Short Stories- Final Exam

Balloon

Author: Donald Bartolome The story takes place in Manhattan, New York as the narrator talks about a balloon flying over the air and filling the people with perplexity and interest. The authority figures are fearful and uneasy of what it could bring to the town while scientists take tests to try and bring it down but the narrator has so cleverly hidden his pumps that they can't. For a while, the citizens argue to the meaning behind the balloon but there is no real meaning or purpose behind the balloon and soon the people are just curious to meet or jump atop of it. People loved it because it was not limited or defined; it was simply hanging there and the randomness of its "mislocation" in contradiction to the precise grid of their streets; it pleased them. In conclusion the balloon is an autobiographical disclosure of a man, who felt uneasy at first about his wife's absence to go to Norway and sexual deprivation for 22 days after she returned from Bergen. The balloon was removed easily and taken to West Virginia awaiting to be expanded in the air in a time of unhappiness, sometimes perhaps when one is angry at another. Important Characters: Narrator is third person omniscient Major Ideas: This story is an example of postmodernism because it focuses on jumping from different aspect between characters but more importantly uses them to define concepts about feeling able to change or lost in a precise path. Meaning and purpose is not always present or useful because it is based on subjectivity and Bartolome wants the reader to understand that when you break up the text and over-analyze you ruin purpose of writing by trying to interpret it too deeply. He creates a point about writing using his writing that just like the citizens that over complicated the balloon, so too do readers do the same thing to a piece of writing than admiring it for its most original and simple form.

The Tell-Tale Heart

Author: Edgar Allen Poe The story begins with an unnamed narrator, who states that others views him as an insane person, yet he says that his mental disease has only sharpened his sense, over-acute. He talks about an old man, whom he loves but whenever a vulture-like eye from the man falls upon him, he goes cold and wishes to rid of the man, so his evil eye may never fall upon him again. He comes up with a plan to slowly sneak into the old man's room every night for seven nights, around midnight, however, whenever the narrator shines his lantern, the old man's eyes are closed. It is important to state that anxiety has crushed the narrator his whole life and that he is quite nervous throughout the whole story, especially at night; he also attempts to prove that he is not a madman because he is so wise and has structured an excellent plan to kill the old man. But on the eighth night, the narrator's plan was disturbed for the old man was awake the whole night from fear of a noise the narrator accidentally caused, but when the vulture eye was seen wide open, fear filled the narrator and he began his attack by choking the old man to death, then dissembling his body, picking up three floorboards and placing the parts under, covering the body with the boards and making sure there was not trace of any crime. Around four in the morning the police came knocking on the request of a neighbor, who said he heard a shriek, but the narrator was calm and gladly invited the police inside. However, as all the men sat on top of the body remains, the narrator grew ever more disturbed as he began to hear the heart beat of the old man and believed that the police heard it too and were trying to ignore the fact that they knew he was guilty, as a result he broke down and admitted that he committed the sinful crime and that the body parts of the old man are under the floor boards. Important Characters: Unnamed Narrator, Old Man, Neighbor (Heard Shriek), Three Police Officers Important Ideas: The story is similar in a sense to the "Lottery" and "Button, Button," but this story is considered high culture because Poe has first of all, created himself a prestigious reputation as being a superb writer but this story has a more complex point and requires more thought into reading such a story. Also, Poe doesn't focus on society as a whole but talks about the unique and personal struggles within select individuals. Edgar Allen Poe executes the points of complexity, suggestiveness, strong voice and creative use of language and structure much better than Button,Button.

