A Part of Growing Up

From a child to a boy, from a boy to a man, the transition is a unique experience to remember. The transition from boy to manhood results from making choices and living with the consequences that ensue. The transition from boy to manhood, constantly referred to as “coming of age” presents itself in the short stories “A & P” by John Updike and “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” by Richard Wright. In these two short stories, the central theme revolves around the main character’s coming of age and the consequences resulting from good and sometimes poor decisions. The thought processes of the main characters and the maturation that comes from the experience they have changes them from a boy to a man. Both Updike and Wright use this as the central theme of both short stories, but plot development that leads up to the central theme differ drastically.
In the short story “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” by Richard Wright, the plot centers around Dave, a seventeen year old slave who wishes to be treated like a man. The title of the story alludes to what takes place in the story. Dave is almost a man, but in the eyes of everyone around him, he is far from being accepted in society as a man. Dave’s motives and the main theme of the story present itself early in the story. Dave, in his current mindset, thinks that “one of these days, he was going to get a gun and practice shooting, then they can’t talk to him as though he were a little boy” (Wright 1609). At the early stages, Wright gives insight to the plot of the story, the plot that will develop the central theme. Dave believes that he is a man and that a gun will justify this thought. However, this thought process is flawed from many points of view. Dave is only seventeen and even then, some would hardly consider that as a “man” or even close to it. Dave’s belief that a gun will make him a man is further reinforced when Joe doubts Dave, telling Dave that he “ain’t nothing but a boy” and that he “don’t need a gun” (1610). This forces Dave to further believe that he absolutely needs a gun in order to gain the recognition that he is a man.
Early in the story, Wright establishes the plot behind the story’s central theme. Dave embarks upon his quest to obtain a gun and command the respect from all his peers to recognize that he is a man. From Dave’s point of view, he deserves to be treated and recognized as a man. However, from the reader’s standpoint, Dave is anything but a man. His immature notions that a gun will provide him with manhood is typical of a boy who has yet to realize what being a man really constitutes. Dave’s mother sees that her son “ain got no sense” (1612), alluding to the fact that Dave does not think clearly nor does he see what he is asking for. In his mind, Dave has already made up his mind that the only way for him to be recognized and treated as a man is if he owns a gun. This gun becomes the center of his want and his ultimate trophy. Any opposition that Dave faces only feeds his need for the gun.
Dave’s mother understands that one way or another, Dave will find a way to buy a gun, so she tries to alleviate this urge by allowing him to buy a gun but giving reason that it would be for his father. She tells Dave to buy the gun from Joe and bring it right back to her. Instead, Dave keeps the gun for himself after buying it. Ignoring his mother’s command, Dave “avoids surrendering the pistol by not coming into the house until after everyone was sleeping” (1613). During the middle of the night, Dave’s mother demands that Dave hand over the gun, but Dave lies, telling her that the gun was hidden outdoors. Dave is intent on keeping the gun for himself and refuses to surrender the gun to his mother. He feels that giving up the gun is equivalent to giving up his quest for manhood. Dave finally has a chance to fire the gun in the open field, and in doing so, he accidentally shoots Jenny, Mr. Hawkin’s mule. When his mother and the crowd of people confront Dave about Jenny’s death, Dave “looked at Jenny’s stiff legs and began to cry” (1615). Instead of accepting responsibility for Jenny’s death, Dave gives the excuse that he did not intentionally shoot Jenny and cries as he tries to avoid the attention from the crowd. All along, he wants to be treated like a man, like a responsible grown-up. His actions define him as anything but a man.
Dave does not understand that the gun does not make a boy a man, but responsibility and mature decision making is what really defines a man as a man. In the end, Dave abandons his family in search of another place to start over, a place where he will be recognized as a man. He takes the gun with him on his new journey, but from all this, the theme of coming of age and living with the consequences of one’s own decisions presents itself. Dave’s intent was to be recognized and respected as a man and not a boy. His decisions and actions throughout the story and at the end of the story show that now understands the responsibility that comes with being a man. He understands that he must start over in a new place to be accepted as a man.
