Delusional in Miss Brill

p. 182 "Miss Brill was glad she had decided on her fur."

Throughout "Miss Brill", Miss Brill feels a false sense of self. She is out of touch with society and the people she thinks she knows. Thinking her magical fur coat will make her the life of the community, she parades around like it. In this way, she is insane in thinking this coat will elevate her status. Due to her high expectations, she is even more devastated when her fur is insulted.  Whether she is really crazy, I don't know. But, one lesson to be learned from this is to have realistic expectations for things. Miss Brill thought she was younger than she was and the fur coat let her fit in. She might not be crazy but just not realize that people get old, people aren't hip forever.

Satire and Irony in Once Upon a Time

p. 236 "Next day he pretended to be the Prince who braves the terrible thicket of thorns to enter the palace and kiss the Speeing Beauty back to life; he drageed a ladder to the wall, the shining coiled tuneel was just wide enough for his little body to creep in..."

This excerpt of the boy dying from the razor blades is one of the most satirical and ironic parts of this short story. But, the first irony occurs when the narrator says that she hates writing fairy tales, and she writes one. Another irony occurs in that the parents tried so hard to protect themselves from the dangers of the outside world, they ended up hurting themselves. Satire appears in that the narrator is trying to shy people away from fairy tales because they plant unrealistic and dangerous ideas in children. Girls wait for a Prince Charming who never comes and boys try to do the impossible, in this case, climb a fence with razor blades. The second satire is the message that the author is trying to get across that when someone shuts themselves up off from other people, they hurt themselves.

Devotion in A Worn Path

p. 227 "I bound to go to town, mister," said Phoenix. "The time come around."

The last sentence tells of Phoenix's devotion. The long trip through the woods and swamp to the city, is one she obviously takes with frequency. She knows every land form, creek, and animal on the way there. The path is long because the hunter is even surprised at how long she walked. This shows her devotion. But her devotion to what? Phoenix doesn't even remember why until she gets to the city: her grandson. Whether her grandson is alive or not, this woman was devoted to helping him with his throat problem. Him swallowing lye definitely wasn't comfortable and she shows love and care by taking this "worn path" constantly.

Simile in Eveline

p. 222 "She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal."

This simile mentioned towards the end of "Eveline" is very fitting. In my book is written, and was also brought up by Mr. Costello, was the idea that this animal could be a deer in the headlights. One of the questions answered by my group was about spiritual paralysis . But, in this instance, at the moment of truth, loading the boat, Eveline experiences a moment of physical paralysis. Frozen by fear,  she is unable to pull the trigger and move to Buenos Aires with Frank; this is very similar to a deer being unable to move when faced with the headlights of a car. But, the root of her physical paralysis is her spiritual paralysis. Her spiritual paralysis being unable to change and move. Even though she was abused at her home, she knew what she was getting, which was more than she could say about moving.

Answer to question 1: sympathize most towards

p. 201 "Frank," Tub said after a time, "you know that farmer? He told Kenny to kill the dog." 

"You're kidding!" Frank leaned forward considering. "That Kenny. What a card." He laughed and so did Tub.

Within this short story, I believe the author sets up the story to lean towards sympathy for Tub. For this reason, I slightly lean towards sympathizing with Tub more. Tub is easy to sympathize with because of his weight, the criticism he faces, his eating problem, and his general clumsiness. Also, not to mention the fact he was threatened and shot a man. Obviously he faced guilt after figuring out about owner wanting the dog shot, one would think at least, but the quote says differently. But, my biggest problem with Tub is his and Frank's lack of urgency to help a man who got shot. They are able to stop and get pancakes, but can't take the man with a hole in his gut to the E.R.

Foreshadowing in "Hunters in the Snow"

p. 188 "I won't say at word. Like I won't say anything about a certain babysitter."

Throughout the short story, Kenny develops as an antagonist. He almost kills Tub in the opening . He mocks Tub and Frank throughout the story. In this quote, he crosses the line again. So, this quote not only foreshadows Frank revealing his mistress, but also of Kenny crossing the line one too many times. The quote hints at Frank having a problem, like everyone else in the story. Frank and Tub's problems are more personal problems with Frank and his marriage and Tub and his weight. These two draw closer again because their problems can be related to each other. Kenny's problem is a very big one, but not one met with the urgency of Frank and Tub's problem.

