"The Cask of Amontillado"

I found this story much more interesting than any of the other stories that we have read in class. It was ironic that Fortunato's name meant fortunate considering the ending of the story and the way in which he died. I also liked how the author described the bones on the walls of the family, thins allowed you to predict that something bad was going to happen. It was also ironic how this horrible event occurred during a carnival because this is supposed to be a time of joy and social gathering but instead Montresor condemns Fortunato. I also thought that it was interesting how Fortunato thought that Montresor was joking which being dressed up in costumes and the time of the carnival i would have thought the same thing.

"Racitatif" & "Araby"

I thought that "Racitatif" was a great story. The story stated off with the characters being young and living at an orphanage, and as the story progresses the characters grow up. I thought that it was interesting how once they grew up they both had different recollections of what they thought had happened to the deaf mute girl. And this became an issue of black and white. As the characters grew up their views of controversial issues had changed greatly and they basically became enemies, but at the end the kind of make amends. i like how at the end it doesn't tell you what happened to maggie.
I did not find the story Araby interesting, i thought that it was boring and dull. this was reflected in the characters. Compared to the story Racitatif the characters did not come alive and as the story went on the characters did not develop they stayed the same as they were before.

"A Rose for Emily" By:William Faulkner

I thought this was an interesting story. The setting in this story was the old women, Emily's house. I felt as if the towns people were inside of her house thinking about what the old lady had went through. The narrator then described the last 10 years of her life. At first when the narrator was talking about the smell coming from the house i thought that it was because she had died. But latter the narrator tells about how some towns people open a room in which their is a dead man laying on the bed. The narrator also tells about the pillow next to the body that had the indention of a head and a long piece of grey hair was found on it.

"The Lady with the Dog" By: Anton Chekhov

This story took place in a couple different locations. First of all the story took place in what i imagined to be a vacation spot, some where tropical. This is where Dmitri first saw the lady with the dog. but then he also went to her hometown witch the narrator of the story did not say where. Also the story takes place in Moscow. I thought that the story was interesting, how the characters in the story wanted something more or better than what they had. In the story she says " I have been tormented by curiosity; I wanted something better".

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" By: Ambrose Bierce

I found this story to be interesting. The author used a lot of detail to describe what was going on. For example in the beginning of the story he describes the bridge and where all the men are located, and also the process of hanging; how they men would step off of the boards. I thought that there was a good plot in the story. The man who was being hung in the story was trying to escape from the noose. Which he did once. I thought that it was interesting how he accepted the fact that he was going to die. They only reason he tried to escape was the thought of his family. He did not try to escape for his satisfaction but for his families. Another plot in the story was to kill the man. The army tried this first by hanging but the rope broke, and then they tried to shoot him in the water as he swam away. They ended up succeeding by catching him at his home, and they ended up hanging him from the bridge.

"Girl" By: Jamaica Kincaid

This did not seem like a short story to me.  It was more of a list of what it is that a women is "supposed" to do to be a good wife.  I felt like it was being told to a girl by her mother or a teacher.  Stating what they are supposed to do but in the "teachers" heart they know that this is not what they are going to want to do.  I could tell this by the "... to prevent yourself from looking like the slut you are so bent on becoming;..."  I almost feel like the word "slut" is not referred to in the same manner as we use it today, but for a person who lets go and doesn't do what they are socially "supposed" to do. 

"Hills Like White Elephants" & "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"

When i first read the hills like white elephants i didn't know exactly what was going on. i just thought it was two people drinking and talking waiting for a train. i knew that there was some sort of disagreement going on but i didn't understand what they were arguing about. i couldn't figure out what the story was really about. what i found out later was that it was about abortion. this made thing clearer. i then read it again and i realized that they were deciding on if she was going to get an abortion. i still didn't see how the story was about an abortion but i could tell that the man had more say in what was going to happen. i could tell this when she said "Then ill do it because i don't care about me", i felt that she was saying that it doesn't matter what she thinks because he is going to get his way in the end. she also said "I don't feel any way" "I just know things" i felt like she was saying that it didn't matter what she wants. she also gave up during the story, i believe that she gave up because at this point in history the man had all the authority in the relationship. she said "I realize" "cant we maybe stop talking.

A Good man is hard to find

i thought that this was a good story. i think almost everyone can relate to taking a road trip. or have parents or loved one who are paranoid about something. in this case running into the misfit. many people would consider the chances of running into the misfit and then continue on their way but the grandmother tell them to cancel their trip because of the misfit. and ironically they run into him and he kill the whole family. I couldn't really find any underling meaning in the story. i just thought that it was interesting how her grandmother tried to find "a good man" through out the story and she search ends up getting her killed. i think the author is saying that almost everyone has some bad in them leaving them short of being "a good man". i thought that the grandmother was the good in the story until the misfit started to kill off her family, and she sat their only concerned about her own life. the misfit put it best. "She would of been a good woman, if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life." he was saying that she was trying to convince the misfit that she was a good person only to save her life and that she would have acted differently if she didn't feel her life was threatend.