Response Essay to the Hand and 55 Miles to the Gas Pump

The conflict of this story discusses the battle between Mrs. Mallard's conscience and how she should feel about her husband’s death. A normal person would feel grief for a loved one's death, but in "The Story of an Hour", Mrs. Mallard been paralyzed and does not know how to feel about it. This has been because she’s been imprisoned by her husband. When he died in a train accident she was free of him. The "joy that kills" at the end of the short story may refer to that. The elixir of life symbolizes the very essence of what life is. At first her sister and her friend didn’t knew how to tell her, because of her heart condition. When the news of the death of her husband reach her, she starts to see

This passage opens with the phrase “Such was his shyness that he saw no more of her than her ringed hand in water; but it was enough” (22). This opening sets the stage for the remainder of the passage, in which Orlando would be describing and analyzing the queen’s personality, past, and physical appearance solely through her hand. The fact that viewing the queen’s hand was “enough”, that it gave Orlando all the information that he needed about her, was telling. It showed that the woman had a personality, poise, and strength of character so notable that it could be detected even when her hand was the only part of her in view. The first sentence of the passage continues on, listing the queen’s traits that he felt

Throughout this course so far we have read several short stories, many of which I have enjoyed. Each story we have read is different in their own ways, some have figurative language while others have life lessons throughout the story. There are a couple of short stories that I would recommend to friends, although one particularly stands out. The one story that I would recommend to a friend to read would be "A Sound Of Thunder" due to it teaching a valuable life lesson while being enjoyable and having a surprise ending.

Over the course of the second semester, many important texts were read. Each short story and poem had their own themes and messages to share. Depending on how you personally read each text, some may stick out more than others, but all just as important as the other. Important as in to each author, their message is significant to themselves. We as a class definitely got a lot of reading of different texts this semester so there were many to choose from that should be considered the most important. The three most important texts of the semester were Carry your own Skis by Lian Dolan, Dreams by Langston Hughes, and The Road not Taken by Robert Frost because they all have very important messages.

A writing that I enjoyed was “Just Participate!”, an interview with Billy Cordasco about the Babbitt Ranches he worked on. This piece caught my attention due to its cowboy nature, divulging the methods and tricks of the trade when it comes to farming cattle.

“Shiloh”, by Bobbie Ann Mason, explores an interesting theme, the distinct parallel between the surface level of what the events of the story are, and the meaning underneath. This parallel is seen throughout the story, from the start when Leroy Moffitt is building craft kits for at first just to pass time, while Norma Jean is lifting weights and working at a Rexall drugstore for the same reason; To later on when Norma says she doesn’t know what she’s talking about and Leroy thinks that the way to saving his marriage is to come up with a last minute idea. The story engages the theme of the parallel levels through the unstable marriage of Leroy and Norma Jean. The theme of this parallel is shown overtly through the images, descriptions, and characterizations of the log cabins in the story, and of Shiloh. Interestingly, the characters and the world they live in are stuck on the surface, shown through how both Leroy and Norma Jean drift on subjects, and through the names in the story.

Because the story is written in diary format, we feel especially close to this woman. We are in touch with her innermost thoughts. The dominance of her husband, and her reaction to it, is reflected throughout the story. The narrator is continually submissive, bowing to her husband's wishes, even though she is unhappy and depressed. Her husband has adopted the

of the most expressive and meaningful stories that have lots of great deep meanings. These stories

When the narrator first encounters the girl, his friend's older sister, he can only see her silhouette in the “light from the half-opened door”. This is the beginning of his infatuation with the girl. After his discovery, he is plagued by thoughts of the girl which make his daily obligations seem like “ugly, monotonous, child's play”. He has become blinded by the light. The narrator not only fails to learn the name of his “girl”, he does not realize that his infatuation with a woman considerably older than himself is not appropriate. He relishes in his infatuation, feeling “thankful [he] could see so little” while he thinks of the distant “lamp or lighted window” that represents his girl. The narrator is engulfed by the false light that is his futile love.

The narrator also begins to view her husband as someone who is not looking out for her and lying to her. “He asked me all sorts of questions, too, and pretended to be very loving and kind. As if I couldn’t see through him!” She did not see him as this loving husband wanting the best for her anymore. She thought he was against

The family is preparing for their journey to California when Tom and Jim arrive. Jim asks whether he can journey west with the Joads. The Joads agree to take him along. Once their belongings have been sold, everyone except Grandpa is anxious to get started. They pack the truck, but Grandpa has decided he wants to stay on the land, and they must drug Grandpa in order to get him in the truck. They are on the highway by dawn.

In the beginning of the story, the narrator admires her husband and all of his features saying “to herself she also praised his mouth, full and likable, his skin the color of pink brick, and even his forehead, neither noble nor broad, but still smooth and unwrinkled”(273). The newlywed couple is in love and the narrator admires her husband’s face as he peacefully sleeps next to her. This admiration does not last long because the narrator then shifts her focus to the hand she is laying on and it suddenly becomes this monstrous thing that scares her into realizing what she’s gotten into. The narrator looks down to see “the thumb stiffened itself out, horribly long and spatulate, and pressed tightly against the index finger so that the hand suddenly took on a vile, apelike appearance”(274). This change in her perception of the hand represents her realization that she is no longer innocent and young, but that she married a stranger and would be stuck with him the rest of her

Reflecting on all the stories I have read in class so far, I would have to say that my two favorite pieces of literature are, “Faint Hints of Tranquility,” by Adania Shibi and, “The Uses of English,” by Akinwumi Isola. “Faint Hints of Tranquility,” is a mind challenging story with its many moments of symbolism throughout. For instance, when the Israeli reporter goes to talk with a Palestinian woman in the Balatah refugee camp, Shibi teaches the reader about how respect looks in her culture. While the reporter talks with the woman, she accidently steps on the woman’s headscarf and she feels beyond embarrassed about her action; as a reader, you can tell she has a little panic attack at this moment. Before reading this piece, I didn’t know that in many Middle Eastern countries touching an object or a person with human feet is one the worst insults. Another example of symbolism, would be when the reporter changes her password to Arafat. Arafat is the name of a Palestinian leader who was a chairman for the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The reporter throughout the story shows that she is suffering from PTSD and her changing her password is a way she wants to remind herself she needs to continue fighting for what she believes in. Even the way the book is organized gives the story more meaning. Through the voice of the story it can be inferred the protagonist is suffering through PTSD, but the fact that her journal entries are all out of order gives the reader more insight

Sally stopped; picked a flower; kissed her on the lips. The whole world might have turned upside down! The others disappeared; there she was alone with Sally. (35)To say that the kiss is the most exquisite moment of her life shows that Clarissa feels utterly at ease being physically intimate with a woman. One might argue that this moment is so great that everything that follows pales, leaving Clarissa's sexual life as a married woman dull and uninteresting.

It’s been a long time since I have critiqued a book or written an analytical essay. I really enjoy reading based on obtaining the background of a character and their relation to the overall story.  I like short stories too because they land at the heart of the intended metaphor, moral and overall thesis in a short reading period.  I’m able to read more and learn more by reading short stories.  I have a collection of Christmas short stories on my Nook that I read every holiday season.  I need to get my Nook fixed or buy another gadget so I can read them this year.  The holiday themed stories help me to get into the holiday spirit.  The feeling that a book can bring out in his characters to make you feel positive and uplifted is what I really enjoy from reading.