The Lesson

"The Lesson" takes place in New York's inner city. The fictional story begins with a group of poor, uneducated, lower class city kids standing in front of a mailbox, preparing themselves for another day of being taught by Mrs. Moore. Mrs. Moore felt that it was her duty to help underprivileged children learn because she was one of the only women in the neighborhood to earn a degree. Sylvia, the main character in the story, tells the story in a first person narrative. Sylvia is a young African American girl, probably around fourteen years old, who is very judgmental about the world around her. The story surround the issue of discrepancies between poverty society and the wealthy society.

A&P John Updike's

John Updike's short story “A&P,” centers on a young immature and morally ambitious teenager who faces down the generation gap and, rather than bending to the dictates of the elders, rebels against them. The meaning of a&p is about conformity, and breaking free from the straight and narrow. The girls represent freedom and individuality, and the store and people within it represent conformity. Sammy is the person struggling to find his place in all this.

A Worn Path

Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" is a story that emphasizes the natural symbolism of the surroundings. The main character in the story, Phoenix Jackson, is an old black woman who seeks out to find medicine for her sick nephew. This story contains a motif, which is the continuous walking of Phoenix Jackson throughout her journey. She lives in the pinewoods and faces the challenging experience of walking through the snowy, frozen earth to get to the hospital in the city of Natchez. Phoenix Jackson is a very caring person, and is in love with life. Although she is very old, it seems that she has many years ahead of her. Eudora Welty brings realism into the story describing the realities of being old.

A good man is hard to find

The story "A Good man is hard to find" is mainly focused on prejudice and intolerant Grandmother. Who believes that people of good character are bred by "good families", and she's self-righteous enough to believe she, of course, comes from a good family. This attitude gets her whole family killed as well as herself. She has spent her life concerned with only what she wanted, never thinking of what others needed. This all changes when the Misfit sticks the gun in her face. Its to bad that she was a little to late to be graceful.

A Hungry Artist

A Hungry Artist by Fanz Kafka, is such a weird and complex story that I had to read it again! I was inspired on how a short story about an artist making himself hungry be so simple but yet complex? The story start out on describing about fasting artist, who spends his time in a cage being a public display being a spectacle. Weird as it is he was a big hit but still was never satisfied with his performance. ( This reminds me of the rich and the famous, NEVER SATISFIED lol!) " Hunger Artist was misunderstood, and so was his vision of transcendence and artistic excellence was which rejected or ignored by the public.

What made me interested in the story was that he was able to be loyal to himself. He dare not to cheat and did it because it was something he believed in. He reminded me of godly-like character that surpassed human nature. It's ironic how things turned out for the hungry artist, finally when someone finally notices his ability to starve and give him some recognition it was just too late.

Young Goodman Brown

Young Goodman Brown is a story about good vs. evil. How ironic, right on Halloween. Anyway what makes Young Goodman Brown so drawn to see the evil? What makes us humans want to see the bad in the world? Why are we so more interested in the bad then the good in people? I ask these questions, because I wonder what makes us want to join the dark side? Is it because we are tempted with our curiosity on how it feels or is it just the influence we get from the T.V shows we watch. If you think about all our T.V shows are only about sex. drugs and Rock n Roll. Will lol not Rock n Roll but murder, or some type of death. If you think about it T.V influence us so much that people start wanting to be what they see on T.V. I bet you tonight I am going to hear the door bell ring and see trick treaters dressed up as Obama's and Palin's. Over all the story had a lot of meaning full symbolism and that's what made it good.

The Purloined Letter

In the story "The Purloined Letter" by Edgar Allen Poe, was another detective stories that was about prefect, a frence police dective being bewildered on where are the where abouts of a stolen letter that was stolen from the Queen of france. This letter has high importance and puts the Queen in a uncomfurtable postion. The police investage but are mislead, by using logical methods that are based solely on past experience and established systems of thought. Their investigative methods reflect the types of rational thought prevalent in the mid-nineteenth century. In the end, the police are unsuccessful in finding the letter because the thief has hidden it in the most unexpected place right under their noses. Dupin figures this out and recovers the letter, turning the political tables on the thief. This story was surprise for the fact that Edgar Allan Poe is reconqized as a great horror story writer. I was expected some thrills and chills but nontheless it was worth the read.