Simile in "Everyday Use"

p. 179 "Maggie's brain is like an elephant's."

This comment from Wangero was an anomaly in her character as a whole. Once Dee leaves and comes back, her character is truly brought out. In the beginning of the story, her and Mama aren't very close and Dee doesn't quite fit in with Mama and Maggie. Once she returns as Wangero, she drops her family past and heritage. She comes back to pick old family artifacts off her family to make great display pieces. She quickly forgets the sentimental value it has to Maggie and Mama and what it should mean to her. I'm not sure where Wangero developed the condescending tone and sense of entitlement, but it's rude and annoying. Once she leaves, she tells them to live in the present and exercise newly found freedoms, but she doesn't realize they are perfectly content living in the past.

I see Consuela in "Bartleby the Scrivener"

That was Consuela a Spanish house maid hired by the Griffin family in Family Guy. The problem is she doesn't do a great a job and gets fired, but she refuses to leave. In this way, my first connection to the strange Bartelby was to her. On page 662, a similar scene to the end of this video occurs: the narrator says, "The time has come; you must quit this place; I am sorry for you ; here is money; but you must go," to which Bartelby responds "I would prefer not." This is an odd response to a firing and it seems a rather effective one. In both cases, the people keep their jobs for an extended period of time. But, I feel sympathy for both these people. They are outcasts of society that are all there mentally and are forced out of their homes. Bartelby's story ends more tragically with his life and eventual death in prison.

Confronting the obvious in "Interpreter for Maladies"

"Is it really pain you feel, Mrs. Das, or is it guilt." p. 164

There are sometimes when we search and seek for answers to a deep problem. We ask our closest friends and family for advice and help. But, Mrs. Das doesn't have any friends and definitely can't confide in her husband with her problem, so she resorts to a stranger. In her defense, she feels this stranger is qualified for her problem. Although Mr. Kapasi normally interprets medical ailments, he points Mina's problem quickly. Mr. Kapasi is upfront with her and points out that she isn't in pain, she just feels guilty and probably always will. Mrs. Das probably already knew she felt guilty and was hoping for a magical solution to her problem and fix her life. Mr. Kapasi doesn't give her a secret potion but gives her the bitter taste of having to live with her reality.

Legends of the crazy cat ladies

The story "A Rose for Emily" is one of the strangest and most disturbing stories I've read. But, I feel like there are legends like this that have floated around countless small towns and cities throughout American history. Although there is nothing to dispute the investigations done in the story and their findings, I feel like some of this sources of the story are questionable. Mystery and unknowing leads people to fill in parts. No one a clue what happened: "We did not even know she was sick; we had long since given up trying to get any information from the Negro." Stories like these are sometimes added to or made up completely in towns today.  For example, my dad was told as a child, and believes to this day, that a woman that lived down the street from him who had 10+ cats forgot to get cat food and was eaten by her cats. Whether or not it's true or not, I don't know. But legends like this don't die off easily.

Simile in "Interpreter of Maladies"

Within this story, there is very little in the way of figurative language and rhetorical devices, as far as I saw. But, one simile I saw really contributed to the tone and set the scene of the story. On page 153 the narrator tells of Mrs. Das: "She lifted her pinkish brown sunglasses and arranged them on top of her head like a tiara." To me, this revealed some characterization of Mrs. Das. Obviously a tiara is a princess' crown. In this context, Lahiri casts the tiara and a princess in a negative light. This seems to depict a princess who is distant from her people and far too concerned about herself and only herself. This comparison comes to fruition later in the story when Mrs. Das reveals what Mr. Kapasi suspected all along. Mrs. Das was distant because her love between her husband has died and she is a worn down mother. Her reasoning for her lost love and so forth is revealed later.

Irony in How I Met my Husband

Throughout this short story, there are some points of suspense and uncertainty as to where the story will head. First, there is wondering where the relationship between Edie and Chris will head. Once it seems that there is some type of connection, Edie becomes a bit obsessed. After their kiss and his departure, she waits for his letter daily with a smiling face of anticipation before and after she receives the daily mail. The irony comes in that her husband, the mailman, thought Edie was trying to woo him by meeting him everyday at the mailbox. Edie narrates, "He always tells the children the story of how I went after him by sitting by the mailbox every day." In reality, she was waiting on a letter of a man she had become infatuated with. It's ironic that she meets her husband while waiting on a letter for another man.