Nineteen Thirty-Seven

Author: Edwidge Danticat The story takes place in Ville Rose with a character named Josephine, who goes to Port-au-Prince to meet her mother, who was locked up in a cell accused for killing a child. The Madonna she has tears up and a bad event is to come which is the death of her mother. Josephine has been mute after the police took her mother away from her, and she always wanted to say so much to her mother but never had the courage. She mentions the fact that by the end of the 1915 occupation the police in the city really knew how to hold human beings trapped in cages, even like Manman who was accused of having "wings of flame." She has compassion for the woman who carried her in her womb as she swam across the Massacre River away from the Dominicans, who slaughtered so many. Josephine's mother had to leave her own mother behind in order to survive, who was also named Josephine. However, her mother states that there is always someone to replace a loved one that has fallen to death. Later, another lady named Jacqueline comes to Ville Rose and tells Josephine that her mother is going to die and that she will accompany her on her journey to say goodbye to her mother and collect her items before she is beaten and burned. They arrive but it is too late and her mother's skin could not stand the beating in the courtyard. She questions before watching her mother burn "whether a woman can fly" (48). Jacqueline tells her that "life is never lost, another one always comes to replace the last" (48). She ends by telling Jacqueline that her mother's flight to heaven shall be joyful and praises too that hers and Jacqueline's will be as well. Important Characters: Josephine (daughter), Manman, Josephine (Grandmother), Jacqueline, Dios Trujillo, Madonna(statue of Virgin Mary) Major Ideas: Themes include, replacement, repair, insanity, idolatry, forgiveness, escape, loneliness, sacrifice, suffering, sisterhood, acceptance, compassion, bloodshed, humiliation/ humbleness, corrupt power. The key idea is the fact that both Manman and Jacqueline state that life is never lost and another one always comes up to replace the last which Josephine was for her mother, Manman, once her mother lost hers, Josephine. Also, the Madonna is important because Mary symbolizes the respect of women by God placing his own Son and that women don't need men to survive. The relationships amongst the women is also powerful and the statue also symbolizes understanding, knowledge and fear of fate.

Hills Like White Elephants

Author: Ernest Hemingway The story takes place in a bar located at a train station between Barcelona and Madrid. The season seems to be summer and a couple, an American man and a girl named Jig, discuss the topic of getting an abortion. The man is trying to be kind and state that everything will be better if the woman chooses to get an abortion, but the woman at first doesn't care about herself and then questions if she could live with the guilt of taking a life filled with opportunities away from a baby, her own baby. The two constantly argue and at the end the man questions if the woman is okay and she smiles and says she is completely fine, never explaining whether she does or doesn't choose to get an abortion. The two sit apart from each other at the end which could suggest a break in their unique relationship. Important Characters: Jig, the American guy, the female bartender Major Ideas: Is there a balance between genders in the story. Yes, Hemingway describes the motives for each the boy and the girl as to why they want an abortion or not. He focuses on minimalism or the pathos of actual and daily experiences that aren't action-packed events or journeys but relatable events that one has a chance to deal with in life. The hills first looked like white elephants at first but then don't look like it later on showing a change between Jig's idea of a baby. The railroad station represents a decision and choice must be made and there's a choice amongst the path of one's life. Bars are locations were a sad character makes connections and learns more about their intention. The location is foreign just like the issue to the couple.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Author: Flannery O'Connor The story takes place in Georgia while segregation amongst blacks and whites was still in effect. The grandmother is the main character, who wants to go to Tennessee for a road trip, while her son's family wants to go to Florida. She still tags along with them because she never wants to miss out on any opportunity in life. However, after the family leaves Red Sammy's Barbecue the family experiences a major car accident while driving to a house the grandmother, who remembers from her childhood, convinces the family to drive to. But she realizes an embarrassing thought because she realizes that the family is nowhere near the house, since they are in Georgia and the house is actually in east Tennessee. She jumps from the thought and her cat, Pitty Sing, comes out from her valise and digs it's claws into Bailey's shoulder, causing the car to flip over twice. The kids are disappointed since, the grandmother is alive, but three men approach and kill off the father and the son and then the mother, June and the baby. The grandmother is left with the Misfit and states he doesn't want help from Jesus and that it's okay to do terrible things because eventually you forget about them. He then shoots the grandma, who calls him his baby and tires to give him a hug. He says she would have been good if someone were around to shoot her all the time. Important Characters: Grandmother, Bailey (only son), John Wesley, June Star, children's mother, baby, Misfit, Hiram, Bobby Lee, Red Sam Major Ideas: Fits under Southern Gothicism, dark humor is another major part. O'Connor talks about the South being Christ-haunted and tries to state that Christians only choose Christianity in horrible situations to find an easy way out with salvation and prosperity in heaven. She believes Christians are self-centered beasts and tries to state that. Also, people like the Misfit sometimes don't want help and like to handle everything on their own.