The coming of age theme along with facing the consequences of one’s decisions also presents itself in the short story “A & P” by John Updike. Like “The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” Updike also uses plot to express the central theme of the story. However, Updike takes a different approach in conveying this theme compared to Wright. The short story “A & P” revolves around Sammy, a checkout clerk at the A & P store. The story starts off in the store where Sammy works. Sammy gives off the impression that he is bored and ready for a change. The emphasis of the story begins when “three girls walk in with nothing but bathing suits” (1492). Sammy does not pay attention to his customer that he is helping the moment the three girls walk in. He “cannot remember if he rang up the box of HiHo crackers or not, and when he rang it up again, the customer starts giving him hell” (1492). He does not give any attention to the customer but as soon as the three girls walk in with bathing suits, they catch his attention almost immediately. Sammy does not pay attention to anything that goes on in the store, but once the trio of girls walks in, Sammy scrutinizes them immediately.
Sammy focuses his attention on the trio of girls and describes them with the utmost scrutiny. The first girl Sammy notices “had on a bright green two-piece and the seams on the bra were still sharp and her belly was still pretty pale” (1493). The second girl “had one of those chubby-berry faces, the lips all bunched together under her nose” (1493) and the last girl, the queen, had on “long white primadonna legs” (1493). Instead of paying attention to his customers, Sammy focuses his attention on the three girls, examining them like a typical teenage boy. Herein lays the central theme of this story. Sammy is a bored checkout clerk who tries to turn his mundane job into something interesting by referring to the shoppers as “sheep who push their carts down the aisle” (1493). At first, these seem irrelevant to the central theme, but it is from these events in which Updike conveys the theme of the story.
Towards the end of the story, the manager, Lengel, comes out to confront the three girls. He comes over to the girls and tells them “Girls, this isn’t the beach” (1495) not once but twice, emphasizing his distaste for their attire. Sammy sees that the girls are embarrassed in front of many customers and makes an impulse decision. In light of Lengel’s words, Sammy decides to quit his job in front of all the customers and Lengel. He announces it loudly and quickly, “hoping they’ll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero” (1496). Sammy hopes that the three girls will hear his reaction and think that he is their hero because he stood up for them. Sammy does not realize the irrationality of his actions, even though at the moment, he truly believes it was the noble thing to do. His noble gesture is nothing more than a futile attempt to impress the three girls. To his surprise, the girls are gone and nowhere in sight. Lengel sees Sammy’s impulse decision, and tells him “I don’t think you know what you’re saying” (1496) but in response to this, Sammy thinks to himself “once you begin a gesture, it’s fatal not to go through with it” (1694). When he exits the store, Sammy realizes the extent of his actions.
The girls are no longer there and now, he has to deal with the choice he makes. Sammy understands the consequences of his actions, knowing “how hard the world was going to be to him hereafter” (1497). Up until the end of the story, Sammy shows traits of a young teenager who does not understand what it means to make correct judgment and decisions. His immaturity leads to him quitting his job just to impress some girls who he does not even know. The irrational decision making is characteristic of young people who do not think about the consequences of their actions. At the end, Sammy realizes this, knowing that he will have to accept the consequences and move on instead of going back into the store to try to get his job back. At this point of the story, Sammy has matured and become a man, living up to the consequences of his own actions.
Both Updike and Wright use the central theme of coming of age in their short stories. The way they go about developing this theme, however, is different. Wright almost explicitly defines the plot and what will take place in order for Dave to become a man. Wright begins the story with statements that Dave wants to be accepted as a man and nothing else. Updike, however, uses a more subtle approach. He uses the plot to develop Sammy’s character, showing the reader that Sammy is a bored teenager who makes irrational decisions. This defines his character as young, impulsive, and child-like. At the end of the two stories, both Dave and Sammy arrive at the epiphany that they must now face the consequences of their actions. Dave wants to be treated like a man throughout the story and here at the end, he receives his chance to. Sammy, however, inadvertently stumbles upon this. He has no intentions of trying to become a man, but the choice he makes puts him in a position to mature into an adult. Both stories use the theme of coming of age and the reality of facing the consequences of one’s actions.
“A & P” and “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” focuses on the central theme of coming of age and the ability to face the consequences of one’s actions. The two authors use the plot of the story to develop the central theme but go about it in two different manners. Updike, in “A & P” goes about it in a subtle manner, allowing Sammy to stumble across the elements of manhood. Wright, in “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” makes it evident from the beginning of the story. Dave’s quest for acceptance as a man reflects from the beginning to the end of the story. Both stories develop the central theme from plot.

