The Lesson

In this short story it seems like all of the neighborhood kids despise Ms. Moore due to her desire to teach them lessons. They would rather play outside but she instead drags them all over the city and teaches them life lessons. What i find most interesting is that she isn't teaching them the generic things that one usually learns in school but rather street smarts in a sense. She is aware of the neighborhood that they live in and it seems that if she can get them to open their eyes a little wider to what lies beyond their neighborhood then it would change their mindset all together.

A&P

The main character, Sammy, basically was hoping for attention from the girls. However, I also feel that the girls, who wearing clothing that was not appropriate for the surroundings, probably seemed to Sammy like they were free and that is what he truly wanted to be. He wanted to be free of his job. Sammy felt his job was beneath him and so sticking up for the girls seemed like a good reason to him to justify leaving the store that he obviously had contemplated leaving.

Everyday Use

Upon reading the story one can't help but feel anger towards Dee. She seems to think herself so big and superior to her sister, Maggie. Maggie who has scars and burns hates seeing Dee because she feels so worthless around her. And that feeling of worthlessness comes out when Dee tries to take the quilts intended for Maggie. It is really sad to see siblings fight and tear one another down like the way Dee does to Maggie. However, Maggie shows Dee in the end that she has a better heart than her and the mother seems to see that as well.

A Worn Path

It is interesting to see the racism that takes place in this story. Everything seems that happens can be traced back to it whether it be the white hunter or the dreams of equality that don't actually exist. I find it terrible that the white hunter and the nurses would treat Phoenix in such a manner just because she is black. But I suppose that since I have not lived in that era I may never truly understand.

The Purloined Letter

Perhaps it was  the blandness of the web page but I had to really focus hard in order to get the story to sink in. But once it did I truly understood and marveled at Edgar Allan Poe's ability to make a character that could hoodwink another character so elegantly and effectively.  "The Purloined Letter" is a great detective story that shows that no triumph can come of underestimating the enemy.The Prefect in this story was so full of himself and so focused on the reward he would get that he overlooked hiding places that he deemed unnecessary which where those that were simple. Dupin on the other hand rationalized all possibilities and found the letter with ease in the simpliest of places. In the end, according to Dupin, the reward clouded the Prefects judgement.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

This story took a completely different direction than i thought it would. I didn't expect the misfit to kill the woman and the kids let alone the sweet old lady. It is really amazing the way people's minds work and how they use absurd excuses to justify bad deeds.

A Hunger Artist

The hunger artist lived such an empty life both literary and figuratively. He had no real connection to anyone besides his manager. I feel that among starving himself of food he was also starving himself of everything else people should have such as a family, a stable home, and other reasons for living. Its really sad that at the end of his life no one really cared about him.

The Use of Force

I must admit that when i was reading this story i couldn't help but think that it was going to have a supernatural ending to it. It just seemed to point in that direction for me. I really thought it was interesting to see how the doctors professional composure seemed to dwindle as he was continuously unsuccessful in getting the girl to open her mouth. He gave up on the wooden spatula and used the metal spoon end to pry it open. And I understand why the little girl didn't want anyone to know about her illness but it would only make things worse for her in the long run. But, i suppose that since she was only a kid she really didn't have a great grasp on the situation

Hills Like White Elephant

I will not lie it took me some time to figure out what the operation was that the woman was suppose to get. I thought it was an abortion of sorts but I could not understand why she was drinking if she was with child. And it did not make sense to me when the man said that a lot of couples are glad they  did it. I realized how long ago this was made and it dawned on me that they probably did not know about the risks of alcohol and babies in the 1800's. The ending seems to be the most important part though it was quite subtle. The woman seemed to come to the decision that she wanted to keep the baby thus ending her relationship with the man. I felt she was strong and showed a lot of strength in that moment.

The Yellow Wallpaper

When i was first reading this, the title made me envision that this may possible be something boring and mundane. Nothing about the title really stands out. But when you start to get halfway through it u start to realize that this may be some sort of psychological piece of reading. And then it actually turns out to be just that and u can't help but wonder where the narrator will go with this next.
The ending of this story for some reason made think a little bit about the movie, The Exorcist. Though the narrator did nothing as extreme as the woman in that movie part of me kept hoping she might. All in all it was a surprisingly good story whose ending, for lack of a better term, surprised me.

By the way I don't quite understand the husband's reason for fainting and why she stepped over him. Please enlighten me someone.