Short Stories Unit 1

A Rose for Emily
Question #3

The most obvious detail that foreshadows the end of the story is Emily's purchase of rat poison. It never explains her having a pest problem, although it is ascertainable with the condition of her home. Also, the way she is so cold and vague about its purpose when the druggist asks is suspicious. Another detail could be that Homer Barron goes into her house one day and is never seen again. I did anticipate that Emily had killed Homer. It was pretty obvious when he was suddenly taken out of the story. The narrator never explained where he went or what Emily's reaction was to his disappearance. The overall creepy tone of the story does not leave the reader surprised to find that Emily is a murderer. The story of her life, including her relationship with her father, had been very dark, which is usually how it goes.

Short Stories Unit 1

Interpreter of Maladies
Personal Reaction

Mr. Kapasi's job, besides being a tour guide, is to interpret patients' symptoms to the doctor. Mrs. Das asks him to do the same for her. She wants him to interpret her illness of not loving her husband anymore, and she wants him to explain it to Mr. Das. I thought this was a lot to ask of someone whom she had just met. She also opened up to him about her indiscretions very quickly. Because of this I got the sense that Mr. Kapasi was just one of those people that are easy to talk to. Because of her openness, Mr. Kapasi no longer likes her. Usually, when you discover more about someone you like it is a positive thing. I would have felt sorry for her had she not seemed so cold and mean throughout the story. It was an odd story in that Mr. Kapasi liked Mrs. Das so much in one day of knowing her, but by the way he described her I felt she was pretty stuck up.

Short Stories Unit 1

How I Met My Husband
Question #7

Alice Kelling is important in advancing the plot because had she not shown up the story could have gone in a different direction. Chris Watters showed no signs of planning to leave before her arrival. Theoretically, had he not been in such a hurry to get away from her, he could have fallen for Edie and she never would have met the mailman. I believe she could be described as the antagonist because she opposes Edie in her pursuit of Chris. Even when she looks at Edie, she thinks that she is after her fiance. As the antagonist, she is indirectly and unknowingly successful at keeping Edie away from her husband. Wherever Alice is, Chris does not want to be, even if it's close to Edie. Her arrival and Chris' impending departure may even have been what led to Chris and Edie kissing. And had Chris not left and promised to write to Edie, she would have never grown so close to the mailman.

Pattern Poems 4

"Edward"'s progressive pattern helps to clarify what is happening. He goes from killing a small animal, to a large animal, and eventually to his own father. And when he finally admits that, his mother stops questioning hi, meaning she knew who he had killed all along. And at the end, he says it was the "counsels she gave to [him]" that caused him to do it. Although he now has to run away for the crimes he did, his mother is the one who will have to live with the "spiritual" consequences. It is a strong poem about how other people can influence you to do things you otherwise would never think of. He has to abandon everything he's ever known to escape punishment while his mom gets off free and clear. And yet all she is concerned about is herself.

Pattern Poems 3

"That Time of Year" is very romantic because he is very ill and knows that he has many flaws which might make him unbearable to love, but his lover knows this and still stays with him anyways. He says that he is like the late fall when the beautiful things in nature are gone for the season. He also says that the fire of death is inside of him. His lover has even greater love for him because of all of these things. Throughout the course of the poem, the author uses three different images of fall, fire, and sunset. All of these repesent the ending of a lifetime. And even though they could have a positive connotation for their beauty, they do not. This author views death as a bad end.

Pattern Poems 2

"Death, be not proud" uses diction to present the effect of death. The speaker is not afraid of death. He actually seems to be challenging it, or enticing it. He says that "nor yet canst thou kill me" and thou art slave to fate", showing that even death is not invincible. His use of words such as "poison, war, and sickness" shows the negative side of death, but not necessarily it's power. In the last line of the poem, he says that eventually even death will die. This made me think that the poem may have had religious undertones. Christians believe that death will be destroyed and we will have everlasting life. Because of this, we say that we should not fear death, even though everyone still does. Maybe the speaker is just trying to call death's bluff, but he really is still afraid of him.

Pattern Poems

The poem "Lonely Hearts" is written as a villanelle. It gives the poem a very structured similarity through each stanza even though they are all very different "preferences". The speaker speaks about how people are all looking for a different kind of companion with specific attributes, but they are all looking for one common thing, love. It is this "simple wish" that connects all people. Another pattern in this poem besides it's repetition of the lines "Do you live in North London? Is it you?" and "Can someone make my simple wish come true?" is its newspaper ad stanzas. They are all based off of the ads found in newspapers or magazines. They are not complete sentences, but are very short descriptions of exactly what they are looking for. This pattern adds to the tone of the poem, which is the desperateness of searching for someone to love.