The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World

Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez The story takes place in a small village in North America as the children on the beach notice a black object out in the sea, that looked like an enemy ship at first, then a whale and only after they removed the seaweed did they notice it was a drowned man. The men left to see if other neighboring villages were missing a man, while the women remained and cared for the man. They noticed that the man died with pride across his face and noticed he was the tallest, strongest, most virile and best built man the village has ever seen. They were fascinated by his size and decided to make pants out of sails and a shirt out of bridal linen in order to continue the dignity of his death. Soon, they began to compare the man to their men and viewed their husband with disgust as the weakest, meanest and most useless creatures on Earth. The oldest woman, however, looked at the face and was reminded of a man named Esteban in her village and grieved out how the man's life was so challenging with his height and standing out from everyone else. Nobody, liked him and rejoiced whenever the handsome fool, or "big boob" left. The women grieved because Esteban was the most obliging and peaceful man and rejoiced to discover when the men came back that the drowned man was truly their Esteban. The woman began to mourn and shower the man with relics while the men wondered why the women gave much affection to a drowned nobody, a piece of cold Wednesday meat. However, once the men realized it was Esteban, they made sure the greatest funeral was to take place in honor of the man. They returned him not as an orphan but named a family, brining the whole village together in kinship and let him go in a way that he could possibly float back. They also painted gay colors across their houses, dug springs for flowers to grow on cliffs, so all travelers would know that over there was Esteban's village. Important Characters: Esteban, women v. men, children of village, Lautaro Major Ideas: Focuses on themes of regret and humility, comparing one another, respect for the dead, not fitting in, courage, and what it means to be a man. The story focuses greatly on death. This story is also an example of magical realism.

Puppy

Author: George Saunders The story takes place during autumn as a mother named Marie, pictures a haunted house and spoils her kids-which she believed they are well-loved. She wants her kids to experience life and its beauty and horrors but wants laughter to be a big part of her family as well. She experienced a terrible childhood and wants her kids to be cared properly. Her husband is also what a real man should be by always having a smile on his face and singing "Ho, ho," whenever his wife brought a new and unexpected thing. He was joyful like the rest of him. She loved him for his "playfulness." However, later she wanted to get a puppy that wasn't scaly and a animal she believed to be better suited for her kids, so she drove to a seller and was shocked once she entered the filthy house of a working-class mother, named Callie. She let her kids touch and observe because she wanted to be "democratic and accepting." Callie hoped that by selling the puppy, her husband wouldn't have to kill it since it was an extra animal and he lived on the farm, or near one. He didn't want to kill it but "He'd have t. Because his feeling was, when you said something you were going to do a thin and didn't do it, that was how kids got into drugs" (Saunders 36). The dog was white with a brown spot around his eye and was irresistible while the kids marveled at the dog and Callie was bickering on the phone in the kitchen, she moved to the blinds and saw a little kid chained to a tree and drinking water like a dog. She immediately decided to not get the dog because first she didn't want an animal her kids wouldn't treat properly, and she didn't want to give money, or in a sense help Callie with her treating her son poorly. Instead of giving a secret look promising the poor boy that his life could blossom into something beautiful, she would call Linda Berling at Child Welfare. Callie was shocked because her plan of selling the dog, putting the kids to bed and having her husband laugh/ despair snot into her hair would never come true. However, she managed to take the dog far and drop him in the corn, so her husband wouldn't have to kill it which love to her is "liking someone and doing things to help them get better" (43). Her son would be happy outside chained instead of locked miserably in the house and she knew that she loved that boy more than anybody in the word, but her soliloquy would end once Child Welfare takes her son away from her. IMPORTANT QUOTE: "Everything was transmittable" (39). "Life will not necessarily always be like this. Your life could suddenly blossom into something wonderful. It can happen. It happened to me" (41). "[Marie's] feeling was that one really shouldn't possess something if one wasn't up to properly caring for it" (41). Important Characters: Marie, Roger, Abbie, Josh, Goochi, Callie, Jimmy, Bo, Brianna, Jessie, Linda Berling, Dr. Brile Major Ideas: Life can be transmutable, one day suffering and the next blossoming into something beautiful and splendid, difference amongst classes. Childhood and the influence once has, trying to control everything. Parents are just caretakers and kids are their "own little people" (Saunders 32). Post-modernism because everything is transmutable-concept and jumps from different perspectives. Foil is another aspect between Marie and Callie and the dog and Callie's son gives Marie flashbacks to her horrid child of not being properly cared for or "spoiled" in other terms.

