HARDY/What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?

After reading this story by Hardy, I immediatly enjoyed it more than Laurence's experiences during World War II. Most of the time during war stories you hear from the soldiers and the people involved in combat. I liked how Hardy's experience is from the factory that was creating the air planes. From her oppinion she thought she was not doing anything wrong, Her imagrey and discriptions were really discripatave and i enjoyed reading this whole piece. It was not my favorite, because it had to do with war, but it was better than Laurence's piece.

LAURENCE/Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki Told by Flight Member...

After reading Laurence's work I would have to say that this piece is not in my favorites. I have no interest in topics revolving around war, so I felt no connection or sparks of intrigue as I read this. While he was able to use explicit details and take the reader step by step through the process prior to the bombing, I was still not thrilled with the overall work.
I think that there was lack of suspense for me and from the title it was clear what would happen. As a write Laurence has an exceptional way with words but otherwise there is nothing about this piece that stands out to me.

ANGELOU/Graduation

When the word graduation comes to my mind, I think of a happy time in one's life where the joys of finishing one aspect of life has been completed. Only leaving room for the challenges that lay ahead. It is an exciting time (or at least I thought so), where one is celebrated for their success. When I saw the title of Angelou's piece I expected she would have had a similar graduation experience to my own.
Her details leading up to the event were presented well, and her description of "nobility" in school seemed relatable to almost anyone. Everyone experiences the superiority that comes along with the title of upperclassmen. The story slowly set apart from my experiences in school when Angelou brought up the topic of segregation. The description of the school's appearance and facilities compared to the white school were a clear example of racism in the 1940's.
When her principal spoke to the student body predicting the future of the graduating class, I could feel Angelou's disappointment and frustration because of his ignorant views. I like how the valedictorian changes the story and adds a positive element towards the end. When Henry says,

"We have come over a way that with tears
have been watered,
we have come, treading our path through
the blood of the slaughtered"

This line follows with Mya Angelou saying, "With echoes of the song shivered in the air, Henry Reed bowed his head, said, "Thank you," and returned to his place in line. The tears slipped down many faces were not wiped away in shame. We were on top again. As always, again. We survived. The depths had been iccy and dark, but now a bright sun spoke to our souls. I was no longer simply a member of the proud graduating class of 1940; I was a proud memeber of the wonderful, beautiful Negro race."
I really liek when she says this because it made a great closing.

ORWELL/Shooting and Elephant

After reading Orwell's story I have mixed emotions about whether I liked it or not. While it had great imagery and figurative language, the actions of the main character really upset me. As the narrator struggled with determining the fate of the elephant, I was really hoping for the elephant to live. It seemed clear to me that the right thing to do was to wait for the owner to come back to tame the elephant, rather then shooting it for the entertainment of the people. The main character already held authority over the people in the town, so i do not see why he needed to go forth with shooting the elephant.

The details pertaining to the poor animals death were sad and upsetting. It left me feeling disgusted that the writer had "done it solely to avoid looking a fool" , rather than stick to his gut feeling of "I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill a large animal)".

This story frustrated me because the narrator acted selfishly and killed an innocent being. After the shooting he only received minutes of fame since the Burmans were more concerned about gathering items from the dead elephants body then what the white man had done.

The gruesome detail Orwell used to describe the elephant's last moments made me a little sick. I do not know how any one could possibly live with themselves after doing such an immoral thing. I am not sure if it is the fact that the elephant had to die slowly or the main characters stupidity; but both factor into me disliking the outcome of the stories events.

WALKER/Beauty

Alice Walker's short story "Beauty", captivated my attention from start to finish. Her ability to use such detail and imagery, allowed me to paint a picture of what was going on in my head. When she described her "accident" and the condition it left her in, I was surprised she still had self confidence. Walker handled her difference in a complete opposite way of Lucy Grealy. The fact that Walker was able to keep her self respect and stand up for her self made me want to keep reading. She was a fighter and it takes a lot of courage to keep your head up high when you are the odd one out.

When the doctor was finally able to remove the white fluid from her eye Walker's attitude takes a turn for the better and the story completely won me over when she stated the following:

"Almost immediately I become a different person from the girl who does not raise her head. Or so I think. Now that I've raised my head I win the boyfriend of my dreams. Now that I have raised my head class work comes from my lips faultlessly as Easter speeches did, and I leave high school as valedictorian, most popular student, and queen, hardly believing my luck."

She only goes on to prove that your life is what you make it. Walker's closing was really good as well. I liked how she came eye to eye with what happened and was able to accept it when she said, "Yes, indeed, I realized, looking into the mirror. There was a world in my eye. And I saw that it was possible to love it: that in fact, for all it had taught me of shame and anger and inner vision, I did love it."

GREALY/Mirrors

After reading about Lucy's brutal years of torment and hatrid due to her facial deformities it only shows that people are close minded and have no space to accept people that are different. I did not find this read intriguing, because it was very predictable. After a year of not looking at her reflection, I do not see why Lucy would expect anything other than not recognizing herself. If she had only watched herself gradually change then it would have enabled her to observe the transformation.
I was dissapointed that after all her negative experience she did not make a break through into a positive mind set. Growing up her parents and all of her doctors told her she was a "Brave Girl" and her life could be a lot different if she let herself believe that.
From her description of Chemo therapy, I understand that it must be very hard to go through, and you have to be strong to get through it; but if she could get through that, then I feel she should have been strong enough to get through anything else.

I have never blogged before in my life...

so hi