Short Stories : Personal Responsibility

I wasn’t sure what our day would entail. I could feel a slight tremor present in my body as I slid behind the steering wheel of the MKZ. Running my finger tips over the leather where the treads to the steering wheel was laced together I contemplated leaping from the car and running like hell. This was a seriously stupid and dangerous thing I was about ready to take part in. Could I do this? My mind wanders to the trunk of the vehicle… What’s back there? How much is back there? Enough to be charged with a misdemeanor…a felony! My heart jack hammered in my chest. Was the benefit worth the risk? Feeling panic setting in I swung my legs out of the vehicle just as Eloy took his seat behind me closing the door. His eyes caught mine in the rearview mirror.

On a cold December morning snow blanketed the ground while a frozen mist masked the trees. Only the very tops could be seen. I stepped outside and inhaled the clean, crisp Texas air. Still half asleep, I walked to the truck feeling the soft powder compact beneath my boots and the snowflakes melt as they hit my skin. It was the time of year that I had been longing for.

Stories give a better understanding of people's experiences in the world. Through these texts, people learn about others lives and develop a connection with them. People empathize with others through their stories as well as learn how other people live and see the world differently. In fictional stories like “Charles” by Shirley Jackson, we see how a child who is unsure about his identity lives. In “The Human Experience” we see true stories about people living in difficult situations. In both these stories, the authors tackle issues of identity, poverty, and sickness to help make more sense of the world.

In “On Compassion,” an essay written by Barbara Lazear Ascher, compassion is observed through the eyes of someone who seems to be more fortunate. “Dumpster Diving,” a personal narrative written by Lars Eighner, features the adventures and tribulations of someone who does not easily survive in the hectic world that is the modern day. Through these two essays, the perspectives of the privileged and unfortunate. Each essay provides detail through personal experiences each author has had through their lives as members of their classes.

    One can unknowingly suffer for the sake of society’s convenience. Both authors, Ray Bradbury and Ursula Le Guin, demonstrate the suffering that the protagonist endures in order to serve their society. A variety of rhetorical strategies and modes contribute to the overall role of the protagonists. Ray Bradbury uses personification and the rhetorical mode of pathos to convey the oblivious suffering that the protagonist, the “smart house”, undergoes. Ursula Le Guin utilizes diction and the rhetorical mode of pathos to demonstrate the society’s dependency on the life of a young, hopeless boy. Through the authors’ use of diction, personification, and the rhetorical mode of pathos, readers can view both short stories in

Major Paper 6: Ascher and Quindlen Individuals' battles and hardships are a noteworthy subject. The way writer's expound on various individuals and what they experience with a specific goal to carry on with a solid and cheerful life makes the reader think and feel thoughtful towards them. Writers incorporate actualities about the battles of the world today to make the reader feel more sympathetic about the circumstance. Barbara Ascher's "On Compassion" and Anna Quindlen's "Homeless” recount the narrative of the creator's point of view of the poor with others. Their stories, albeit fundamentally the same as in topic and substance can be recognized by the distinctive styles of composing and explanatory gadgets.

Authors use their point of view of a story to develop the central tone of a story, or to better institute what their purpose may be. Some authors may have the same purpose of different stories, or may have significant differences. Anna Quindlin (author of “Homeless”) and Lauralee Summer (author of “Learning Joy from Dogs without Collars”) both discuss having homes as a top priority when it comes to a childhood, and a feeling of normalcy and security; “Learning Joy from Dogs without Collars” was written to foretell how a home can affect one’s childhood, while “Homeless” was written to tell how “home is where the heart is” (834).

One can unknowingly suffer for the sake of society’s convenience. Both authors, Ray Bradbury and Ursula Le Guin, demonstrate the suffering that the protagonist endures in order to serve their society. A variety of rhetorical strategies and modes contribute to the overall role of the protagonists. Ray Bradbury uses personification and the rhetorical mode of pathos to convey the oblivious suffering that the protagonist, the “smart house”, undergoes. Ursula Le Guin utilizes diction and the rhetorical mode of pathos to demonstrate the society’s dependency on the life of a young, hopeless boy. Through the authors’ use of diction, personification, and the rhetorical mode of pathos, readers can view both short stories in a new criticism lense and juxtapose two societies that feature a suffering aspect in each story.

Thesis: As demonstrated in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, it is the responsibility for those who are able to help those that are less fortunate and less able, and victimized by social inequalities.

Short stories have been written for a long time for many reasons. Whether the reason be for getting a point across, persuading someone or just for the pleasure of the reader. The creation of short stories has been a privilege for the writers especially because of every writer has a purpose and they can portray it through their literature and show how it has evolved from when it was first created. Many critics also think that short stories can teach more than novels because of the fact that author’s get their point across quicker than an author in a novel. Through the stories of “Paul’s Case,” “Bartleby the Scrivener,” and “To Build a Fire,” American authors present many themes for the readers to consider.

“Fiction has been maligned for centuries as being "false," "untrue," yet good fiction provides more truth about the world, about life, and even about the reader, than can be found in non-fiction,” says Clark Zlotchew, a renowned author. This begs us to question, how do short stories portray relevant issues in society?

Have you ever been responsible for doing something? While reading both short stories, one being “Someone Ought to Tell Her” by Danielle Evans and the other one being “Cell One” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie I have learned that there are many examples of accountability, and it is a big thing in both stories. Accountability is something we all have eventually experienced in life. In these two stories, the responsibility roles are played differently, but most of them have important responsibility roles.

It was a Saturday morning and it was game day. The game didn’t start until 12:00 and we didn’t have to be there 10:45 A.M. Once all of us got there and we finally got into the gym to shoot around and warm up, Alicia and I were talking about who St. Marys had all beaten. From who they had beaten, they sounded pretty good. After a while of shooting we started to stretch. Alicia, Hannah, and Emily were near me so I asked them why the other team wasn’t here yet. Emily said “I don’t know they normally are already here”. By this time Taylor Swift’s song came on which is Emily’s favorite singer. The song was “22” and Emily started to sing “We will just keep dancing like were 22”. Once we were done stretching we started to shoot

Malia gasped for breath as Dominic wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Her hands coming up to grip hold of his hands as if afraid they would leave her at any moment. And loosing him now meant loosing her ability to breath. He was like air, forcablly filling her lungs and pushing life back into her shaking body. It was his fault she was feeling this, but he was the reason she felt strong enough to face it all.

Throughout the short stories, characters endure circumstances that allow them to realize the unfairness of the world, ultimately causing a change in attitude. In “Souvenir,” the protagonist finds herself in a shop purchasing a pack of condoms for her mentally ill boyfriend while being followed by an old man. With the belief that sacrificing something precious of herself such as her virginity, the teenager initially felt that her love could save him from his mental illness. Those in the store around her, however, forced humiliation upon her, especially the elderly man. Finally becoming aware to those around her, she has an epiphany of those surrounding her in addition to the society she lives in. Witnessing the differences in people’s behaviors and attitudes, she grasps the understanding that people are influenced by others