Robert Frost - "Nothing Gold Can Stay"

"Nothing Gold Can Stay"

I believe that Robert Frost was trying to say that beautiful things can even turn ugly with time. In Spring, Nature starts as green but with time (in the Fall) everything dies and changes color. He talks of how 'Eden sank to grief' and that shows that happiness turns to sadness with time. I see symbolism in the line 'Her early leaf's a flower', he talks as if Nature is a person and how everything starts beautiful.

The Great Gatsby - Chapter 9

Characterization:

I relate best with Daisy. Daisy is the innocent girl who gets twisted into a world of corruption. Daisy once loved Gatsby with all her heart, but he left her and she had nothing to hold on to anymore. Then she choose to move on and find love somewhere else. She found this love in Tom. After first, I didn't believe at all that she loved Tom truely. I believed she settled for Tom, but later in the novel I finally figured that she must have truely loved him to stay with him even after Gatsby was returned to her life. I was disappointed in Daisy when I found out that her and Tom skipped town. But then I realized I do the same thing; when I get scared I run away.

I related to her because I have had a similar experience. I had a high school sweetheart and we were great, but when times became hard I choose to let him go and move on. To this day I regret it every second, but I know thats what I had to do. I have moved on. And of course, at first I didn't really believe that I loved him, I just believed that he was my back up. To this day I am with this man and I love him more everyday.

The Great Gatsby - Chapter 8

Favorite Quotes:

Page 165:

"You ought to have a church, George, for times like this. You must have gone to church once. Didn't you get married in a church? Listen, George, listen to me. Didn't you get married in a church?"

- This quote is when Michaelis is trying to help Wilson through this hard time. I choose this quote because it has meaning to me. Everytime I am going through a hard time I turn to God. I am in no means a very religious person, but I do turn to God. I don't attend church very often, but when I do I feel so much better about bad events that have taken place. It makes me think that some times my problems are very trivial and I need to be thankful for what I do have.

Page 167:

"God sees everything," Wilson repeated.

- I choose this quote because it is very true. Mrytle was cheating on George and even though he never caught her doing it or knew who the man was, God still saw everything.

The Great Gatsby - Chapter 6 & 7

I believe a reoccuring theme for this novel is the battle of social classes. It is constantly comparing which "egg" is better. Plus, I believe it has something to do with how Daisy and Gatsby were in love back during the war and she wouldn't really be with him because he was from a lower social class. I hate it when people judge someone because of their social class. I mean honestly the best way to describe this is to just think you were dirt poor, would you want someone to blow you off just because you didn't have the money they were born into. I try to stay as farrrrr away from these types of people as I can.

I believe I am going to write my literary analysis over this book and have the topic be about social classes and the damages it can do.

The Great Gatsby - Chapter 4 & 5

Summarize-

Chapter 4 & 5:

In this chapter, it reviewed all the individuals that lived on West Egg and East Egg. West Egg was more of the "new money" and contained cultures such as the German, Jewish, Italian, Irish and British. The East Egg was inherited money or "old money" and that contained the "blue blood" or royalty. Then Gatsby arrived at Nick's house and asked him to lunch. They went to lunch, all the way across the Queensboro Bridge. They met Gatsby's friend Mr. Wolfshiem and Mr. Woldshiem was talking about eating across the street and told a tramatizing story of how a friend of their's had been shot across the street. After awhile, Mr. Wolfshiem left and Gatsby brought up that Nick would be having tea with Miss Jordan Baker that afternoon. Later, Nick had tea with Jordan and she told him of how Gatsby and Daisy use to be in love and then he left and she wasn't able to say goodbye. Then she met mean Tom and married him instead. The day before their wedding Daisy received a letter from Gatsby and a never break down before the rehearsal and pulled herself together and married Tom anyways.

Needless to say, Nick accepted and invited Daisy over for tea and also instructed her not to bring Tom. When she arrived Nick and Gatsby were there, but Gatsby became nervous and hid around the corner. Gatsby finally appeared and they were reunited. Gatsby wanted to show Daisy his house, so they went over to his house and she was amazed how big the house was and how nice it was. Daisy and Gatsby slowly, but surely, became close again. I do believe she was even holding Gatsby's arm at the end of the chapter.

