Short Story Results/ Theme for Essay

   I feel that the test was incredibly hard and unfair. I had re-read all the stories the night before and had come up with possible themes, symbolism, etc. but I still ended up doing pretty bad on the test. I think the main reason for everyone doing so poorly was because it seemed that all the multiple choice questions had what seemed to be two or more right answers. The answers were all pretty similar or all seemed like they would be able to answer the question. Especially the questions that said 'choose the best possible answer.' On those I would read through all the answers and be forced to simply pick the one that I felt in my opinion to be the best theme, etc.

   For my essay i've chosen the short story 'The Guest' and the third prompt asking to explain sources of pleasure and disquietude. I feel that the reader experiences disquietude at the thought of what Daru and the prisoners actions will be and of what the consequences will be, but at the same time, the reader feels a kind of elation when they find out what those actions and consequences are. The choices Daru and the prisoner make are not the safest ones nor the easiest ones and leads to suspense and anxiety, but they have both positive and negative outcomes which confuse the reader, but at the same time content them with the reality and morality of it all. These are just my initial, really jumbly thoughts on the book and the essay. I feel I can do a really good job with this and make it to the best of my ability.

   I like the idea of being given more freedom with the structure of the essay, instead of having to strictly follow a given outline. We still have to follow the basic format, but we have a lot more liberty to express our ideas in the way that we want to without having to tweak them in order to suit requirements.

  

Short Story Unit Test

   I feel I probably got a B on this. Maybe an A. Maybe even a C. At this point I really have no idea because the multiple choice had lots of questions that seemed as though they had multiple answers. Lots of the questions had me stuck between two of the answers and so I would be forced to just pick the one that I thought would be the best answer, but I don't know if my idea of the best answer was the correct answer. Hopefully my instincts worked with what i've learned and already knew this year to have helped me make the right choices.

   As for the short answer portion of the test, I also have no idea how I did, but I did my best and hopefully it was good enough. I had pretty good ideas for the themes of all the stories that were in the short answer part, but my trouble was trying to support them with the passages given to us. I think that pretty much for all of them, I had to either re-word my theme so I could support it with the passage, or I had to come up with a completely new theme that was shown inside the passage.

  

Existentialism

   The idea of Existentialism is pretty interesting. What it's saying basically is that the point of life is to survive, that everything someone does is selfish and meant to better ones own life. I feel that this is mostly true, but I deisagree with the other part of Existentialism, that acts of selflessness are a removal of oneself, that if someone does something selfless, they are ceasing to exist.

   That doesn't make sense to me. If I do something selfless, lets say give some money to charity, how is that removing myself and ceasing to exist. By doing something selfless I am revealing and shaping the person that I am. Existentialsm says that you must voice yourself and act as you would in order to impose yourself upon the world and help to form it, but acts of selflessness do show the world who you are and help to shape the world around you. In no other moment are you revealing more of yourself to the world, than when you do something for others, for no reason other than you feel you should do it. So I think Existentialism is wrong to say that acts of selflessness are bad and things should only be done selfishly.

Where are you going, where have you been?

   This story was really weird and creepy. It was realistic and I felt really mad at the girl for acting the way she did. I understand she was scared and that this would have been some peoples reaction but I would have acted more sensibly. I would have closed and locked the door. Then I would have called the police while keeping my eye out for the man. If he got in I would have, if I thought I could take him, gone to the kitchen and grab a knife or some weapon and take him down or, if he were way bigger and stronger looking then me, flung something at him to slow him down, then run out the back door of the house and run towards another person's house. I know it was probably at least a mile from her house to somebody else's house but still I would have just kept going and if I saw the man's car coming after me I would try to hide while still making my way towards safety. After all the man was somewhat drunk and that would have given me an advantage over eluding and/or fighting him. I just think the girl should have at least tried somewhat to keep herself together and put up a fight. Why did she have to go and give herself up so easily when she stood a pretty good chance of saving herself? Other then size and strength possibly I don't see that the guy posed that much of a threat to her. These are all just my thoughts on the situation.

The Lesson

   Last week we were assigned to read The Lesson. This short story had a good variety of themes about the value of money, value of educationa and the difference in perspectives. Aside from this, I didn't like the actual story.  The story is stale, having no action, suspense, drama, or anything else that stimulates my mind. The main character, who's name escapes me right now, is the type of girl I hate to be around. She is arrogant, bossy and doesn't want to accept the reality of life. She doesn't want to prepare for the 'real' world. On the other hand, her cousin Sugar is a much more appealing character, which is why I remember her name. She is actually open minded and when she and her friends are taken on the trip to the toy store, she seems to have an epiphany and realize that there is much more she needs to learn about if she wants to live her life to the fullest.

How Far She Went

   This story was very well written in its intent to express the somber aspects of the human nature. none of the characters in it are characters that people want to read about to experience enjoyment. They all have traits that make them unappealing, but at the same time, make them human.

   The bikers are the cliche bad guys. They are thugs and bullies and have no respect or decency. They chase down the two women, destroy there car and threaten to hurt them, but they are human and there are real peoplee who behave as these two do.

   The girl is a typical teeanger. Young, anxious, rebellious and mad at the world. She hates being controlled and doesn't respect authority, but at the end of the story, after her encounter with the bikers, she has an epiphany and gains a better view on the world. She has a better understanding of how the world works and she has a new bound respect for her grandmother and herself.

   The grandma has been hurt. It is never directly explained how she got hurt but she's been hurt emotionally and we can all relate to that. She could never bring herself to fully love or understand her daughter, so her daughter grew up rebellious and died an early death. Now the grandma is in charge of her grandaughter, but because that miscontent with her own daughter still lingers, she cannot come to love or understand her grandaughter either, leading to her grandaughter also growing up rebellious and feeling like she doesn't belong. It is a sad turn of events, but it happens and it is always sad, and hopefully after going through this terrible incident, the grandma and her grandaughter learn to accept and understand one another so that they can have a happy and healthy relationship.

   I did not enjoy this story because it was so somber and unhappy, but I enjoyed it on a deeper level because everything in it was relatable and gave me a peek into an aspect of humanity that we all try to hide away.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories

   Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a really good book and i'd recommend it to anybody who likes to read. It reminds me of the Wizard of Oz in that Haroun, like Dorothy, finds himself in a fantastical world full of colorful and bizare creatures and every other one of these creatures reminds him of someone he knows back on earth. I think it's really cool. It is a literary book but is written to be enjoyed by both children and adults. Every page is full of childish humor and wimsy but it still delivers a satisfying and entertaining story full of memerable characters and places that will keep people of all ages and interests reading 'till the end.

   Along with the fun and exciting story the book provides is a long list of literary elements, like metaphors, that get the reader to think about the characters and ideas in the book and how they emplify the different aspects of humanity and how the idea of life differs from person to person. Some people like to think of it as one big joke, or a really fun time while others think of it as a competition that must be won or a job that must be completed in the most effecient and beneficial way. The real way to go about living is to try and find balance between all aspects of life. Have as much fun as you can and laugh as much as you can, but don't forget to work hard at everything you do and do it because it's what you love to do and by balancing your life in the most beneficial way, you'll live a life that is both fun and fulfilling.

“In my life I have found two things of priceless worth - learning and loving. Nothing else - not fame, not power, not achievement for its own sake - can possible have the same lasting value. For when your life is over, if you can say 'I have learned' and 'I have loved,' you will also be able to say 'I have been happy.”
― Arthur C. Clarke, Rama II