#25 Week 8- The Cask of Amontillado pg.226-230

          Montresor, the story's main protagonist, plots his revenge on his friend Fortunato. Taking him away during a festive Carnival when Fortunato is drunk and wearing a jester's outfit, he lures him away with the promise of a rare cask of wine called Amontillado. He claims to want his friend's opinion on it and furthur baits him when suggesting he could just go to some other guy that Fortunato thinks is a fool. Montresor leads him into a series of catocombs and then warns Fortunato of the damp, feigning concern over Fortunato's cough. Montresor chains Fortunato into a niche in the catacombs and then walls up the niche. Fortunato tries to escape and calls out to Montresor, who mocks his cries. The story is ended by Montresor saying "Rest in Peace", seemingly unperturbed by his friend's murder.The only reason Montresor gives for killing Fortunato is some unspecified insult.

          Montresor is an unreliable narrator, he kills his friend over some insult that he doesn't even mention. It seemed to me that Montresor was envious of Fortunato, having everything he wanted, including a position in the masons and a "Lady Fortunato". Montresor gives his family coat of arms and motto "No one insults me with impunity". Fortunato was said before to have been a nice guy: could he have helped Montresor out and that kindness have gotten him killed? It seems like the main question of the story is why Montresor killed Fortunato. The rest is pretty simple and not other real questions are as prevalent. The part I liked least in the story was how Fortunato got away with the murder and how Fortunato was undiscovered for fifty years. I enjoyed the story all in all, especially trying to figure out Montresor's motive.

#24 Week 5- Two Kinds by Amy Tan pg.193-199

      The story was written in the first person, narrated by an unnamed, little, Chinese girl. Her mother believes that anyone in America can become anything, and wants her child to be famous. So she tests her daughter every night with crazy things in attempt to find her hidden talent, what she calls her "prodigy". After seeing a child muscician prodigy on the Ed Sullivan Show (who is also a little Chinese girl with a Peter Pan haircut), she arranges to have her daughter take piano lessons with Mr.Chong. The narrator doesn't want to play the piano and doesn't try, she gets away with this because her teacher is deaf. At a talent show the narrator tries her hardest, but is so used to failing that she plays it poorly and is horrible.Her mother tells her that there are two kinds of daughters, obediant and disobediant. Years later the narrator returns to her old home (her mother has died recently)and plays the piano again, the songs: "Pleading Child" and "Perfectly Contented". She realizes that they are both parts of the same song.

      The story is about trying to be someone you're not. It tells of a little girl who just wants to be what she is, nothing more, which is an unusually enlightened point of view for someone. She ends up being less than she can be because of trying to not live up to her mother's impossibly high expectations. I found this story very sad, but I still liked it. I also enjoyed the ending where she is finally at peace with herself and both parts of her personality. At the end she compares herself to the two songs and how they are different, but also just parts of the same song.

#23 Week 5- The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant pg. 187-192

        Mrs. Loisel is a beautiful, charming woman who was born to a poor family of "clerks and copyists". She finally marries a "minor clerk in the Ministry of Education", and lives a humble life, believing that she deserves more. One day they are invited to attend a dinner, which her husband believes she will be delighted by, but she isn't, instead she worries about her lack of good clothing and jewelry. So she buys a dress and borrows a real-looking diamond necklace from her friend Mrs.Forrestier. The day of the dance she is a hit, but loses the necklace, so she buys a real one and spends ten years paying it back. At the end of the story her friend reveals that the necklace was a fake.

        I think that this story was about being grateful for what you have because your situation could always be worse, and everything you have could be taken away. I did not like the character of Mrs.Loisel because she was so ungrateful and put such stress on her husband who loves her. She finally begins to realize what she had and what she lost, and becomes grateful for her life. I thought that the ending was comical, yet horrible. All that work that Mr. and Mrs. Loisel had to do was for nothing. Mrs. Loisel should have told her friend what happened at the beginning, and I think that was another lesson: be truthful, it will save you a lot of trouble.