Reponse:

FINALLY THE STORY BECOMES INTERESTING! I really enjoyed these chapters. The beginning of Chapter 4 dragged a little because I honestly didn't care if they went to lunch but when they finally got down to why Gatsby invited him it all made since. I am glad Nick invited her over and I am darn glad that she didn't bring Tom. I am really enjoying this love story already. I didn't think it would turn out to be a good book but so far it really is!!!

The Great Gatsby - Chapter 2 & 3

Analzying:

The protaginst is Nick. He is a trustworthy and good man.... so far. He seems to just "go with the flow". His cousin Daisy is a confidant. He seems to be able to vent to her and she vents to him also. Tom is the antagonist in my eyes because he isn't a good person at all. He cheats on his wife with Mrytle and even hit Mrytle. He even had his wife's husband (Nick) go to New York and then when they were pulling up at the station he said "I want you to meet my girl". I mean how big of a dirt bag do you have to be to introduce your mistress to your wife's cousin. Jordan Baker is an interesting character. From the sounds of it, she doesn't seem like a very trustworthy person because of all the shady things she has done (example: her golf ball being moved during a tournament). Mrytle is extremely two faced. Infront of her husband she is quiet and is kind to him, when she is with Tom she is flabouent and showy. She likes to pretend she has money. Tom just inables her to act this way because all she has to do is say that she wants something and he instantly gives it to her (example: the dog).

Relating it to my life:

In everybody's life, there is a two-faced person. I have had several of these "wonderful" people grace my life and I can say that they are no longer a part of my life anymore. Tom is the typical "studly" man. He thinks that nobody can do anything to him; he thinks he is indestructable. I am really hoping later in the story this comes back to bite him in the butt. Daisy is one character that I can relate to. I knew I was being cheated on but I just put a front on like nothing was wrong. I faked a smile and I should not have. Daisy and I are different because if the mistress would be calling while a family function, I would not be as "calm and collected" as she was. Plus I wouldn't stay with the cheater much longer. It is hard though to leave someone that you care about even though they are doing that to you. Tom does seem to care about Daisy still because when Mrytle was saying something about Daisy, Tom became mad and said not to say her name and Mrytle antagonized him and he ended up breaking Myrtle's nose over it. I do not agree with a man hitting a woman in the least bit, but he obviously did it becasue he cares about Daisy or maybe because he was feeling quilty for doing this to her.

The Great Gatsby - Chapter 1

Setting and Characters:

The setting is primarly at the West Egg. It is an island off of New York. I interpreted it as Long Island, maybe. The characters are Nick, Tom, Daisy, Miss Baker and talks of Mr. Gatsby. Nick seems to be a strangler, he floats from place to place. He ended up at West Egg because him and a friend were going to buy a house and then rent it out and his friend ended up backing out, so he decided to move in by himself. From the description his house is very nice, almost mansion like. He went to visit Tom and Daisy. Tom seems very stuck up and almost snobs Nick when he arrived. Tom also seems very secretive because he has a lady elsewhere that is not Dasiy. Daisy seems more relaxed but still seems to be very stuckup because she has to be because of her husband Tom. She also seems to know that Tom is having an affair but did not appreciate that Tom accepted a phone from her in the middle of dinner. Miss Baker is a friend of Tom and Daisy. Miss Baker seems sweet and easily excited. I have a feeling that Nick and Miss Baker will start a relationship. Mr. Gatsby seems like a powerful man. Just from the way Tom, Daisy, and Nick speak of him, he doesn't seem like a person you would want to gross.

My Reaction:

I enjoyed this chapter, but it started off to slow. At parts, it seemed to drag. I want to learn more about Mr. Gatsby. I have the feeling he is being protrayed as such a powerful man and then he is going to end up being a lonely man with no friends. I do not care for Tom, he seems like he has his own agenda in his life. He doesn't seem to care about Daisy or her needs. I feel bad for Daisy because she seems to have a good heart and she wants to be happy but probably feels down on herself when Tom accepts phone calls from his mistress in the middle of dinner AND infront of her cousin (Nick). I do not really know what to think about Nick yet. It seems like an individual with a good story behind them.

