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