Gold Coast

Author: James Alan McPherson The story takes place in an apartment building in Harvard, New York as a young and ambitious man decides to become a janitor. He is Black, yet Robert has a white girlfriend named Jean. Robert hangs around with James Sullivan as an apprentice janitor and chooses to listen to the old man since he is alone and has no one else to talk to. He also feels that few people actually have a story worth listening to. Eventually, Robert breaks up with his girlfriend and Miss O'Hara gets the apartment manger, Albert Rustin, to rid of their vicious dog. James is heartbroken just as his wife, Meg. The two are old and basically confined in the building. However, it becomes visible that Robert has less and less sympathy for James Sullivan and wishes to leave his job which is of no value to him and hopes he doesn't end up vulnerable and weak like the old Irish man. He leaves but always felt like going back to pick up to plate the Sullivan's gave him, but he wanted to "step" away from his past life and the story ends as Robert hesitates and refuses to help the old man, trying to run away from a similar destiny. Important Characters: Robert, James and Meg Sullivan, Miss O'Hara, Murphy, Albert Rustin, Jean (Robert's Girlfriend) Major Ideas: American minority, regret, connections, youth and desire to change. Robert understands that if he allows himself to connect with the old man then he will end up old and lonely just like James, Also, his serious relationship with a white girl could never be accepted by the public which is also significant. He decides that as a young man he has the time and ability to step away from something he doesn't like, make mistakes and move on.

Sonny's Blues

Author: James Baldwin The story takes place around the town of Harlem, New York. Here, an algebra math teacher feels guilty, especially once he took so long to send his brother a letter and at the fact of discovering that his younger brother, Sonny, has gotten caught using heroine. He remembers the moments when his mother told him to watch out for his brother because the worse thing happened to their father's brother as well and the mother states: "...the world ain't changed...You got to hold onto your brother" (118). He feels in a sense that he let his mother down but is angered at the fact that all they're going to do to his brother is get him through rehab and throw him out to fall back to his habits. During the middle of the story, the older brother discusses the fact that when he talked about what Sonny wanted to be when he got older, his only response was a jazz pianist. this angered him, but he finally got his brother to finish high school and stay with his wife, Isabel until he got back. However, Isabel's family ruined Sonny's hope, so he left to go into the navy to Greece until his service was completed. The two brothers have multiple arguments after the war, however, eventually Sonny would stay with his older brother and Isabel. The ending scene begins as Sonny takes his brother to a club which changed the older brother's perspective that music is about hearing the musicians thoughts as he shows domination over his instrument. He trembles as the band breaks and rejoins one another in their rhythm and ends the story with the scotch milk trembling on top of the younger brother's piano. He played music to allow his listeners to become free. Important characters: Sonny and his older brother, Isabel, Gracie, Creole, Sonny's friend, whom his older brother despises. Major Ideas: Freedom, darkness, trouble and the escape from suffering. Taking each moment and not wanting to let go. Using ,music to give back memories and bring about emotions. The responsibility and relationship over the youth. The transformation from childhood to adulthood. Regret and shame are other themes. Also, each generation and individual brings a unique and needed aspect to the world. The fight over drugs but the fact that they might not be completely be horrid since they bring about a sense of control which Sonny believes everybody needs at times. QUIZ QUESTION: "the very cup of trembling..." is an allusion to Isaiah 51:22: "Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again. "

