Potpourri 2 - The Drunkard

"You were his guardian angel." pg. 351

This story was full of irony and humor. The humorous part was the drunk 12 year old. He found beer to be completely disgusting, but wanted to experiment. The irony of the story is that the mom refers to her son as a guardian angel sent from God. This isn't the typical reaction of a mother when finding out her 12 year old got drunk at a bar. The mother was angry with her husband for letting the 12 year old drink, but was so glad that that prevented the father from drinking. When dragging his drunk and obnoxious son home through the streets, the father was embarrassed. That is ironic because he is usually the one being dragged home because he's so plastered. The father doesn't realize the error of his ways, so he probably continued to go on drinking binges.

Potpourri 1 - Popular Mechanics

"I want the baby." page 2

Although it was very short, this story left me with many unanswered questions. Why was the couple breaking up? Why did they physically fight for the baby? Was the baby their child? Why were no quotation marks used? I find ironic that the title of the story is "Popular Mechanics," yet many grammatical mechanics were omitted. Also, I have a thought as to why the couple is breaking up. I think the man may be abusive. This probably would explain the woman's irrational behavior when the man wanted to keep the baby. If the man is dangerous, she would not feel comfortable leaving the baby in his care. I think that the style of the mechanics may coincide with the theory that the man is abusive. Maybe the lack of quotations is supposed to reflect that the man is uneducated. Uneducated men are more prone to abuse than educated men.

Theme 4- Once upon a Time

"The alarm set up wailing against the screams while the bleeding mass of the little boy was hacked out of the security coil with saws, wire-cutters, choppers, and they carried it--the man, the wife, the hysterical trusted housemaid and the weeping gardener--into the house." pg. 236

This was not your typical fairy tail children's story. It was full of violence and irony. The man and wife were so paranoid about danger. They purchased all kinds of security systems that eventually led to the death of their child. It is ironic how their paranoia of danger is what ended up killing their son. I think that it is strange that the parents held security as such a high priority. There was never any significant danger near them, and nothing had ever happened to them. They didn't even pay that much attention to there child. Also, the alarm falsely triggered so regularly that it wasn't taken seriously. Why buy all that security if you aren't going to use it? I guess the moral of this story is not to let paranoia get the best of you.

Theme 3- A Worn Path

"Without warning, she had seen with her own eyes a flashing nickel fall out of the man's pocket onto the ground." pg. 227

While I was reading this story, I sensed a very suspicious vibe towards Phoenix. I felt like she was a little crazy, but also a little scheming and devious. One of the questions from the story asks if Phoenix's grandson is dead. I think that he is. I have a theory as to what happened but I am probably way off. I think that Phoenix was a very concerned, good intended grandmother. She regularly would go get medicine for her sick grandson, but then he died. She probably didn't tell anyone about what happened. She was probably also very distraught over his death. Instead of dealing with his death, she continued on her normal routine as if nothing had happened. She probably began taking the grandson's medicine and began losing her mind. Through the author's diction, we can see that Phoenix is very uneducated, so she most likely is in desperate need of money. With her losing her mind, she takes advantage of every opportunity to get money. When the nickel fell out of the man's pocket, she intensely stared at it, then made a distraction so she could pick it up and keep it. I know that this is a really far-fetched idea, but I just have a feeling that Phoenix has an agenda.

Theme 2- Eveline

"No! No! No! It was impossible." pg. 222

I feel very sympathetic towards Eveline. Many people she was close to have died including her mother, her father is abusive towards her, and she has to give all of her hard earned money to her father. She doesn't have a very optimistic life ahead of her until she meets Frank. The meet and Eveline sees their relationship as an opportunity to leave her misery. What I do not understand is why she didn't take it. She had absolutely nothing holding her back besides a promise she made to her now dead mother. Under the circumstanced, I would think that the mom would understand why she didn't uphold her wish. This section is about theme, but I am failing to see the point of this story, let alone the theme. If I had to guess, I think the theme of this short story is to never break a promise, no matter how much pain it causes.

Theme 1- Miss Brill

"Why does she come here at all--who wants her?" pg. 186

Through this indirect characterization, we see that Miss Brill is a very lonely woman. She spends her days people watching and imagining far-fetched situations as realities. She thought that her life was part of some huge play. This clearly shows that she has issues. She personifies her fur by talking to it as if it were a human. She also thinks she hears it cry when she puts it away. I think that the cry represents her loneliness. Its as if she is imagining this to be someone desperately pleeing to be with her. I found it strange that she didn't seem to let the harsh word of the young couple phase her. Considering she had no one, I would think those words would have some impact on her. I wonder if she has something wrong with her or if she is just lonely.

Characterization 4 - Bartleby the Scrivener

"I would prefer not to." pg. 653

I thought that Bartleby was so incredibly annoying. He started off as a quiet but hard worker. But then when he was asked to do something, he just responded, "I would prefer not to." I don't understand why he kept saying that every time he was asked to do something. I also don't understand why the Lawyer never fired him. If Bartleby way my employee, I would have fired him right away. His annoying nature made me not be able to sympathize with him even though he had know where to live.I am so curious as to why he wouldn't do anything that he was asked to do, even when it came to basic needs of life. My only thought is that he was trying to assert that he made his own decisions at all costs. He wouldn't let people persuade his life in anyway, but in reality that is what happened. By not doing things he was asked to do, he died.