The Things They Carried

In the story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, O’Brien uses many different conventions to enhance the stories themes and ideas. Two of these conventions include the use of parallel structure and the act of repetition.

O’Brien uses parallel structure throughout the story, moving between the things the men carried, the outside life of the soldiers, and then moving to the dialogue between the soldiers. The parallel structure emphasizes the story’s main theme, the physical and emotional burdens that each soldier has going into this war and trying to survive in this war. The parallel structure focuses on the physical garments the men must carry as well as the emotional strain that each man carries. The use of repetition also aids in the emphasis of the theme of physical and emotional burden. It seems redundant at first, but as the story progresses, O’Brien is making a statement by using the same format for every paragraph. The burdens the men carry are like no other. They must carry weapons and tools in preparation for any kind of scenario. This is physical weight on their bodies to the point of almost torture and inhumane. The repetition and parallel structure also exists for the emotional constraints that the men have to carry. Lieutenant Cross constantly faces the burden of being rejected by the woman he loves. This emotional constraint hampers his ability to lead his men into battle and he pays for this with the death of Ted Lavender. He blames his emotional burden for the death of Ted Lavender and is never able to overcome this burden.

The Dead

In the short story “The Dead,” James Joyce’s use of the events leading up to the epiphany and Gabriel’s epiphany aid the reader greatly in understanding the story as a whole. At first, the entire party and the dialogues seem like chaos rather than trying to build the backbone of the story. As the reader, we go through many dialogues and get introduced to an array of characters. We don’t make sense of any of this information until Gabriel’s epiphany in the end. The song the man is singing shortly towards the end of the story holds great significance to Gretta, Gabriel’s wife. He finds out that she once had a lover that died for her. He feels that throughout their relationship, there is a missing connection between the two and that this lover that died for her is the missing piece. Gabriel sits back and realizes many of life’s greatest mysteries. Everything he talked about in his speech comes to life and makes sense. One of these realizations is that death of tradition and hospitality, something he said that his aunts were known for. The newer generation lacks this and much more. In his epiphany, he realizes that the death of this tradition and hospitality is inevitable. The snow that falls in the end, in particular to both the living and the dead, symbolize the connection between life and death. In this sense, the end of one life brings about the life of another. All the events prior to the epiphany now turn into significant facts that bring about Gabriel’s realization. The unorganized thoughts in the beginning connect to the ending, and this aids the reader in understanding the author’s focus and reasoning.

Reality

“The terror of art is that the dream reveals the reality.” In general, this quote states that what someone thinks is a dream turns out to be reality. This boils down to dreams that become reality. This quote is especially true in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis.” In the short story “The Metamorphosis,” the main character Gregor dreams of being able to quit his job and live his life free of responsibility. This is his dream and aspiration within the next couple of years but one day, he wakes up to find out that his dream has become his reality. In this reality, he wakes up to find that he has transformed into an insect. Gregor wants to be independent, free of any responsibilities, and most of all, free from his manager and his father’s debt. Upon waking up and transforming into an insect, Gregor realizes that he is not himself, but actually an insect. Instantly, reality sets in, and the roles described in the beginning of the story are reversed. In the beginning, Gregor works to provide for his parents and family. His metamorphosis into an insect relieves him of these responsibilities and places them back on his family. This is the reality that Gregor dreams of. He is now free of any duties towards his family and now his family is bound to him. They have to find a way to take care of him and his needs, as he is now unable to provide like he did before. As the story goes on, Gregor depends more and more on his family to take care of him, until they finally start neglecting him and leave him to die. This reality that Gregor dreamed of in the beginning is not what he had in mind. When he had to provide and take care of the family, he did his best, but when the roles were reversed, his family did not do the same. They left him and ignored him until the day he died.