-The Glass Menagerie-

Analysis-



The mother, Amanda, is an over bearing mother. My guess is that she would be the antagonist in this story because she seems to be the individual causing the majorities of the problem. I'm stuck for the protagonist, it could be Tom because he is the main character and at the beginning was the narrator of the story, or it could be Laura the crippled sister who can't get a gentlemen's call. The son/brother Tom, is a overworked soul who's only outlet is going to the movies and smoking. The daughter/sister is a quiet, private person. She becomes extremely nervous while around people, as even puked while attending a class. The exposition is the opening when Tom tells about everyone and then it goes into the story. The rising action occurs when Tom says that he has found a gentleman caller for Laura and that he is coming over for dinner. The climax is when Jim kisses Laura and then informs here that he is to be married in June to an Irish girl named Betty. The falling action is when Amanda yells at Tom for setting his sister up for heart ache. The resolution is when Tom admits that he cannot go on without thinking about Laura.



My Response-



I liked this story. I really enjoyed that it was easy to read for me. I often times have difficulties reading plays because I get lost in all the technical elements that are side noted. I didn't care very much for Amanda, she is to controlling and overbearing. She thinks that she has to worry so much for her daughter and son just because their dad left them. Yes it was difficult for them but someone can not live their lives saying that they have to act a certain way just because of something that happened to them when they were being raised. That would be like me saying it was okay for me to not try in school because my mom and dad were divorced when I was nine years old. I really enjoyed this story. I did not like the Jim character because he seemed like every typical man, the cheating type.

Death of a Salesman - Act Two -

Analysis-

Willy's character seems to be a developing character due to the fact that he keeps working towards a "bigger dream". After going to Howard for a different position, he turned down and fired. He then feels like a bigger failure because he has to go to Charley for extra money. Willy is a very traditional and proud man. As a consequence, when he gets fired and has to ask his neighbor for extra money it seemed to hit him twice as hard. Biff seems to become more quilty about the way he has treated his father in the past, but he had good reason to (him catching his failure cheating). Happy, on the other hand, is stuck in his ways. Linda is still seeing the good in her husband. She loves him no matter how bad things become. The exposition shows all the problems that are inside this family. The rising action is when his children find him wandering outside and their monther watching helplessly. Then the boys being turned down for the loan and Willy becoming fired. The climax is when Willy has this scheme that he is going to make sure that he's family has the life insurance policy. Then he decided to commit suicide by having an "car accident". The falling action is when Linda keeps thinking "his only on another trip". The resolution is when Linda tells Willy how she finished paying the bills. Like as telling him, everythings okay now.

My Repsonse-

Willy is the ultimate father and husband. He gave everything, even his life, for his family. I was happy to see Biff finally changing for the good, but Happy has no hope. It finally makes since to why Biff hated his father so much. They respected their mother very much and to see his father dishonoring her the way he did was the ultimate pain. He never did tell his mother, probably because he didn't want to hurt her the way he had been hurt. It also explains what happen to him with never wanting to be like his father. I was sad that not very many people showed up to his funeral. He had worked his whole life to be that popular salesman that everyone would like. I should have guessed that he was going to commit suicide by having a car accident. I thought it was bitter sweet when Linda told him the final house payment had been paid because that was like one of the issues that really bothered Willy (not being able to pay the bills).

Death of a Salesman - Act One -

Analysis-

The protagonist in this story is Willy. He has two songs Happy and Biff, also a wife named Linda. Happy and Biff are your typical boys. They idolized their father when they were younger but now they are barely ever around, especially Biff. Linda is the over concerned mother and wife. She is worried about Willy, but can't really say anything because she is the woman and isn't suppose to. Willy is slowly losing his mind it seems and it is evident when he is talking to himself. The exposition shows some of Willy's problems, such as not being able to focus enough to drive. Also, Willy was believing the issues with his focusing was because of work. Him and Linda were arguing back and forth about whether he should to be moved to New York so that he wouldn't have to drive as far. The rising is when the boys are in their room talking about their father, the climax is when Biff and Happy come outside and their mother is outside watching their father wonder around and talk to himself. This is also when the mother confides in them and tells them that their father has tried to kill himself multiple times. The falling action in this act is when Biff finally decides that he's going to live back at home and try to help his family. The resolution is when Willy finally decided to ask his employer if he could work in New York. He also was finally getting along with Biff because Biff was finally going to live back at home and help the family.

