Cathedral

I just finished reading the story Cathedral by Raymond Carver. This story was a very weird story to me. I felt happy after it though.

The narrator was the main character in this story. He was also a very dynamic character. He changed a lot throughout the course of the story. I feel that he was a different person at the end of the game. In the beginning he was not to keen on the blind visitor that his wife was having over. Throughout the course of the story he slowly learned that even though he was blind he wasn’t that different from himself. He showed this by the end with all of there common interests. When first reading this story you would think that this guy was just a typical rich arrogant person.

The wife was a weird character. It was very hard to analyze this woman. Her personality was changing all the time. At times it would seem that her husband and her hated each other but then a couple of sentences later it would be as if they had always loved each other. It was a really strange way to make a character.

I think the blind man was a really important character. He was a lot different than I thought of him. His recurring reference to the narrator as “Bub” made him seem a lot more casual than most. The narrator even seemed to take offense to it at the beginning. This character was really laid back and I thought it was surprising how much he affected the narrator in such a short time.

This story was really hard to analyze. There were some really surprising points that made me laugh and some that made me just ponder them for a little bit. I don’t really have an opinion on this particular story. It was really interesting and I think that with a couple more read throughs ill catch something different.

A Good Man is Hard to Find

I have just finished reading the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’ Connor and all I can say is wow. I really liked this story. It was a very engaging read.

I noticed a ton of different things about this story and the first thing was that the family was white. When I first started reading this story I thought that they were black until when they were in the car the grandmother said a word that I will only refer to as the n-word. She was referring to a boy waving at them from the side of the road. This was really interesting to me because it also revealed the time period to me, because of the fact that she said this word period and the way that she said it. It was written that she said it as if she was referring to him like it was a normal word to use for him so that meant this probably took place in the thirties or maybe the forties because the grandmother also mentioned not liking Europeans. These were just the biggest of the couple of clues that there were.

The mood of this story shifted in an instant as well. It went from a typical drive of an innocent family to a suspenseful thriller. I think the transition that the writer used was smooth as silk as well. The mood just gradually grew more intense as it went on. I really like how he did that.

He didn’t use that much character change in this story however. The only dynamic character I got from the story was the grandmother. She seemed to be the only character that showed any different emotions throughout the story. Even the parents showed ignorance to what was happening at the end of the story. The Misfit actually did change a little bit at the end which was a really cool change. He was a really coolheaded person until the very end when the grandmother said “You’re one of my babies, You’re one of my own children!”. I didn’t get if she was being serious or if she had just gone crazy but this rattled the misfit to his core and I really enjoyed that change in him even if it was just a small change.

Finally I liked how he made the Misfit. I am a huge fan of the collected calm and somewhat nice villain in literature. I think it is one of the most popular lately as well. This one was different though. He didn’t show any remorse for what he had done but he didn’t show any clear reason as to why he did what he did. He was a really interesting villain. Usually when a villain is questioned as to why he did something he usually gets defensive and rattled, but this guy just stayed calm and answered as best he could and wasn’t rattled at all. He was only rattled by the quote above and I thought the sudden change in his character was really cool.

I changed my mind about my favorite story so far. This is my new favorite story. I know Clary doesn’t care if you like it but I really enjoyed this passage a lot.

Once upon a Time

The story I just read is called Once upon a Time. It was a very well written story and I enjoyed it a lot.

This story has a pretty classic theme in my opinion. I have seen it a lot in literature. This is the fact that you always need more. You see something that someone else has and despite the fact that what you have is just as good you need their’s too. This idealism will also lead to the downfall of a loved one or yourself.

This story has a lot of elements that are seen in fairy tales as well. One element in this was the presence of an old witch. This old witch has played many roles in fairytales from attempted assassination to the gift bearer. This witch played the gift bearer and was seen in the nice role. She brought the child a space suit and a book of fairy tales, which I also thought was interesting as this story has a lot of those elements in it. I think this was the most important recurring role in this story.

One thing I found very cool about this story was that it happened in a modern day sort of setting. It was a typical rich couple with a son that all of these things were happening too. They need a lot of security and I thought the final execution of the end of the story was incredibly well written. The fact that it happened to the one character that could care less about all of this made it all the more ironic. I liked how he did this though because in most of the fairy tales I have seen this in the downfall is that of the one who wants everything. I really liked how it was.

In conclusion I think that this is my favorite story so far that we have read. I hope there are more like it because this was a really entertaining read.

A & P

I have just read the story “A&P” by John Updike. This story was rather unique in my eye because it was a story I could relate to in a way.

I have worked during the summer in my pool’s snack bar for the past four years and have been managing it for the past two. I love the job for the most part, but sometimes I just have days like the one Sammy had. I think the predominant theme in this story is the epiphany and how it can happen as randomly as on this Thursday. I think it is a recurring theme in literature as well. The author made perfect use of it in this story I thought.

I think that this story could easily have taken place during any time period. It could have taken place 70 years ago or even 7 years ago. This is a very easy story to set within any timeframe. There would be some slight differences however. I think one of the main differences would be the age of the characters and the choice of clothing the author picked to portray the girls. I also think that the manager would have been depicted as a really evil mustachioed black haired man if it were to take place in the 30s as opposed to the 90s where he probably would have been an old lanky bald man. The ability to place this story during any time period still goes undamaged though.