Allegory

An allegory is a narrative that serves as an extended metaphor. The main purpose of an allegory is to tell a story that has characters, a setting, as well as other types of symbols that have both literal and figurative meanings. Symbolism is the use of a person, a thing, or a spectacle to represent something less palpable. The difference between an allegory and a symbol is that an allegory is a complete narrative that conveys abstract ideas to get a point across, while a symbol is a representation of an idea or concept that can have a different meaning throughout a literary work.

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is an example of an allegory. The Lottery conveys many abstract ideas that attempt to convey Jackson’s message about tradition, human instinct, and change. At first glance, the title of the story seems like a positive aspect, like winning the current lottery, where you win money. However, as the story develops, the lottery is not what it seems. The lottery is a more along the lines of a bankruptcy rather than an actually lottery. “The Lottery” is an allegory that represents death and tradition in many ways. The little black box that contains the names to be drawn is in bad shape and should be replaced as mentioned by the narrator. The suggestion to replace it comes across the minds of the people but because it has been around for so long, they refuse to replace it, as it is a tradition in which they refuse to change. This shows just one aspect of the people and their unwillingness to change an old tradition. The conformity and unwillingness to change their tradition shows itself again when the readers find out what it means to win the lottery. The winner of the lottery is stoned to death and they do this because that is the tradition that has been done by their ancestors for ages. The allegory in this story is the belief of tradition, the unwillingness for change, and they conformity that everyone reverts to.

The Chyrsanthemums: symbolism

In the short story “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck uses symbolism throughout the story to describe Elisa, the main character of the story. Steinbeck uses symbolism to reveal the Elisa’s hidden emotions and true character. The chrysanthemums that Elisa admires and takes care of represent her in many different ways.
The chrysanthemums symbolize many traits of Elisa, with one of them being her feminine side. In the beginning of the story, Steinbeck establishes Elisa’s passion in regards to the chrysanthemums. She treats them like they were almost like children that need to be nurtured and cared for. She trims the flowers diligently and with the utmost care, so much that she is proud of what they have become. Steinbeck even goes to tell that Elisa would destroy pests before they could get near her chrysanthemums. This shows that she is protective of her “flowers” and will do everything it takes to keep them from harm.
The chrysanthemums further symbolize her feminine side when she meets the tinker while tending to her flowers. At first, Elisa is hesitant and tries to resist the tinker. But the tinker senses Elisa’s passion for her chrysanthemums. He plays on this and finally gets Elisa’s full attention. The chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa’s feminine side and the tinker played on that. After a short conversation, Elisa even makes a pass at the tinker, showing that the chrysanthemums are her weakness. She believes that the tinker is going to take the flowers to one of his customers in the area, but in the end, she finds that the tinker threw away her chrysanthemums on the side of the road. Elisa cries at this sight, as she knows now that the tinker only showed interest in her flowers to get her business. The sight of Elisa crying over her flowers shows her true feminine side – weak, soft, and vulnerable.

Character...