My Response-

I like this story because I really feel for Willy. He is sixty-three and still trying to earn his money. I hate how he's sons were so proud of him when they were younger but now that they don't need his income they don't care. I believe Linda said it best when she made the comment, "You never asked, my dear! Now that you get your spending money someplace else you don't trouble your mind with him" (40). It made me think about my family and if I've ever done that to my parents. My guess is that everyone one has done that at some point in their lives. I can't wait to read Act Two and find out if Biff gets the money or not. Also to find out if Willy's boss will let him switch.

"A Jury of Her Peers" - Susan Glaspell

Analysis-

In this short story, there are several different characters. Mrs. Peters, the sheriff's wife, Mrs. Hales, who is Mrs. Wright's neighbor, Mrs. Wright, who's husband had been killed and I also think that Minnie Foster may be a nickname for Mrs. Wright, the county attonery, who is trying to determine who murdered Mr. Wright and then there are a couple of deputies at the house also. The setting is a "crime scene", but in other words, Mr. and Mrs. Wright's house. The protagonist is Mrs. Hale, maybe. I say this because she is trying to figure out what is happened to Mr. Wright, but then again I also think it may be Mrs. Wright because she is mentioned often and its about whether she murdered her husabnd or not. My guess on who the antagonist is would be the murder victim, Mr. Wright, because he's the problem because he's dead. The point of view is 3rd person omiscient because it flips from character to character. The plot is trying to determine the murder in the case and these characters are going through the house trying to find clues. The time era in which this was written is 1920's and you can see that in the writing. The women are still thought lowly of.

Reponse-

I liked this story to a point. I liked mysteries and trying to figure it out myself, but this story seemed to drag on to me. I thought it was interesting about the bird. If someone killed my beloved pet I would want to hurt them in return. I just thought it was odd how everything was half down or messed up in one place. Example: The kitchen being a mess and the one quilt square being messed up. I'm still trying to decide if Mrs. Wright had a psychological problem or not.

"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" - Katharine Anne Porter

Analysis-

The majority of the story takes place is Ellen's room. She has flash backs to the past, of her children growing up and even some painful ones such as being stood up on her wedding day. The era in which the setting is placed is back in the 1930's. Ellen is the progtagnist and also an extremely strong woman. She was stood up on her wedding day, did work most men did, and raised her children. I would say that the antagnoist would be her illness because it keeps fighting against her and she keeps fighting back. The irony in the story is that she wants so bad to see her children one last time before she dies and she keeps having flash backs to when her children were growing up. In the end, her children arrived just has she was passing away. In the introduction she takes of the doctor checking her and Cornelia seems to be the nagging child, she is trying to help her mother but in turn is annoying her. The rising action is unclear to me. The climax is when she is in her room and talks of the light from the lamp and the father arriving to be with her in her last minutes. Again the falling action was unclear to me. The denouement is when she finally lets go, "She stretched herself with a deep breath and blew out the light" (247). Ellen kept thinking of tasks that needed to be taken care of but she kept saying, "tomorrow". But unfortunately sometimes tomorrow doesn't always come. This also gives me my theme for this story, What if tomorrow never comes?

Response-

The first page or so was unclear to me of what was happening. Then it finally "clicked" that she was passing away and having flash backs to the past. How sad would it be if some of your final thoughts were of being stood up at the alter. I really felt for Ellen when she spoke of the letters she had written to both George and John letters and the letters that they had written to her. This story really made me think about the death of my Great Grandmother only 6 months ago. She was a strong woman, worked and lived on the farm, married her high school sweetheart, but then I think what were her final thoughts before giving her last breath and blowing out the light. I'm thankful in so many ways that I was able to be there with her when she passed. She will always be in my heart and some of my favorite memories.

