Final Part 1

After reading “A Dark Brown Dog,”  by Stephen Crane, I have some stuff to say. This is a story about a young child and his dog. The dog and the child have a shaky relationship yet they stay together a lot. But once they are separated the boy realizes how much he needs the dog. This story was written in 1893 and seems to take place in a small city. Although this is where and when I think it takes place, this story can be applied to any time and place.

The first few paragraphs gives setting through the third person narrator, it has enough detail to properly describe the setting but not too much to bore the reader. Then the dog is introduced. At first the dog and the child don’t get along but throughout the story they become closer and closer. Instead of a main character I think that the relationship between the dog and the boy is the main focus of the story. I think that the development of their relationship is interestingly weird; because usually a normal kid would be best friends with a dog from the start.

The focus is on the relationship of the dog and the boy throughout the story. The story describes how the boy and the dog interact. There aren’t any major plot twists until the ending. At the end of the story there is a major conflict between the father, the dog, and the boy. The father comes home wildly drunk, the Boy knows to run away but the Dog is not that lucky. I would consider this conflict to be the climax of the story. The story ends sadly, it left me satisfied but I was sad and angry.

I think there is a hidden theme in story. Not only is there a difficult relationship with the dog and the boy but also one with the boy and the father. What really stood out to me in this story is how the boy was so mean to the dog. I don’t understand how he could have disliked the dog so much, after all he seemed to be his only friend. I think that the deeper meaning of the story is much like the saying “curiosity killed the cat.” Throughout the story the Dog is very curious, always following the boy around getting himself into trouble. In the end of the story the Dog didn't know to run away from danger, instead of running away he was drawn in by his curiosity.  I think the dog represents childhood curiosity, as time goes on humans learn not to be to curious for our own good. One must adapt to his surroundings like the Boy did. The boy knew to run away because he learned his lesson before, the dog was still curious. But in the end everyone curiosity is "lost" at some point. I think this story is sad but I do recommend it because it is quite different from anything else I have ever read. Its not usual to read about a Boy and a Dog who don’t get along.

Final Part 2

I just read “The Gift of The Magi,” by O. Henry. This story was published in 1905 and seems to take place in that era. The story talks about the Magi who delivers gifts to everyone on Christmas. Due to some of the language used I would guess that the story takes place in England. The story describes a poor family trying to make the best Christmas possible with the little money they have.

The first line of the story grabs the readers attention. The line is written in all capitals, this line introduces the readers to the large role of numbers in the story. The first paragraph talks about money and introduces us to the lack of money in the household. From the first paragraph we are introduce to Della though the third person narrator who appears to be the main character.

Throughout the story there is a lot of crying and sadness.The sadness is driven by the fact that tomorrow is Christmas day and Della knows she doesn’t have enough money for presents. At first I thought the story would be boring but luckily for me it started to speed up after a few paragraphs. The build up of the story is that Della and Jim are both trying to get gifts for each other. They go to extreme to be able to buy a gift for the other. Della buys a watch for Jim and Jim gets Della combs. The ending is a bit of a surprise, after all the time and heart put into gifts, they don’t matter and can not be used. In the end it was just the thought that counted.

The moral of the story is all about giving and receiving. The story implies that it is better to give than it is to receive. Most other Christmas stories are happy and joyful while this one is not. This story may actually be more realistic, there are theories that depression rates rise during holiday season. Everyone feels stress about getting presents for their friends and family. This story is unlike others that I have read. The other stories have good content but they are unnecessarily long. While this story was nice and short and had a very interesting topic. I really enjoyed this story not only because of the length but also, it has a really nice message that I found valuable.

The littlest hitler

Overall the story was weird, why did he put his hand in the oven, what an idiot. The costume idea was stupid, how could that have gone right. The dad was super cool. I want to be like him when I grow up. I think Anne Frank was also not a good idea for a costume.

For Halloween one year I dressed up as a tree and that was cool. I made it myself and I put leaves on it but then a spider crawled into it and I ripped it off. Then I cried.

A good man is hard to find

This is story was too slow and boring before he action started. Then it was ok. The story was fun to read and I enjoyed the ending alot. It sort of felt like that moment when you see a shark fin circling in the movies. I think that the transition from boring to action was a bit abrupt.

The title is portraying the trust in the story. A good man can be defined by his trustworthiness.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been

This story gave me a bad feeling right when the gold car first pulled up. From there it only got worse... For the writing itself I feel like it was far too long for the message it was delivering. It could have been much more compact. The sort of stand-off scene of the guys negotiating with Connie took too long. But also I wish the author would have finished the story, it did leave me wondering what happened to Connie. I like how Arnold was described, it gave me the picture of a creepy guy.


Beware, this song is super depressing but its what I thought of. Also its really brutally gross and inappropriate

Dance With The Devil


I did also think of this song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GQjYPWDcmg  its a bit less depressing.

A & P

This story was weird. First of all who eats herring that shit is disgusting. Second how can you be that offended. They are giving the shop money so why do they care what the girls are wearing! Also the manager probably liked what he saw. Why complain about almost naked women in your shop... Also Sammy just quit to impress the girls which was a big mistake because it wasn't really worth it. Overall this story had too much detail and I think that everything was blown out of proportion.

"I look around for my girls, but they're gone, of course." This illustrates how stupid Sammy is, he assume that one interaction will seal the deal. 

The Man With Enormous Wings

This story was exciting, confusing and interesting. After only reading the title you are drawn into the story. I was very surprised to find out that this man was an angel! I think this story displays a lot of weakness on the humans part. At first the humans want to send him out to see but then they realize they can profit off of the angel when they put him in a cage. The humans are cruel and mean.

Wait is it a bird?
Why wouldn't the islanders understand that it was a bird?
Usually wings symbolize beauty and freedom but in this story they represent the opposite, why did the author decide to do this?

Half A DAY

The idea if time in this story is very interesting. I think that the quickening of time is really cool and I like the style of the writing. It gave the story the feel of looking at a long timeline of the main characters life. One of the ways the author described the changing of time was through the change is setting. The modernization of the setting helped us see how much time had passed. With the introduction of cars, trucks, and circuses we see the transition from a small town to a bustling city.

I enjoyed this piece, the writing style was cool.

How to date a brown girl

Unlike the previous story I did enjoy this one. The writing style was sincere and natural. I liked that the story was written as a list of steps. The factors of race and status influence this piece a lot. I was unsure of the meanings of some things such as, "government cheese." I like how at the end of the story there is the reference to the cheese in the beginning. I think it was interesting how he changes the treatment of the girls based on where they are from.

Im not really sure what advise to give about dating. But I think that I someone stops liking the other they should brake up.

Happy Endings

I personally hated the writing style. The content of the story could be put into a much more interesting and in depth form. The message of the story is ok but I feel like the style in which it was written was really distracting. Once I got to story F I was completely lost in the authors attempt to have unique and "different" writing. I feel like if there was an assignment to write a short story and I was to write this it would be C work. I don't understand the relevance of the story and I would not recommend it to anyone.

G) John and Marry are a happy couple and they have a lot of hobbies that they find stimulating and challenging. John works out side the city so every morning he gets up and takes the train. Marry starts to get lonely so she starts doing cocaine. After months of this Marry applies for a job as a train driver. At this point she is only doing cocaine once every few days so it is ok. One early morning the train company asks her to cover for an employe who is out sick. She is so tired and stressed she decides to snort a few lines before departure. Now that she feels alive she starts the train, her observation skills are lacking. Instead of stopping she goes full power ahead and head on collides with another train. John was on the other train. They both died and now no one is in love.

oh shit