In the story “The Death of Ivan Ilych” the author uses Ivan Ilych as a major character to deliver the overall meaning and theme of the story. Ivan Ilych’s character develops at the beginning of the story, where it starts off with his background and childhood. This sets the stage for the development and change in Ivan’s character. The main theme expressed throughout the story is of death and the inevitable. The change in Ivan’s character clearly shows the recurring theme of death and its effects on a human being.
The author introduces Ivan Ilych as a man who lived a simple and ordinary life, giving history about his schooling and family background. Ivan was described as being the “pride of the family,” and that he was an amusing and witty social person. Ivan’s outlook on life was that of a carefree person looking to enjoy life without having to constantly deal with problems and matters that took the “fun” out of life. He always found a way to avoid problems and confrontation, rather than dealing with them. Once he gets married to his wife, the problems seem to work themselves out and everything seems merry. This was short lived, as after a while, Ivan begins to avoid his wife and always has company over to distract him from his wife and children. Although this was the case, Ivan remained happy and optimistic about his life and everything that takes place around him. He was open minded and believed that everything is the way it should be.
All this changes when Ivan discovers that he will soon face death. Ivan’s character changes from open minded ness and optimism to pessimistic and dismal. Once he finds that he will eventually die, his outlook on life changes drastically. At home, he constantly argues and quarrels with his wife and children. Everything they say seems to annoy him and get on his nerves. His calmness is now replaced with anger and snap judgments. All these changes stem from the thought of death, which Ivan soon has to face no matter what he does. The thought of death and the inability to escape its path transforms Ivan into a whole new character. This change in character from the beginning of the story to the end stems shows the theme of death and its effect on a person.

"A Worn Path"