"The Catbird Seat" - James Thurber

Analysis-

The story is written in 3rd person omiscient objecctive. There are several characters involved in this story, Mr. Martin, Mr. Fitweiler, and Mrs. Barrows are the three main characters. The introduction includes Mr. Martin contemplating what he is going to do and then the story switches to past events. The rising action includes Mr. Martin going to Mrs. Barrows apartment to have a whiskey and smoke and tell her how he was wants to kill Mr. Fitweiler. The climax is the next day when Mrs. Barrows goes to tell Mr. Fitweiler that Mr. Martin wanted to kill him. The falling action is when Mr. Fitweiler tells Mr. Martin that Mrs. Barrows is probably just losing it and that Mr. Martin would never drink whiskey and smoke cigarettes. The denouement occurs when Mrs. Barrows confronts Mr. Martin about lying to Mr. Fitweiler and the truth is that he did go and say that he was going to get rid of Mr. Fitweiler, but it was all just a big plan to make Mrs. Barrows seem insane so that he could get rid of her. The setting would be in the 1940's which explains why Mr. Fitweiler would believe the man over the woman.

Response-

This short story was not on my favorite list. I didn't understand right away when it switch from present time to the past when Mr. Martin was explaining how annoying Mrs. Martin was. I must say that it was an genuis plan to get rid of Mrs. Barrows. He planned it out very carefully and made sure he wasn't to obvious about anything. This plan would have never worked in now-a-days. Women are now thought equally as men, even though some would still like to disagree.

"The Tell-Tale Heart" - Edgar Allan Poe

Analysis-

This story was written in 1st person stream of consciousness. The majority of time of day is at night around midnight while the old man is sleeping. There are 2 characters, the narrator and the old man with the evil eye. The protagonist is the narrator is obviously mentally disturbed. The narrator is a developing character because at the beginning he seemed semi normal and by the end he had completely lost it because he was hearing the beating of the old man's heart. The conflict is external and is man vs. himself. The theme is, the torment of a quilty mind.

Response-

I enjoyed this peice because I love the gothic feel of how Edgar Allan Poe writes. I can feel the torment this man is feeling when he believes the heart is beating beneath the floor boards. I was confused by how the narrator killed him with the bed. I was thinking he just smothered him and then dismembered him. He was very precise with how he hid the body. I wouldn't mind reading more stories by Edgar Allan Poe, he is an amazing writer.

"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"- Ernest Hemingway

Analysis-

I'm not sure who the protagnist is in this story. I would at first think the old man who is deaf, but further into the reading I would say that it is the older waiter without the wife. My immediate thought on who the antagonist would be the young waiter with the wife. I almost sensed the feeling that this story was young vs. old. It showed how young people are always go, go, go and older individuals can sit and enjoy the moment. In the introduction, there is a lot of description about the old man and the young waiter goes on and on about how he is wasting his time and he wishes he would died when he tried to hang himself. The rising action is when the young waiter keeps going over and filling up the glass and becomes angrier and angrier. Then the young waiter finally becomes to annoyed and told the old man that he could have no more drinks and had to go home, that is the climax. The falling action happens when the older waiter tells the young waiter that he didn't need to rush the old gentleman and that he was doing no harm. The denouement happens when the old waiter goes to a different place and it almost seems that he becomes the old man in this bar.

My Response-

This story became very confusing with all the dialog. It switched several teams and I sometimes became lost. I understood the frustration the young waiter felt because of the old man in the cafe, but then I also felt the acceptance that the old waiter had for the older gentleman. Our generation is always go, go, go and older generations can stop and enjoy the moment. I will be the first to agree with this theory, but I'm a mixture of the generations. I love to go, go, go but at the same moment I love to just relax and enjoy the screnary around me. I do not prefer these kinds of stories because I dislike stories that I get lost in easy.

