The Use of Force

William Carlos Williams' short story, “The Use of Force”, is about a young girl who is very sick and whose parents order a doctor to come cure her. However, she is not onboard with this and puts up a good fight against the man who is trying to help. The parents also attempt to control her, because they know that if their daughter is really sick, she is going to need a diagnosis from a professional and serious treatment.

The hook got my attention at the very start by dramatically telling the reader that there was a patient who was in need of immediate care. Also, it gives good details of the child's symptoms and foreshadows the struggle that the doctor will have by giving background about her attitude.

I would recommend this story to everyone because it tells a unique story and could be relatable for some people that have ever not wanted to get treatment from a doctor and possibly even put up a fight. The ending is a bit open for interpretation, which I personally like and think gives the reader a better opportunity to connect to the story and maybe make a prediction about what happens next.

This story cannot really be compared to other stories that I have read in the past, because it is written in such a different style and about such a different subject. However, generally speaking, I would say this is one of the best short stories that I have read (even though there haven't been that many). I really liked how Williams began with a shocking moment and then gave good background about it, giving the reader the ability to connect with the characters throughout the rest of the story.  

http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/force.html

The Lottery

“The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, is a short story that takes place in a small town of about 300 people. They host a lottery every year, but the winner doesn't exactly “win”. This is a tradition that has been going on forever, but some of the townspeople disagree with the continuation of this event. There's not much more to say without telling you the ending, so I'll stop summarizing there. 

Right at the beginning, the author shares with the reader that there is an annual lottery in the town that the people want to abandon. After that, the story continues with why this lottery could be unwanted (and possibly outlawed) by telling the story of what happened one year when names were drawn.

The main reason that I am recommending this story to you is because the subject matter is a bit different and out of the ordinary. That's pretty vague, so let me expand. When you go to read this piece, from the title, you will probably expect to read about someone winning a million dollars or something like that. Right? Well, that's not what happens (and I won't ruin the end), but the winner does not get a prize of that nature.

The part that most stood out to me in this story was probably when I realized that the whole idea of this story was so obviously hinted at in the first three paragraphs. If you read this piece, you will see that the author added little notes after writing about something that would be important later, but without giving anything away. That gave it good personality and let me take some guesses about what was coming up.

http://americanliterature.com/author/shirley-jackson/short-story/the-lottery

The Littlest Hitler

At the beginning of Ryan Boudinot's story, "The Littlest Hitler" I thought that it was completely wrong that the dad was supporting this costume and helping the child with it. Then, the author seemed to start writing with a good sense of humor as it went on, which lightened the mood on the subject but was still a bit uncomfortable. I wondered what inspired the author to write a story about this topic. Was it an experience that they had, something they heard about, or something completely random?

A story from my childhood that seems similar to this piece is when I slipped in the hall on my way to get a drink of water in second grade. I fell, screamed, and was crying until my teacher came out to see what had happened. Not to mention, she brought the whole class with her. I was very humiliated but I held myself together, even though others were being disrespectful.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

After finishing Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"I was not surprised by the ending. In the beginning, I noticed some foreshadowing of what happened at the end when the grandmother was worrying about The Misfit in the car. Also, when O'Connor wrote the passage about how the grandmother was dressed and if people would know that she was a lady if she had been laying on the side of the road, that was foreshadowing. As a result of that, I predicted what would happen at the end of the story.

I would say that the title of this story means that no one is fully "good" inside. The murderer seems nice at first, but is really just manipulating and tricking the family. Then he turns out to be bad and kills them. However, I don't know why it says "man" specifically, because women are the same way. To me, it's like this for everyone, since no one is completely perfect.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

I just read "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, and can say that this story was very well written, but cannot say that I enjoyed reading it. The subject matter was disturbing to me, and I was actually a bit freaked out by Arnold Friend's character. Looking past the creepiness of most of the story, I noticed that in the beginning, the author was trying to create a certain personality for Connie, which was pretty much a self-centered brat. This was interesting considering how the story continues once she is left alone in her house one morning. You would think that the author would want to connect the reader to Connie in the introduction by writing about Connie doing things or feeling things that most people can relate to, but she basically just turned the reader in the opposite direction of liking or connecting with Connie (at least for me). However, having said that, I did end up feeling horrible for her by the end of the story. This piece made me realize that no matter who the person is, good or bad, nothing this severe and horrifying should ever happen to them. 

Below is an image that I think captures the mood of the story. The woman's face looks like she's trying to be brave, but holding back fear and/or dread, which is how I perceived Connie's character.

http://www.psypost.org/2012/03/smiling-through-the-tears-study-shows-how-tearjerkers-make-people-happier-10740#prettyPhoto/0/

A & P

I really liked John Updike's style of writing in his short story "A & P". It was entertaining, and I could relate to some things that the characters said and their tones. Also, at the beginning of the story, I definitely thought that Sammy would be more interested in the girl that he was describing with the bright green swimsuit that was a "chunky kid, with a good tan". The names that Sammy (the narrator) used to reference the three girls were Queenie, Plaid, and Big Tall Goony-Goony, which seemed to fit them well.  

My favorite passage from this piece is the following:

'"That's all right," Lengel said. "But this isn't the beach." His repeating this stuck me as funny, as if it had just occurred to him, and he had been thinking all these years the A & P was a great big sand dune and he was the head lifeguard. He didn't like my smiling- as I say he doesn't miss much- but he concentrates on giving the girls that sad Sunday-school-superintendent stare.'

I liked this passage a lot for a couple of reasons. The first reason being that it brought out some character in Sammy and showed us some of his attitude and sense of humor. The second reason that I liked this passage is because you see a great example of alliteration in "sad Sunday-school-superintendant stare", which is just a snippet of all of the great poetic devices that Updike uses. This passage is important to the story because it shows how Sammy thinks and could be perceived as a preview of him quitting the job, since he was (in a way) mocking his boss.

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings

Gabriel García Márquez's story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" had some interesting ideas, however I did not really enjoy it that much. It was a bit too fake and far-fetched for my taste, but putting that aside, the author did have some really creative ideas integrated into his story. I noticed a religious motif as Father Gonzaga and a bishop were often mentioned. When I first started reading I thought that it was all going to turn out to be a dream or something, I mean the author did say something about it being a "nightmare".

Three questions that I have about this reading are:
1. Where are the authors ideas about what angels are supposedly like coming from?
2. Why did characters in this story continue thinking that this man is an angel when he is so confused about everything going on around him?
3. Did Elisenda really want the man to leave in the end? When he did, I noticed that she kept watching him until he disappeared, which gives a sense of longing for him to come back.