In the short story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, the primary focus is Phoenix Jackson, an old, fragile Negro lady. On the surface, the story is about an old lady making a trip into the city to obtain medicine, but the story has a deeper meaning, an underlying connotation. Phoenix Jackson’s casual trip to the city is more than just a trip down a worn path but rather a struggle and a test of perseverance. The trip to the city is a test to show the persistence and perseverance of Phoenix Jackson to overcome the many obstacles presented in her path. Underneath the surface, Welty uses the characters, setting, and imagery to present the themes of immortality, racism and struggle.
From the beginning of the story, the theme of immortality presents itself starting with Phoenix Jackson. The name “Phoenix” in itself is a direct reference to the mythical bird. According to Webster’s dictionary, a phoenix is “a legendary bird which burned itself to ashes on a pyre, and rose alive from the ashes to live another period, often a sign of immortality.” Here, at the beginning of the story, the direct reference to the mythical phoenix gives the hint of immortality. Even Phoenix Jackson’s physical appearance resembles that of the mythical phoenix. The mythical phoenix represents itself with lavish colors of red and gold, colors that also describe the appearance of Phoenix Jackson in the story. Phoenix Jackson was “an old Negro woman with her head tied in a red rag…a golden color ran underneath the two knobs of her cheeks were illumined by a yellow burning under the dark” (Welty 1544). Clearly, Welty reinforces and emphasizes the importance of Phoenix Jackson as it pertains to her appearance and resemblance to the mythical phoenix.
Welty also uses time to show Phoenix Jackson’s immortality (Donlan 549). She “walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in her steps, with the balance heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grandfather clock” (Welty 1544). The purpose of this mental image is to show that Phoenix Jackson is in fact an old lady but also to show that even through old age, she is able to triumph and still move freely without struggle. The appearance of Phoenix Jackson emphasizes the theme of immortality which is important because as the trip to the city unveils, Phoenix Jackson is constantly surrounded by darkness and death, another link to the theme of immortality.
Although the text does not explicitly refer to Phoenix Jackson as the mythical phoenix, Welty makes a comparison that clearly parallels the actions of the mythical creature (Donlan 550). In mythology, the phoenix builds itself a nest at the end of its life-cycle. It then ignites itself in which both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new phoenix arises. This action is similar to that of Phoenix Jackson’s actions in the story. In the story, she “spread her skirts on the bank around her and folded her hands over her knees” (Welty 1545) resembling a bird that focuses and concentrates on a task. In this scene, Phoenix Jackson spreads herself next to the bank, rejuvenating and gathering energy for the continuation of her trip. Much like a phoenix, she is setting fire to herself in a sense that she will rise again and become a new person. This resembles a phoenix nesting and ready to set fire to itself to rise from the ashes to begin an immortal journey. Phoenix Jackson’s portrayal in the story represents Welty’s underlying theme of immortality. From her name to her appearance and actions, Phoenix Jackson represents immortality.
Along with immortality, the theme of racism presents itself throughout the story. Although it is overlooked, Welty clearly states in Phoenix Jackson’s description that she was an “old Negro woman” (Welty 1544) placing emphasis on the fact that Phoenix Jackson is a colored woman. This sets the stage for most if not all of the events that allude to the theme of racism. At the beginning of her trip, Phoenix Jackson walks through woods and begins walking up a hill. As she walks up the hill, she says that there “seems like there is chains about my feet…something always take a hold of me on this hill – pleads I should stay” (Welty 1544). On the surface, Phoenix Jackson makes a blunt reference to chains and being held down, but upon closer inspection, the theme of racism presents itself. Given the background of the main character, the thought of chains makes an “unsettling reference to the bound slaves” (Skyes). This is one of many references that Welty makes in regards to racism.
The theme of racism presents itself again when Phoenix hallucinates by the river bank. She envisions that “a little boy brought her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it, and she said it would be acceptable. But when she went to take it there was just her own hand in the air” (Welty 1545). Marble cake is a mixture of white and black chocolate fused together. It is “a direct reference to the idea of integration in the South” (Skyes), an idea that was met with great opposition. This proves true when Phoenix tries to take a piece of the cake but ends up with just air – “it is an unattainable dream, a utopian fantasy” (Skyes) that Phoenix accepts and lives with.
Phoenix’s next encounter with the hunter and his dogs shows another theme of oppression and struggle consistent throughout the story. The white hunter is the symbol of oppression as he taunts and tries to turn Phoenix Jackson back home. After scaring off a dog, the hunter returns and points his gun at Phoenix Jackson. He asks her if the guns scares her and she responds “No, sir, I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done” (Welty 1547). The hunter tries to scare Phoenix into turning around and taunts her in hopes that she would be too scared to carry on. However, this plan backfires as Phoenix Jackson stands her ground. She knows no fear and is determined to go on about her business.
The hunter presses the matter, telling Phoenix to take his advice and stay home, and nothing will happen to her (Welty 1547). Even through all the attempts to force her to end her journey, Phoenix Jackson shows her strength to stand up against oppression and her persistence to finish what she has set out to do. Another mishap occurs once Phoenix Jackson reaches the city. As she enters the building, the attendant speaks to her in a rude manner, referring to her as “a charity case.” Already, Phoenix Jackson is met with opposition in which the attendant speaks down to her, treating her as less than an equal. She refuses to give into the attendant’s comments and remains silent instead of retaliating. This is important in the sense that it shows Phoenix Jackson’s character and her ability to overcome adversity and her true mental and physical toughness. Even when she is tested, Phoenix Jackson remains calm and comes out on top. Opposition and struggle are a constant theme in the story. It shows the persistence and toughness of Phoenix Jackson.
At the surface “A Worn Path” is merely about an old Negro woman who makes a journey to the city to obtain medication for her grandson. Upon closer examination, the author uses different elements of literature such as setting and imagery to develop the many themes presented in the story. The story of Phoenix Jackson’s journey incorporates multiple themes such as racism, opposition and struggle, and immortality.