"First Confession" - Frank O'Connor

Analysis-

The protagonist in this story would be the little boy Jackie. He is a young boy. He is just like any other young boy, he doesn't like to be told what to do. He has an older sister named Nora and she is who I would say is the antagonist. Setting would be mid 1940's. In the introduction, it describes several things that the Grandma does to annoy Jackie and even tells of how he tried to stab his sister with a butterknife. The rising action would be when Jackie has to attend church school and learn how to give confession. The climax would be when he is at the church trying to give confession, and he's kneeling on the elbow rest and falls off and the father gets upset at Nora for trying to hit her brother. The falling action was when the father was talking to Jackie about everything he did and telling him he is like any other boy. Also, it seemed like Jackie finally realized that confession (something that he dreaded so bad) was something not so bad. The denouement would be when he's sister makes the comment, "....I might as well be a sinner like you." She realizes that maybe Jackie isn't as bad as she makes him out to be.

My Response-

I enjoyed this piece. It was really light-hearted like you said. I loved the part where Jackie was in the confession box and he fell off the elbow rest. I was extremely happy when Father stood up for Jackie. Nora seemed shocked and it made me smile. :) This short story was my favorite by far. I loved humor in it, MUCH different then our other readings.

"The Lottery" - Shirley Jackson

Analysis-

The setting was June 27th at the village square. There were several different characters but main ones were Mrs. Delacroix, Mr. Summers, and Mrs. Hutchison. The introduction introduces some of the characters and takes about the children playing with the stones and what not. The rising action was when everyone had drawn their slips of paper. The climax was when the Hutchison family had been picked and Mrs. Hutchison had been chosen to be stoned. There wasn't really a falling action or a denouement. I would say the conflict was Man vs. circumstances because no one could change what had happened. The point of view was 3rd person omnisicent because the author moved from character to character, event to event. Shirley Jackson definietly used irony has a writing device. Mrs. Hutchison should have been absent but she rushed there when she realized what day it was and then it ended up being her.

Response-

I liked this story because of the irony. Mrs. Hutchison almost forgot what day it was and when she realized what day it was she rushed to the village square to be a part of 'the lottery'. Throughout the story, I thought the lottery would mean that a family was going to get an amount of money, but instead it meant that one individual out of a choosen family would be stoned. When they were drawing people out of the Hutchison family, I was scared that it would be on of the little children. I don't know why people would want to carry on a tradition of this such. It is barbaric and unnecessary.

"The Yellow Wallpaper" - Charlotte Gilman

Analysis-

"The Yellow Wallpaper" seems to have a gothic feel to it. The protagnist is the wife, it never says her name. The antagonist is the husband, John. He's is the antagonist cause he never quite believes that there is something wrong with her. The setting is this old colonial style manison with the tall hedges, walls, gates, and garden. The main room that the story is about is a room that they believe once was a nursery or child's play room. The yellow wallpaper is torn in several places. The bed is nailed to the floor and there's wide windows. It is completely worn down. Social conditions were when the women were suppose to listen completely to their husbands. In the introduction, she talks about feeling off and her husband tells her she has a nervous condition. He tells her to rest as much as possible. The rising action is when she starts to tell the reader that there is a woman creeping behind the wallpaper. There really isn't an exact climax except maybe when she locks herself in the room, so that she can creep freely. The falling action is when she tells him where the key is and he goes to get it. Denoument is when John finally unlocks the room and sees what she has done. And I believe it says he faints when he realizes what has happened. The conflict would definitely be psychological. She is obviously depressed or unstable and then starts to believe that there is a woman creeping behind the wallpaper at night. Then the point of view is 1st person stream of consciousness.

Response-

I enjoyed the gothic feeling of this story, but I did not enjoy the sudden change of mind frames. I did my report on Charlotte Gilman and the lady in this story reminded me a lot of her. Charlotte had her own battle with depression and that seems to be what is happening to this character. I thought it was interesting how she became so possesive over the woman in the wallpaper. For example, when Jennie had made a comment about wishing she could tear down the wallpaper and the narrator said, "But I am here, and no person touches this paper but Me - not alive!" I would like to read more stories by Charlotte Gilman, like the one "Concerning Children" where she discusses professional child-care.

"I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen

Analysis-

Characters:
- A warn down mother, with several children.
- Emily, the troubled child. The first child, some may call the "test dummy".