No Face

Author: Junot Díaz The story takes place in a small town in the Dominican Republic as a boy, whose face was chewed off by a pale and big pig constantly receives criticism from the people. For example, four boys in the beginning of the story trample him until he shouts Strength and they run away. No Face begins his days by working out but has to leave before his father comes out and is taught English by Padre Lou while the supplies are donated from a teacher in a nearby town. One girl asks him to come inside, but No Face likes being outside and doesn't go to other houses. He continually goes to a clinic to see when an opportunity to go to Canada will arise to get an operation. However, he is afraid of pain and if the operation will really work. He also wishes to hide where no once can see him. He constantly buys Kalimans, which are Spanish comic books and connects himself with having superhero powers which are FLIGHT, STRENGTH, and INIVISIIBILITY. He tells his brother that fighting evil isn't all that great and ends the story by running away from his house without stumbling or falling. "Nobody's faster than him" (Díaz 160). Many wish him gone and many want him to fall. Important Characters: No Face, Padre Lou, Títo, Padre Lou, Doctor, Eliseo (Man with machete groundkeeper who shoots the kids away), Pesao Major Ideas: Connection with superheroes because doesn't fit in as well and has his enemies who wish him to fall even though he can be a great example instead of trying to conform. Finally this is an example of Post-Colonial Literature!

The Barn at the End of Our Term

Author: Karen Russell The story takes place in a barn with 12 x 12 stables. Rutherford in the beginning communicates with a girl by licking her hand, and she laughs at the fact that she thought he said he is the nineteenth president and should warn the authorities. The presidents are being reincarnated or reborn into horses, however, Russell isn't clear about which presidents are chosen because they don't show up in sequential order. Rutherford is the main character who believes one of the ewes is his wife, Lucy. He observes the other presidents throughout the story, but the one big thing in his way is the fence that surrounds the barn. Near the end, his mindset changes as he notices that nothing is in his way to stop him from jumping the fence and to not worry about the cause and effect of every situation while the other horses argue as to how they will get to D.C. again and save their nation because they believe they were born again to lead once more. Important characters: Rutherford, Fitzgibbons, young girl, 11 other horses, (James Garfield was the first "runaway" Major Ideas: This story is an example of magical realism with elements of hybridity and the idea of characters passing through time and abnormal from the current setting. Themes include communication, rebirth, reuniting, overcoming fear, taking every opportunity as it comes by. Mr. Volk talked about this story relating to the doctrines behind Buddhism.

The Overcoat

Author: Nikolai Gogol The story takes place in St. Petersburg, Russia during the mid-1800s. The story focuses on the character Akaky Akakyevich who was named after his father because it was the easiest name for his mother to choose from. The main character enjoys copying Gov. documents and works as a civil servant. He is a titular council of the ninth rank and later goes to Petrovich, a tailor, to fix his overcoat for the harsh enemy, St. Petersburg's climate, was approaching. The tailor tells Akaky he needs a new overcoat since, it would be a waste of time and money to repair and Akaky agrees to what Petrovich says. The thought of the overcoat distracts Akaky from his work but eventually he receives the coat and the other civil servants want to celebrate with him, however, the same night he is invited to a party, two men steal his coat from him. Akaky goes to the police commissioner and then the Very Important Person but none help and eventually he dies of a fever. His ghost seems to haunt the town as he pulls overcoats off people's backs, but Akaky's ghost disappears once he takes the Important Person's one. Major Characters: Akaky, Petrovich, Police Commissioner, Very Important Person, Karolina Ivanovna. Important Ideas: author talks about Russia's condition and the fact that in Russia: "Everyone seems to be anxious to ape every on else and each man copies and imitates his superior," (260).Also, psychological and existential moments are found throughout.

