emphasizes something fundamentally wrong with some people.  Both of those parents love the child very much.  They also hate each other a considerable amount.  Hate causes people to wish ill on the target of their hatred.  I believe this is why the parents were so adamant about keeping the babies to themselves.  They loved that baby so much and wanted ill things toward the other so much that they neglected to think about what there baby tug-of-war was doing to the child.  In the end though, the battle was not about the child, it was about taking away what was most important to both of them.  In that struggle of pure selfishness, greed, and stupidity, they inadvertently decided that if both cannot have their most precious gift, neither of them can. 

The Story of an Hour- Kate Chopin

I will begin by stating the obvious.  The death of her husband came as a release and freedom to her.  He had obviously been one to restrict her and hold her down; however, because of his death, she was allowed to be free again.  I find that there is some irony held within this story due to the fate of Mrs. Mallard.  ""Free! Body and soul free""(Chopin)!  or "She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long"(Chopin).  There is irony contained in both of these sentences.  The first is that she is rejoiced at her recently found freedom of her body and her soul; however, as soon as her not-dead husband appears, that freedom is cut short by her death. The initial news of the death of her husband was eventually greeted by elation and joy, but the death is not what killed her.  The culprit to her death was her husband showing back up after he was supposed to have been killed.  The irony in the second quote is that she does not end up living longer at all.  There was also a bit of foreshadowing in the beginning of the story with the mention of her heart condition.  However, the heart condition was not activated by what the reader initially would think would start it.  

You're Ugly, Too - Lorrie Moore

Zoe is an interesting, unique, independent, and extremely weird person.  The beginning of the story with the description of her house evokes a slight amount of sympathy for her due to her loneliness. Furthermore, Zoe has had extremely poor experiences with the dating situation.  Though some of the men were a bit odd, Zoe did through a few of them off with her eccentricity.  ""I knew a dog who could do that"(Moore).  This line emphasizes that relaxation and comfortability that Zoe has with her self and her oddness.  Additionally, she does not help her situation with Earl when she pretends to push him off the balcony.  If this is flirting, it is no doubt a very odd and probably not very successful approach to it.  Though she emphasizes she was kidding, her doing that may push Early away.  However, as the story closes out, we see a different side of Zoe that is curious to see what Earl thinks of her and her appearance.  This entire story consisted of Zoe dismissing relationships and giving up on the love seen over all.  By her doing this, she is a free spirit not that is not concerned about how she treats others.  In the end though, we see that she is not totally given up on the love seen.  She genuinely is curious as to wether or not Earl is interested in her.  

February- Margaret Atwood

First, I read through this poem as I would while reading a novel.  The first real sense that I had about the Margaret Atwood's poem was one of despair, longing, and a sense of giving up.  Initially, I presumed that the speaker was gloomy about February because well, it's February.  Answering the first question, I would say that February to me is and forever will be the worst month ever.  Once Christmas passes, I am totally over the cold weather.  January can be bearable; however, what is there to look forward to in February? I feel as though the the speakers feelings towards February are similar to my feelings as well.  

As I reached the middle of the poem, I realized that the gloominess that the speaker is feeling is most likely due to the fact that she is alone in regards to a lover.  February is the month of Valentines Day, a day of love. I feel as though the reader is bitter and critical of the love in general.  "But its love that does us in. Over and over/ again, He shoots, he scores!"  Based on her text, I would say that the speaker is an individual who has experienced bad luck with love and is better towards those who have success with it.  Instead of hanging with a person from the opposite gender, she hangs out with her cat. 