Characteristics:
- The mother was a young mother. She was overworked and made several mistakes with her first child. This shows the difficulties of being a single mother and trying to make ends meet.
- The daughter, Emily, was a sweet, loving child in her younger years. Then she was sent to a "school" where love and tenderness was not allowed. When she came back, she was changed.

Setting:
- No completely sure.

Plot:
Introduction: A young, single mother deals with her first child and trying to make a living.
Rising Action: Puts her into a "school" to help her and all it does is make it worst.
Climax: Mother realizes that her daughter is now emotionally detached.
Falling Action: Accepting it and letting her daughter be herself.
Denouement: Realizing all she can do is help her daughter experience life from now on.

Conflict:
Man vs. Himself (Psychological). The mother feels like she has let her daughter down. But all she can do now is help her from this point forward in her life.

Response-

I didn't like this story as much. It flipped several times for me. It was hard to see the mother struggling against everything in the beginning. My mother was a single mother from the time I was nine and on. She is an amazing mother and would do anything for my brother and I. I can only imagine how hard it was for this mother after she sent her to that school to help her and she came back the way she was.

"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker

Analysis-

Characters:
- The Narrator (who is also Maggie and Dee's mother)
- Maggie: who is the shy, withdrawn sister
- Dee a.k.a. Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo: who is the outgoing, flashy sister

Characteristics of the Characters:
- Narrator is an older black woman. She does what she needs to have done. She is wonderful at doing man's work. She loves her daughters. She understands that her daughters are extremely different. She sees Maggie's pain and sees her shyness around Dee.
- Maggie is very withdrawn. She was burnt very badly when their house burnt down. She is very uneducated. Shys away when her sister comes around.
- Dee is the flashy sister. She hates the fact that she was raised in a shack. Her family raised money so that she could go to Augusta for school.

Setting:
My guess is that the setting is in the South in the 1970's.

Plot:
Introduction - Introduces the characters, tells of them getting everything ready for Dee's visit. Tells of the fire and how Maggie was burnt.
Rising Action - Shows the pain in Maggie and discusses how Dee behaves.
Climax- When Dee comes home and tries to take things to "show" her heritage. Some of the items had already been promised to Maggie. Dee comments and says how she would just destroy them and not value them like the should be.
Falling Action- When the mother finally stands up to Dee and tells her that she can't have the quilts and tells Maggie that they had been promised to her. And that they meant more to her than they ever would to Dee.
Denoument- Dee leaves angry; Maggie and the mother go on living.

Conflict:
I would say that there was a man vs. society conflict, due to the fact that the mother and Maggie were leaving in social issues that denied them education. Dee, on the other hand, was given the opportunity to expand her horizon. She ventured out into the world and found a different way to live. She came back to visit her mother and sister and tried taking some family valuables. This didn't settle well when she tried to take some quilts that had been promised to Maggie. In the end, Maggie was able to keep the quilts.

Response-

I enjoyed this piece. It showed how difficult it was in those days. I almost felt the pain that Maggie was experiencing. She was the sister that had been burnt, and she was the sister that stayed at the house to help the family. Dee was the spoiled sister. She had everything handed to her and never seen the hardship that her family had to experience. I was extremely happy when her mother finally stood up to her (Dee) and said no. Maggie deserved the quilts and didn't need to be treated the way that Dee had treated her.

"Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin

Summary:

In "Story of an Hour", Louise Mallard is told that her husband had been killed in an accident. Her husband's friend, Richard, and her sister, Josephine, were the ones who had told her. They had to be very cautious when they told her because Louise had heart trouble. When she was told she cried and went into her room alone. She was sad at first and then she felt released. Released from having to fight her illness. She was free. Then Josephine and Richard were at her door trying to check on her and when they came in she was gone. Then the door opened and Lousie's husband walked in. He hadn't been in an accident.

Response:

This story was very depressing. It became very confusing when she went into her bedroom. She was flipping between several things. It was strange how she switched from being upset to filling over joyed that her husband was gone. I believe that the only reason why she was still alive was becasue she was holding on for her husband's sake. Then once she knew he was gone, she didn't feel the need to try anymore. It was very sad that her husband had to witness Richard and Josephine trying to save Louise.