#22 Week 4- Miss Brill Katherine Mansfield pg. 183-186

          Miss Brill, the narrator of the story, goes to the "Jardines Publiques" [Public Gardens] during "the Season". She wears a fur coat and sits in her usual spot. She watches the lives of others unfold. An elderly couple sit on the bench next to her, but don't speak, children play and couples reunite. She comes to the realization that everything going on around her is a play and she is an actress. Then a young couple sit next to her, and make speak rudely of her. She leaves quickly, going home without getting her usual bread. She puts her coat away and is crying.

         I thought that Miss Brill was young, at first. Nursing an older man, possibly her father, or maybe she is a nurse helping a rich elderly man. I find her strange, so interested in the lives of others, and they don't even pay attention to her. By the end of the story I finally pieced together who Miss Brill is. I believe she is an elderly English teacher whose husband she nursed until he died, and seeks the comfort and joy of people so she goes to the park and watches them. The story was very sad and I really didn't like the young couple that was very mean to her.

#21 Week 3- The Lottery by Shirley Jackson pg.136-141

           The story starts with a small town on a special day. The day is the lottery, where everyone in town lines up and draws a paper. The town is small, only about three hundred people, so the narrator states that the lottery doesn't take long, only one day. Children play with pebbles, and then the mayor calls everyone to get in the line. One woman, Tessie Hutchinson, is late, but is still greeted warmly. Then the townsfolk start talking about other towns who have stopped doing the lottery, which Old Man Warner comments on negatively. The scene is also set; a town that sticks strongly to traditions and doesn't deviate from them/change. The drawing commences and Mrs.Hutchinson gets the slip of paper with the black dot. The people of  the town begin stoning her to death, where even the smallest child is given pebbles to throw.

         At first, I thought that the lottery was going to be a good thing, I mean, when I think of lottery, I think of winning money. As the story progresses, I, as the reader, began sensing that something was amiss. My suspicions were confirmed when the friend of Mrs. Hutchinson's daughter proclaims that she hopes her (the daughter) won't be chosen. Then they start throwing stones, and I start thinking how barbaric the people in this story are. I did not like the ending, and the story was just weird.

#20 Week 2- Always Keep to Your Point; Stick to It Tenaciously- pg. 44-46

         An example is given, but it is not great, and can be improved. It begins with a good topic sentence, but then it gets side tracked. Demonstrating the article's main idea; keep to you topic, and don't stray. As a writer you connect the parts of your essay yourself, and make sure that all relationships are clear. You should start, use details/facts, and then return to your essay to demonstrate how the fact is relevant to your essay. A line is diagram is used with a topic line (to which you must always return), and an exemplifying line (which is your writing, with details), and a point at the end where the two lines meet, where your goal is reached. Develop a few topics clearly and with purpose, not many topics without purpose.

        I enjoyed this article's use of a line diagram. The paragraph preceeding this diagram did not offer a very clear picture of how to write, and what it was talking about, but the line diagram really clarified things. The multiple examples, along with how they can be improved, were also of immense help. I also think that its final paragraph's message was also very important; quality over quantity. This article is at least different, I'm glad that the book has finally stopped repeating itself endlessly.

#19 Week 2- Develop an Outline as the Means of Organizing Your Essay- pg. 37-38

         So far in the book, the author was discussing a normal outline, or a plan of organizing your essay. Some writers use lists, others use outlines, some make the outlines after they write the essay, and some authors don't use outlines at all. But whatever you use to organize your essay, it should have a tight structure that is easy to follow, and doesn't confuse readers. The outline they are refering to in this article is called the "analytical sentence outline". This outline has an introduction (with a central idea and thesis), topic sentences that can be used in each paragraph of the body, and ending with a conclusion. The conclusion is the freest part of an outline, it can be almost anything, as long as it ends the essay.

       I wasn't sure what to think about this article. I'm one of those people that don't like outlines. When I write, I only make an outline at the very end, and only when I absolutely have to. I like to just write what comes to mind, and then organize everything after I'm finished writing. The conclusion is the freest part of an essay, I kind of agree with, but it is also one of my least favorite parts of the essay. The conclusion seems to pressure you to be the best part of the essay.