A Small Good Thing

Author: Raymond Carver The story begins with a mother, who purchases a cake from a somewhat rude baker, who does not want to engage in the mother's conversation. Later, the mother's child is hit by a car and seems alright causing the driver to drive off with no sense of thought towards the boy. The mother's son later falls into a deep sleep and is rushed to the hospital were the father joins. The doctor simply states that they don't need to worry and should feel free to leave and get some rest because he says the situation is challenging to handle. The parents feel unsure as to what the doctor says because the boy hasn't woken up and it's been around a day. The husband, who felt guilty for going home tries to encourage his wife to rest as well because he wants to be alone as he mourns over the situation. She does go home, meeting a Negro family, who mistaken her as a nurse and becomes exceedingly angered when the same caller, who bothered her husband calls her and tells her if she forgot about Scotty. She arrives at the hospital to discover the Negro's family member, Franklin died in the surgery and that her son needs surgery. Suddenly, their son wakes up and immediately dies from a hidden occlusion and said to have a one-in-a-million circumstance. The two are led out of the hospital by the reassuring doctor and go home and feel the need to kill the same caller, who asked once more about Scotty. However, the wife realizes it is the baker and not the driver and rushes to the bakery with her husband. The baker after hearing the mother's testimony, cries out that he is sorry and that he is only a baker and tells them to eat since it is a small good thing in a horrid time like the couple's. Important Characters: baker, the son, Howard, Ann Weiss, Dr. Francis, Franklin, Negro Family Major Ideas: Similar to "Hills Like White Elephants," because in both stories focus on a couple, who must deal with a circumstance that is completely foreign to them. Also, both stories focus on minimalism. The baker states that eating is a small good thing in such awful times because it allows your body to keep you going through life and provides warmth and nourishment to a dwindling body.

The Most Dangerous Game

Author: Richard Connell The story takes place on some island in the Atlantic Ocean near Southern Brazil. The main character, Rainsford, falls off a boat at night and swims in the direction he heard the gunfire come from. Eventually, the hunter reaches an island and finds his way to a chateau and is cared by Ivan and General Zaroff. The two discuss the topic about hunting until Zaroff develops to the part where he states that the only thrill he has left in hunting is to hunt human beings. The general says that Rainsford will be the next quarry for him to hunt, and the hunt begins. However, on the second day Rainsford escapes the island only to sneak back into the chateau into the general's room, winning the battle by throwing the general down into the pack of hounds. Major Characters: Rainsford, Whitney, Ivan, General Zaroff Important Ideas: Do animals sense the fear of pain and death? Do evil things act like sound and light by giving of waves that people can sense? Is hunting really an ethical sport? Perfection is sincerely foundation of boredom in an individual's lifestyle. The last important idea is described by the general: "The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure," (22). Is their such an idea of domineer over others on Earth?

Button, Button

Author: Richard Matheson The story takes place in New York, New York during the mid-1900s and the Lewis Household receive a mysterious package. Norma Lewis discovers on the top of the box that "Mr. Steward" will call on her at 8:00 later that evening. Mr. Steward does come and simply states that the two have a decision to push the button on the simple black box with a glass dome and receive $50,000 but someone in the world will die, however, the one who pushes the button won't know the victim or see how he dies. Arthur Lewis finds this deal to be absurd and believes that it is a form of murder, however, his wife struggles with denying the deal because she really wants the money to take the dream trip and doesn't seem to find the idea of someone dying to be immoral because she will never know the victim. She reluctantly calls Mr. Steward during work the next day and he reassures her that she does not know the person who will die. Well, one day later, Norma gets the courage and presses the button and receives a call from Lenox Hill Hospital that her husband was pushed over in front of a train. Major Characters: Arthur and Norma Lewis, Mr. Steward Important Ideas: Dramatic Irony because as Norma pushes the button the crowd knows that by some chance it will be someone Norma knows, specifically her husband since he left before her and will regret her decision later. Situational Irony since it was extremely absurd for her husband to die, since it seems like Arthur would be the person Norma knew the best and the event of his death seemed to contrast what was intended, which was a "stranger" dying.