Character

In the story “Sonny’s Blues,” the minor characters help to develop the two main characters, Sonny and his brother the narrator. Sonny’s character develops through Creole, and the narrator’s character develops through their parents.
From the beginning of the story, Sonny’s character is portrayed as young, immature, careless, and very stubborn. He wants to pursue a career as a musician but ends up going to jail for a period of time. He refuses to give into his brother’s belief of doing things because you should do it versus doing something because you want to. All the way up to the beginning of the story, Sonny is the same person and there is no improvement in his character. This is up until the end of the story, when Sonny goes onstage to perform with Creole. At first, Sonny struggles and almost caves in on his fear. Instead of giving into that fear, Creole creates time with the band to allow Sonny to get over his fear. Instead of having the band move on without Sonny, Creole allows Sonny to recuperate and join the band. Although this may seem insignificant, it is significant in the development of Sonny’s character. In his life, Sonny has always been told what to do and what not to do. But in this moment, Sonny made a decision to come out of his shell, and he excelled. His character came to life, showing his maturation into an adult.
The narrator’s character, unlike his brother Sonny, develops through his parents. At one point in the story, the narrator recalls a conversation with his mother about his father’s past. She tells him that his father and his father’s brother were drunk one night and an accident happened. His father’s brother was hit by a car and killed because his father did not look after his younger brother. The narrator took this personally and builds his character around this event. He believes that it is his responsibility to take care of his younger brother and to look out for him no matter what happens. When Sonny goes to jail, his brother feels that he has failed him, and that he has let his parents down. The narrator has taken on the role of the “parent” and his character builds around this principle.

Babylon Revisited

In “Babylon Revisited,” Charlie’s attitudes toward himself and his past are revealed early in the story through subtle but defining expressions. From beginning to end, Charlie expresses remorse and regret about his actions and his past. It starts in the beginning when Charlie says “I’m going slow these days” which suggests that he was once living life in the “fast” lane as compared to now. Compared to his past, Charlie now understands what happened to him before. He says that he “lost everything he wanted in the boom,” referring to his wife Helen and his daughter.

Many parts of the story reveal Charlie’s difficulty of escaping his past. In his first conversation with Marion, Charlie kept making references to his past even though he tried his hardest not to. At first, he talks of his past money, then he moves into talking about his encounter at the bar, bringing up past problems. He tries his best not to bring up or refer to his past, but it always comes back up. In his attempt to regain guardianship of his daughter, Marion points out that if Charlie was not in a sanitarium, then she would not have to take legal guardianship of Honoria. Again, Charlie’s past comes back to haunt him even though he wants to put it behind him. Later, Charlie runs into old friends Lorraine and Duncan, who also bring up the past which he has tried so hard to avoid. Charlie runs into Lorraine again at the end of the story, which results in Marion getting upset and refusing to allow Charlie to take legal guardianship of Honoria. As much as Charlie tries to escape his past, it is inevitable.

The Open Boat

In “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane, the main setting of the story is out at sea. The four men – the correspondent, the oiler, the cook, and the captain are inside a small boat in the middle of the ocean. At first Crane describes land as a “long black shadow on the sea that was thinner than paper.” The land disappears and then re-appears again as a black shadow, no matter how close the men get to the island. This motif of a black, thin shadow perfectly describes the situation of the men in the boat. The men in the boat are in a situation where the odds are against them, where they have no chance to survive. The thin black line is almost like a tease that there might be hope. The thought of hope gives the men something to fight for but it is a lost cause. Hope appears and disappears as the sight of land appears and disappears from the distance. In this situation, the characters literally have no chance of survival.

This tells a great deal about our own relationship with nature. Nature is unforgiving and has no sympathy for anyone or anything. Everything that man tries to do in this story is futile and ends in the demise of man. This story also tells us that nature is all powerful over man. The description of black and thin in the story give us the exact relationship between nature and man. Trying to find hope when man is going against nature is almost always a lost cause – nature will always win.

Plot

The short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” focuses on Peyton Farquhar, a planter who lived in Alabama. The story starts by describing the current situation in which Peyton has a noose around his neck and is about to be hanged. The author goes into detail describing the observations of Peyton and his surroundings. He has a noose around his neck and is about to be hanged by the Federal Army. The story then shifts into the past, describing who Peyton Farquhar is and why he is about to be hanged. Peyton was guilty of planning to sabotage the plans of the Federal army and was to be hanged. All these ideas run through Peyton’s mind and he hallucinates a miraculous escape, which proves to be futile as he dies at the end of the story.

