Favorite and least favorite

My favorite story from this semester would have to be The Invalid's Tale by Mark Twain. I am a big fan of Samuel Clemens, and have been since I was young. My father used to read us Twain stories when we were little, and I have always been a fan of his irony and sense of humor. The way that Twain used dialogue to show the lack of grammar skills in the story, along with the irony made me really get into the story and enjoy it. Twain has a way of making fun of the main character that draws me in. How you know the whole time that the terrible smell is coming from cheese, and seeing the suffering that the men in the story are going through, thinking that the stench is coming from the body, that is actually a box of guns, is quite comical. By the end of the story the main character believes that he is going to die. I felt it was a very funny and well written story that was much different in it's style than anything else that we read in this class.

My least Favorite story was The Birthmark, by Nathaniel Hawthorn. I did not like this story for the fact that a man could not find the women he claimed to love, his wife, perfect. He married her and fell in love with her with a birthmark on her face. Yet as time went on he grew to see it as an imperfection. This made me feel that Alymer was a pompous asshole who did not deserve the love of a good woman. I found it heartbreaking for this man to do what he did. He risked and ended his wife's life over the fact that she had a mark on her face. The more I read this story, the more I began to hate it. I have been in love, and for him to throw it away over something so stupid made me hate him. This is how I felt and react to the stories in this class. There were many great stories in this class, and a few bad ones, and these are the ones that I chose as the best and the worst.

Conscience of the Court

I believe that the verdict in Laura Lee's trial is a just one. She committed no crime and defended the property that she was in charge of defending. Beasley had no right to be there, or to try and take her things. He was trying to steal her property by taking advantage of Laura Lee. I believe that this is a hopeful verdict that shows a foreshadowing of a more just legal system. One that made it's decisions based on law and not on race. It is a good verdict that actually followed the law and did not base their decision on the fact that a black women beat up a white man, but a woman was defending the property from theft. 

Desiree's Baby

I am on the fence with Kate Chopin's "Desiree's Baby," I found the beginning of the story a little bit confusing. I found myself reading it, but not enjoying it. The twist that caught me off guard was when they found out that the baby wasn't white. After that fact, and the husband's extreme change in personality, I pretty much guessed that karma would be against him in the end. He ended up throwing her out because he thought Desiree was black, when in reality he was. His own prejudice was in the end against himself. I did like that part of the story, that he is left to face his own ignorance. He threw his wife and baby away for something that was his fault. There really was no way for him to know, however he was so quick to accuse the women he loved, because her background was a mystery. Turns out he didn't know his own past.

Everything that rises must converge

In Flannery O'Connor's "Everything that rises must converge," the title can be dissected to pertain to different elements of the story. The "everything that rises," is Julian's mother's blood pressure. It also talks about the rising change in society during this time. African Americans are gaining equal rights and freedoms as whites, and are rising up from the struggle they were forced into. When Julian's prejudice mother, who is unaware of the change in society, tries to give a little african american boy a penny, the boy's mother strikes her with her handbag. The woman's pride converges with julian's mother's blood pressure, which in the end kills her. The title is talking about the rise and convergence of black and white equality, as well as the rising of the blood pressure and the convergence with a stressful situation of a sudden realization, that the world is not how she thought it was, and things are in fact changing. 

Good Country People

There are several conflicts in Good Country People. There is Hulga's irritation with Mrs. Freeman, there is Mrs. Hopewell's distaste for her daughter's new name. There is also Mrs. Freeman's 15 year old daughter who is pregnant. But the most interesting conflict seems to be the belief in nothing. Hulga doesn't believe in God and she seems proud of this. She feels that this belief protects her from being disappointed in life. Since she lost her leg at the age of ten, she has had a different life then most people. She is thirty in the story and has gotten used to just having one leg, however, she gets tricked by a bible salesman, who it turns out also believes in nothing. The bible salesman steals poor Hulga's leg from her and leaves her with one leg in the loft of a barn.

Several Blessings

The setting of The Several Blessings of Wang Ta-nien is important to the author and the story, because it takes place during a time of persecution. The story takes place at a time when China's communist government has taken control of Taiwan, and the characters in the story are waiting for the Nationalist party to return to power. The author of the story's father was an official in the chinese government, who was executed when the Communist party took over China. This is important because her background with the takeover gave her a personal connection with the characters in the story who are waiting for the invading government to be removed from their homeland. They wait for the return of their own government and a return of their way of life.

The Conversion

I believe in Roth's "The conversion of the Jews," his Jewish characters are  not so much portrayed negatively as they are religious. They are strict in their faith and beliefs in the story. While you can say that they seem irrational for the Rabbi and the mother stricking the child for asking questions, that seems to be more of a negative aspect for the adults in the story. The children appear fine. I saw the negative character attributes in the adults and I didn't necessarily see it as being anti-semetic.