Because My Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play 'The Star-Spangled Banner' At Woodstock

Author: Sherman Alexie The story takes place in Eastern Washington on an Indian reserve as a boy describes his family. He talks about the fact that his father and mother loved each other with a ferocity that caused them to depart. His father was a party man that got drunk and loved to listen to Jimi Hendrix. The narrator understood that to his father music was a form, a function. His mother would describe the amazing love the two would make but also the two fought endlessly which was quite destructive and painful to see in an Indian marriage because before two individuals just had to take their possessions and leave. But the narrator states that now Indians must fight holding on to the very last thing in order to survive. He also explains how his father beat the National Guard in an attempt to push for war for peace. Well, his father eventually buys a motorcycle and leaves the family to explore his own life while his son sobs every night until he eventually tricks himself into thinking his father will come back and waits out in the cold night but his mother eventually gets him to come inside. He often talks about how it is much worse for an Indian man to abandon his son than a White man because Whites have been doing this for a long time while Indians have only just begun to learn. He also states that music is a medicine with healing powers and wants to learn to play the guitar because he feels he will better understand his father. Important Characters: narrator and father and mother, Jimi Hendrix, National Guard, Robert Johnson Major Ideas: Love, apologizing, control, peace, other themes as well are present... Control is major because the narrator's father talks about the fact that a person should always keep something to themselves. It's not healthy if they don't. Also, this story is an example of American Minority Literature. Also, this story makes an important allusion to Sonny's Blues with Robert Johnson. Again, music is a way for people to communicate their beliefs and view of the world. It is a way to listen to another's story and associate with them. Finally, the reader sees how Indians are becoming more and more like Whites in abandoning their kids and fighting much more, especially in marriages which is a destroying their tribal traditions and painful for the narrator to see. MR. VOLK also stated that there was an allusion on page 35 that is made to Sonny's Blues and that the two stories share a common theme: "The first I heard Robert Johnson sing I knew he understood what it meant to be an Indian on the edge of the twenty-first century, even if he was black at the beginning of the twentieth" (Alexie 35). The connection is that both characters in each story want control which is a major theme over their lives and choices. Both Blacks and Native Americans suffered such horrible stigma just at different time periods as being minorities in a largley White America.

The Lottery

Author: Shirley Jackson The story takes place in a small village in America that seems to take place after World War II (late 1940s-50s). The village has a focus on agriculture and the season is during mid-summer (June) with harvest time approaching. The village only has a population of about 300 and the day is on June 27th around ten in the afternoon. The event of the lottery would only take about two hours as the families gathered in the town-square. The kids gathered rocks and made a pile in the center, and the head of each household would take a slip for each family, however, the representative had to be at least sixteen yeas of age. Well, Mr. Summers would run the civic activities and brought a black box with the slips. The family given the most attention are the Hutchinson, specifically Tessie who seemed to be completely confident and calm that no harm would come to her family. Well, she later fussed that her husband didn't have enough time to choose the slip, but Bill tells her to shut up and the family soon draws to see which shall "win." Bill, Jr., Nancy and Dave all have a blank slip but Tessie receives the one with a large spot in the center. The town assembles and stones Tessie to death. Major Characters: Joe Summers, Bill/Tessie/Bill Jr./Nancy/ David Hutchinson, Old Man Warner, Mr. Graves. Mrs. Dunbar (Only Woman Drawing), Jack Watson(Youngest Drawer) Important Ideas: A lot of situational irony takes place in the story. First of all, in a lottery a person usually wins a positive prize or reward but in the story no one wants the chance to win. Also, it seems odd to use a lottery to stabilize the increasing population when only 300 are present in a town. Also, the most confident, joyful and sympathetic family, the Hutchinson, whom the town respects dearly have been jeopardized with the worst outcome. The story seems to focus on the idea of people holding onto traditions, but the fact that many change overtime and some feel that they aren't necessary in the modernizing culture and feel that some should not be practiced anymore. Finally, Jackson states that some people will do horrible things to others and yet find it an ordinary or rightful thing/act like stoning people to death to stabilize the population and insure that the resources don't run out. Old Man Warner: "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon," (4).