The author uses the importance of time and shifting time to develop the plot. The present time consists of Peyton with a noose around his neck ready to be hanged. The time then shifts to the past, giving history about Peyton and why he is in this predicament. After a brief flashback, time shifts back to the present, right when Peyton is about to be hanged. Right before he is hanged, he hallucinates a miraculous escape where he lands in the river and escapes death. His hallucination continues further as he makes his way into the forest and then sees his wife at his home. From there, time shifts back to the present, where Peyton dies. This shift in time, a recurring theme in the plot of this story, lures the reading into thinking that Peyton actually does escape death. The shifts in time establishes the character and plot of the story, giving depth into the past and into the future of what could have happened.

Shifting Point of View

In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway starts off the story with a third person objective point of view. In this point of view, everything the reader gets from the narrator is from an objective point of view - the narrator gives an unbiased depiction of what is going on in the story. This point of view is consistent until the very end, when Hemingway shifts subtly to a third person limited in the last two lines of the story. This affects the story greatly, as it shifts from mere dialogue and gives insight to the inner feelings of the characters, especially the girl. Throughout the story, the emotions and inner thoughts of the characters are not revealed because of the subjective point of view, but when it shifts to a limited point of view, it opens up a whole new perspective about the characters. Hemingway definitely uses this as an advantage to make the reader think about the girl and how everything before hand is incorporated into her emotions and feelings.

“Gusev” by Anton Chekhov, also employs a change in the point of view. Throughout the first four sections, it is told through third person limited point of view, focusing mainly on Gusev and Pavel. This point of view allows the reader to get into the head of each character, by revealing that character’s inner thoughts and emotions. The shift in the point of view shifts when Gusev is about to die. From there on, everything is told in third person narrator point of view. This is also an advantage that the author uses to tie the reader into the story. This shift takes the reader out of the minds and thoughts of Gusev and forces the reader to look at the situation as a whole – to step back and re-evaluate everything that is taking place.

Introductions

Hello all - my name is Minh. I was born and raised in Houston and recently move out to the Conroe/Woodlands area. This is my third year at UH, and hoping for it to be the last since I will finally move into my major at another school.

In terms of writing experience, I have not taken a writing class since English composition II, which I took almost three years ago as freshman at North Harris Community College. Up to that point, most of the papers I wrote were basic, classic English papers: compare/contrast, informative, persuasive, narrative, and research papers. Although I do not enjoy writing, it comes naturally to me. This dates all the way back to high school writing. I never struggled much with writing compare to other students, and when I did feel that I was struggling, I still managed to come out with good results. I feel that writing is just one of those things that you have to learn whether you like it or not, and that writing comes easier to others while some really have to work at it to get the same results.

Writing is a double-edged sword - sometimes it works in your favor and you enjoy what you are writing, and other times, it seems agonizing and drawn out. I enjoy "free writing" where I am not limited by any certain topic or guidelines. Writing is easier when I get to choose the topic to write about versus an instructor picking out a random topic that noone has a clue about. I think writing has a negative connotation because students always relate writing to research papers. Research papers, in my experience, have their benefits as well as their downfalls. In a sense, they help a student develop critical writing skills but page/word limitations (ie the paper has to be at least five pages long) sometimes hampers a student's ability to "write." The student is more concerned about meeting that five page limit rather than being concerned about the content of the paper. Research papers are the worst papers to write - its like a never ending toruture except in paper and word form.

Like many other students, I took this class to meet a requirement, but aside from that, I hope that writing in this class is a bit more laid back and not so formal and uptight like compsition I and II. It has been a while since I have taken a writing class, so I hope to get back on the writing track and just write like I always have with improvements if possible. One aspect of my writing that I want to improve is analysis and critiquing of literature. I have always struggled in this area in terms of understanding the thoughts of the author.

I work full time for the Harris County Hospital District, so if I'm not at school, then I am stuck at work. On my days off, I like to go outside and just work on my car. I enjoy detailing (polishing, waxing, and cleaning) my car and try to do it as often as possible. It helps me take away all the stress from work and school. Aside from that, I am a monster procrastinator. I have improved in the past couple of years, but like the saying goes, "once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator."