Flannery O'Connor

            Flannery O’Connor’s writing style is very unique and distinctive. She starts off the story in an ordinary setting. It is so normal that the narrative may seem rather mundane at first. She starts off the story in an ordinary setting. It is so normal, that the narrative may seem rather mundane at first. However, she proves the idea wrong as she continues on to her climax and ending, which both turn out to be suspenseful and also tragic.

            Through the stories in the Norton (A Good Man Is Hard to Find, Good Country People, and Everything That Rises Must Converge), the readers can see that the author’s main thought focuses on the two ideas; human wit and impudence. Although the ideas are very contrary, they are interconnected. In O’Connor’s works, she depicts how foolishness of mankind are twisted and turned into a disaster by the witty ones. To be more direct, O’Connor portrays how people with big egos are the ones who get tricked most easily.

            In A Good Man is Hard to Find, the grandmother is selfish and pretentious. At first, she strongly objects to visiting Florida, but when it is decided that they are not going to Tennessee and that there is a possibility for her to be left behind, she was “the first one on the car, ready to go.” The way she pretends to be an expert on the Misfit yet gets her family and herself killed, also shows how she had overestimated her intelligence while underestimating the others’. Moreover, when she remembered how the house of the Misfit was in Tennessee instead of Georgia, she decided not to announce the subject. This illustrates how her egotism is so strong that she does not even want to admit her own flaws.

            Second, in Good Country People, Joy (Hulga) looks down on other characters, as if they are not smart enough for her. She does not show any respect for her own mother, even though she is much more amiable and caring than herself. At first, Joy acts as if she is the one who has the control over the situation; she is proud of having many degrees and thus, believes that others are less civilized than she is. However, as soon as she begins to trust Pointer (and this is not even his real name), she becomes more lenient on what the boy says. In the end, Joy is outwitted by Pointer as he simply stole her artificial leg, and did not have any interest in loving her as who she was. This story shows how people who think they are smart are ones who are the actual fools.

            Overall, O’Connor’s stories revolve around deep moral teachings. It highly censures human egotism and depicts how it can easily be turned over. Also most of her works begins dull and rather ordinary, but they all have a turning point where the story becomes full of thrill and suspense.

The Sun Also Rises

Through the characters in The Sun Also Rises, Hemmingway illustrates the influential power of war which takes hope and will to live from the young generation. Many characters do not show any motives in life; Brett is the best example. She loves Jake dearly and it is clear that if he was not injured in the war, the two would have been together. However, because the war took a part of him away, she goes for any men who she finds attractive and even cheats on her fiancé multiple times. Additionally, Brett repetitively mentions how she does not know what to do. Brett’s life shows how the war made her lose purpose in life.  

In the novel, Hemmingway never directly states how they are lost in life. Instead he portrays his life going in circles, without any final destination. This idea is proved through Jake and Brett’s relationship. After every conflict that Brett causes, Jake stands by her side to support her. In the end, they are in the taxi together, and Brett mentions how they “could have had such a damned good time together” (Hemmingway 251). However, she also admits that she will return to Mike. This scene relates to a section of the book in the beginning, when the two are sitting together in the taxi, however, in that section, Brett is extremely confused, even stating how she is “miserable” (Hemmingway 32). Thus, the reader can see the connection between the two scenes, and although something seems to be progressing, nothing actually is getting resolved.

Overall, I really liked the book. Even though everything seemed aimless, I felt something very genuine between Jake and Brett’s relationship. It was really disappointing that they still did not get together in the end, but I enjoyed how their bond was extremely stable throughout the whole entire novel. Because everyone else was messed up throughout the story, having something that was consistent made everything balanced out and even. Lastly, it somewhat reminded me of The Great Gatsby, which is one of the reasons why I ended up liking the book so much.

He Slipped in the Bathroom

Did you just call me a suspect for murdering Herman Mildew? There is no way I could have ever killed Mildew; he was my dear editor and a friend. Yes, even after he ripped my book into pieces in public and declared how he lost faith in writers after reading my book. No, I did not hate him AT ALL.

His death is to be lamented. In fact, I believe that many of his writers are holding some festivals to mourn for his death. Yes, he was that much loved. You know you were a wonderful editor when millions of writers worldwide create a holiday just for you. In fact, I am guessing I will be attending to some of the events; I received about two hundred and ten invitation letters relating to Mildew’s death. Some even says how there will be disco dancing involved. I am quite appalled by how time has passed. These young writers nowadays employ “modern dancing” into funeral events. I believe it helps to extinguish the sorrow feelings. I must admit, they are very thoughtful.

What was I doing the night Mildew was murdered? Oh, I was very busy that night. I can prove to you that committing a murder was impossible for me. After I came back from work at five in the afternoon, I was changing the light bulb in my house. To be slightly more precise, light bulbs, for I replaced more than one. Are you asking me why I decided to change them all at once? You are a very inquisitive person.

Well, it all started when Mildew visited my house the day before his death to complain about my newly published work, He Slipped in the Bathroom. Have you read it yet? I must say, it is a masterpiece. No, it is not a comedy, it is a mystery novel. Well, Mildew said how it lacked coherence. He said how the victim could not die from electrocution, and how the crime would not have worked in real life. I strongly objected to the idea, and he told me that he would prove me wrong and left the room to go to the bathroom. The next minute, I heard multiple glasses breaking. No sir, I did not kill Mildew using the trick I used inside the novel. I would not be telling you this story if I was the culprit. Now, shall we go back to business? Good. So I slowly entered the room to find Mildew standing in middle of the dark room covered in shattered glasses! I do not know how he managed to break all ten light bulbs in the room, but he succeeded. Looking very furious, he told me that the situation I was looking at was the realistic outcome of my novel. Then he left my house.

Yes, he was a generous person. He chose to cover himself up in dangerous pieces of glass in order to teach me a life-long lesson. What I got out of it? I learned the importance of confirming each trick before writing it down. He was my true friend. I just wished that he paid for all the light bulbs, though.

In fact, if you are looking for the true criminal, I know a man who wanted to kill him. Do you know that man with the bold head and with an astounded look on his face? What was his name…. Oh yes, Mr. Jon Scieszka. You should definitely check him out. Oh, and don’t forget to buy He Slipped in the Bathroom. It is underpriced, it only costs one-twenty five, but it will soon become a modern classic.

 

Initiation Stories

The “Initiation Story” focuses on the turning point of a character’s life which, most of the time, takes place time in his/ her teen years. These narratives have common characteristic related to the idea of growing up. However, the two coming-of-age stories that appear in The Norton Introduction to Literature, Stepdaughters and Boys and Girls, convey completely opposing ideas. Thus, from the contrasting narratives, the readers can see how there are different ways to pursue one’s life, and how there are no one correct way to live.

            In Stepdaughters, the author portrays a fifteen year old girl, Stephanie, who lives under unstable environment and is involved in shot-put. Stephanie is a strong-minded girl who desires to live the way she wants to live. Although her mother, Helen, opposes to the idea of a girl playing shot-put, for the sport is rather manly and is un-ladylike. Despite the disagreements, Stephanie does not change her mind, and in the end, she chooses to continue loving shot-put. This shows how a teenage girl can choose her own life, even though it goes against the typical stereotype of a fifteen year old girl.

            On the other hand, Boys and Girls illustrates how a girl of similar age chooses not to break the archetype of an ordinary girl, and how it necessary is not a bad thing. Unlike the first story, the girl grows up in a normal environment; she has a father, a mother, a brother, and the assistance whose name is Henry. Even though she grows up helping her father with his work and is inspired by it, she figures out that the job is something she cannot fully accept. The horse, Flora, represented the freedom of the girl in the end, and it shows how she cannot escape from reality of being a girl.

            Overall, the two stories convey similar themes of growing up, however, one portrays how a girl can beat the common life of a female, whereas the other depicts how sticking to archetype is what happens ultimately. Both narratives were very detailed and understandable, and being a girl reader, I could relate a lot with what each character were saying.