A Rose For Emily

Author: William Faulkner The story takes place in a town, named Jefferson in the south during the late 1800s. The main character, Emily Grierson, comes from a family of prestige and wealth. However, once her father dies, she is left single due to the fact that her father drove most of the men away and she was poor. She refused to pay the taxes since the former mayor, Colonel Sartoris, stated that she would not need to pay since her father contributed a generous amount to the town. However, time has passed and the new mayor, Judge Stevens. People had complained about the gruesome smell arising from Emily's house, so Stevens orders a few men to spread lime all over her house and the smell left. The interesting issue is the fact that the Homer Barron, a northerner and foreman in the town for a construction sight, but he would drive Emily in his yellow-buggie every Sunday. The town despised the fact that such a woman of a great Confederate family as her own, would be seen dating with a Yankee. Later, the town thought she would kill herself when they saw her buy arsenic, yet on the box is stated "For Rats." They also thought she would get married to Barron after she bought him a suit and nightgown and a silver toilet with his initials H.B. But, later the town found that Barron was a homosexual, or liked to drink with the young men of the bar. So the ladies called for her two cousins to come from Alabama and to save this girl from associating with such a man, but also sent the Baptist Minister to her house but refused to ever go back tot he house or speak of what happened. Then, Homer Barron left the town to either prepare for Emily or get her to rid of her rather snotty cousins. Homer Barron came back but never was seen again. Also, she grew fat and was gray-haired. She remained in her house for the next seven years while the younger generation ceased to send their children to her for china-painting lessons, and she died of sickness at the age of seventy-four. The town held a burial but were eager to see her house and discovered in her room that it was as if time had been silenced for wedding decorations were laid out and Barron lied in the bed decaying and next to him was an indentation and hair from Emily. Important Characters: Emily, Mr. Grierson, Judge Stevens, Homer Barron, Colonel Sartoris, Tobe Major Ideas: Southern Gothicism, connection between Union, Barron and Confederate, Emily. Emily held on to both men that had shaped her life so dearly when passed away: father and Homer Barron. The gothics style is present as the author focuses on grotesque scenes with mysterious secrets and frightening mysteries. Emily never got a chance to experience men, yet the corpse was a rose for her. The narration focuses on the town's perspective.

The Piano Tuner's Wives

Author: William Trevor The story focuses on a man, Owen Dromgould, during the mid-1900s. Trevor writes about the life of Owen who married two women: Violet and later Belle, who he rejected at first. The Blind man would go around with Violet, who would describe everything to him and in a sense give him vision. However, Violet soon passed away. Owen decides to marry Belle later on who worked in her father's gift shop and never could let go of her jealousy. It is important to note that Owen viewed himself as a nuisance to everyone around him. Belle moved in after the marriage but doubted everything she did because she struggled with a dichotomy: what should she change;what should keep? She wanted to be different than Violet and lied continuously with Owen but did she have a justifiable reason? Well, Owen explains it is his fault for never letting go of Violet or Belle during both marriages and believes that Belle has a right to state her claims because she feels "uneasy," and tries to be a sensitive man by giving her whatever she wants. Owen states Belle will win in the end because the living always win over the dead. Major Characters: Owen Dromgould, Violet and Belle Important Ideas: Psychological and existential moments, Overcoat and this short story both focus on isolation amongst characters, people desiring new things, holding past memories and Violet is like the haunting overcoat to Belle.