Eveline

Eveline by James Joyce was slightly disappointing to say the least.  It was rather anticlimactic; however, if looked at with a little Hollywood pizzaz, it becomes a very interesting story.  Eveline is a girl in an extremely tough situation.  She is stuck in a drab, possibly abusive, and degrading situation up keeping the house with her father.  Contrasting that is Frank's promise.  Frank is promising Eveline a wonderful life in Buenos Aires that leaves all of the worries that she has had behind.  We see her attempt to defend that wondrous dream; however, this quote may show that deep down, she has not fully bought into the full idea of leaving.  "Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition"(Joyce, 222).  Additionally, she feels a sense of obligation towards her father.  Even though her father is possibly becoming violent, she remembers that kind sides that her father occasionally has and feels she must stay.  Along with that is her promise that she made to her terminal mother.  Before her mother died, Eveline promised her that she would keep the home together for as long as she could.  However, with all of the awful memories of her mother's death, her brother's death, the drabness of the atmosphere, and her long departed friends, it would seem that her solution to the problem would be to move out.  In the end though, she realizes she cannot just leave onto some voyage she does not know she wants to take and abandon her struggling father.

Lonely Hearts- Question 5

Referring to question five, all of these stanza in Wendy Cope's Lonely Hearts seem to be advertising for something new and different in their lives.  In the first stanza, a male is obviously looking for a young female to go touring with, with their bicycles.  Though he states that he wants a bicycle partner, we do not see him asking for a new date or life-partner like some of the other stanzas are asking for.  The second stanza involves a gay vegetarian looking for a date partner who is in to Shakespeare and being outside.  Initially, I associated the word gay with meaning homosexual, however, as I looked at the date that this story was published, I realized that at this time period, gay simply meant happy! So, in essence, this individual is looking for a happy individual who is a vegetarian and enjoys reading Shakespeare outside!  The third stanza centers around a business person looking for some adventure and uniqueness in their life.  This person is obviously tired of their old life and hoping to move on to something new. "Executive in search of something new-"(Cope, 973).  The forth stanza deals with a young Jewish woman looking for a man in her life.  She is probably around 30 years old due to her child and probability of her having that child while married to someone. The fifth stanza is from a person named Libran who is looking for a young individual who does not smoke.  Finally, the last one is something rather interesting.  The last one is rather vague and general.  This being the case, it leaves it open for something, anyone, to start with the person asking.  

A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

This poem, if looked at from different angles, could be interpreted many different ways.  As question two inquires, what way between the two is correct: a journey or death? Even at the beginning, I presumed that this poem was going to be about death. "The breath goes not, and some say, no"(Donne, 801).  As I continued to read, I felt that death was a subject in the poem, though not the main one.  I believe one of the main topics being discussed is the connection two lovers have in their souls, not only their physical attractions.  In A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, Donne is speaking about death in a way as if it was a journey that is taken by two in a way.  I had a difficult time understanding this completely, but I believe his similes about the foot are to explain that death is a journey that is started by one(the dying person) and carried on( the living person) by staying alive until they are both gone.  If this poem was looked at in the perspective that this was a normal, worldly journey, the feet would imply that one must bring the other along if they are to go anywhere.  However, because the journey being referenced here is one of a slightly different nature, I believe that Donne is trying to say that lovers are connected and tugged on even after death.  Finally, at the end, he makes the connection that this journey that he is taking is going to lead him to where he started out in the first place anyway, heaven. 

How I Met My Husband- Question 4

In Monro's How I Met My Husband, Edie is the character that is focused on throughout the entirety of the story.  Edie is initially perceived as a type of failure and individual of a lower class.  Though we know it not to be true, Edie's role as a hired girl lowed the initial view of her.  She is obviously serving the higher class and by Mrs Peebles negative reference to farmers and Edie's internal response to this, we know she comes from a farming family. "Let's not stand her gawking like a set of farmers"(Monro, 131).   Through this quote comes other examples that make the reader feel pity for Edie.  Because of these incidents, Edie really is a sympathetic character.  However, through experiences and other situations that show that Edie is like any of individual, her working situation gives less need for the sympathy initially given. Although we do feel pity for her, we begin to have less pity for her because of her working situation.  We begin to have pity for her because of her naivety and her situation with Chris Watters.  Though we receive the sense that Edie feels that she was not forced to do anything and that she is not too terribly harmed by the experience, the modern reader of today cannot help but feel sympathy and a tad of weirdness while reading about a 16 year old being seduced by a war veteran.