By the end of the story I really just found Sammy to be another awkward teenager trying to impress some girl he had never met before. He had an epiphany that had the perfect timing for a halfway upsetting conclusion. The only thing I didn’t like about this story is that I didn’t feel like anything got resolved.

Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?

This is my reading response to part 2 of the story “Where are you going where have you been”. I really liked the conclusion to this story. It was very well written and some of my predictions for it came true.

My view of Connie completely shifted after reading the second half of this story. I felt bad for her during this entire half of the story, and I felt sheer hatred for the character of Arnold Friend. Connie’s mood shifted greatly from the beginning of the story. In the beginning of the story she was really cocky and thought she was really cool and almost an unbearable character to read about. During this part of the story something that was real happened to her and she became helpless as if she was an infant again. I think the Author did a really good job showing this with the way he made her stutter and sort of trail off with what she would say sometimes. It really felt like she was genuinely scared. While I was reading this I really felt pity for her and I think that makes a good writer, when someone can actually feel emotions about characters they are reading about. My view on Connie completely shifted.

There was a new character introduced named Arnold friend. He comes to Connie’s house with his friend during the lazy Sunday afternoon and wants to take Connie for a ride and become her lover. The author did a very good job with this character I think, because once again I really felt a burning hatred for this person. He was so cocky and self confident and acted so nonchalant about the event. It made me mad just reading about him. This character proved how young Connie actually was though. When he persisted in asking her to come out she slowly got in a more panicked mood until she finally snapped. It was really depressing to see this happen in my opinion. I wasn’t surprised at all by the events at the end of the story I was just really hoping something would happen that would have made it end more happily, but I know that these type of endings are few and far between. I think Arnold also draws out that ever present timid emotion you find in someone no matter how brave or strong they are. With the way he knew everything about Connie it even made someone as cocky as her fold and that’s what I got out of his character. You hate to see characters like that but they are present everywhere in literature.

The theme of music stayed the same but it was a lot more subdued during this part of the story. There was an ever present form of music but there was also a lot more dialogue in this part which also made the flow stay mostly the same during the story. I thought the predominant them of music would stay the same but it was very subdued in this part.

This was a very important short story for us to read in my opinion. It was very entertaining and it also had a very deep underlying meaning. It was about transitions between stages of life and how some people handle those transitions. It was also about how overconfidence can often just be a guise for a very timid person and how there can be some people that can just push the curtain aside and reveal the truth inside someone. It was a very good story and I really enjoyed it.

Where Are you Going, Where Have you Been? pt. 1

I really enjoyed the first half of this story. it has a lot of different recurring themes in it so far that I have really enjoyed. It also has had some slight character development in it. It has been a very entertaining read so far

I have had different feelings on the main character of this story thus far. When i first started reading the stoyr i just found here to be a normal timid pre teen girl going through that awkward growing up phase in her life. The fact that it also stated how conflicted her mother's relationship with her also gave me more reason to feel this way about her. Another fact that also gave me reason to believe this was how cut off here relationship were her father is. In my experience growing up I have considered these relationships to be true in real life., but not all the time. Once the story got to the part about her and her friends going into town and hanging out for a long time my theory on her being a very timid girl changed completely. A new side of her was shown during this part of the story, a cocky and confident side of her that was shown in the way she acted around her friends and boys that wanted to hang out with her. I figured this would change when it got back to her family.

This was not so however. The cocky side stayed with her in the way she nonchalantly tossed aside things that the rest of her family were doing. It was also shown in her habits during the day; Things such as waking up really late and just listening to the radio all day. I was really surprised at this change and how it remained permanent.

One of the major recurring themes in this story so far is music. In every environment there has been some sort of music that has been playing, whether it be said or implied. Music is one of my favorite themes so it has been an enjoying backround that has helped stimulate the flow of the story for me.

I am really eager to finish the second part of the story because i am predicting a swift change in the mood of the story and the attitude on life of the main character. I hope the theme of music stays the same to help me continue reading with interest. I am really excited about the conclusion to this story.

The Power of Myth

This video was a very educational video. It was the discussion of the power of myth in different adaptations such as literature and Movies. I found this movie to be very inciteful.

The idea of the typical archetype for heroes in this discussion was especially beneficial to me. I agreed with everything they said about heroes in this discussion. I am a big fan of such fictional works as Star Wars and other stories that were talked about. I am a big fan of fiction and I love the typical archetype of a hero.

I am also glad that we watched the film because they talked about ideas in myth and stories that I had never even heard of. It was a very engaging film and am glad that it was shown to us

MORE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey i forgot to tell everyone that my name is John and i am a senior at Open High School. i am having a really good year and i just finished my community service hours. io have finished all of my senior stuff too. ITS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HEY!!!!!!!!!!!

I am in English class right now and i am making and blog. i already made a URL for my blogspot and i am entering my first blog. tonight i have to play with my blogspot for homework and i also have to find 35 pictures of my theme for prinmaking. yay for this im done.