Popular Mechanics-Raymond Carver

Carver's title choice "Popular Mechanics" create irony when considering the situation of the short story.  The title suggests there is a popular method of doing something.  Here, the "something" is arguing.  The most common method of arguing, primarily among children, is to claim something as their own and continue in a game of literal or figuartive tug of war until someone surrenders.  The fact that here the couple is utilizing the literal form of tug of war hints at their immature behavioral traits.  The object which they are arguing over--a baby--only strengthens this case.

"In the near-dark he worked on her fisted fingers with one hand and with the other hand he gripped the screaming baby up under an arm near the shoulder" (Carver).

Carver is critical of society.  With the story, he presents a common predicament in the modern world: the deterioration of a marriage and a subsequent custody battle.  These types of problems were not prominent a thousand, five hundred, or even one hundred years ago.  Still, society is trying to solve these problems in a primitive manner that is inadequate.  As an issue matures, so must the method for resolving it 

"You're Ugly, Too"-Lorrie Moore

There is something seriously psychologicall wrong with Zoe Hendricks.  With the repetitive allusions to "Heidi", it appears that she may suffer from multiple personalit disorder.  The point of view from which the story is told helps promote the ideology that Zoe is mentally unbalanced.  This story would not serve well in first person because an author needs a relatively stable, medium character to communicate through.  Zoe is in no way this medium character.  Her actions, words, and choices are awkward and strange; her mind often strays.  If written in first person, a reader could not connect with Zoe because what the average person would say or do if he were in her place would not compare to what she actually does.  The third person perspective helps present Zoe as a character who does not lie and speaks her mind at all times.  On some level, Zoe's acions reflect what the reader would do if there were no regard for societal norms.

  "'Maybe I sound whiny to you,' said the girl, 'but I simply want my history major to mean something.' 

 'Well, there's your problem,' said Zoe, and with a smile, she showed the student to the door" (Moore, 355)

Seldomly does the average person say what they are actually thinking or feeling, especially if it could be perceived as rude.  Throughout the story, I imagined the character of Zoe operating off of a Dr. Seuss quote: "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."  Zoe's speech and thoughts contribute to a dark tone of the story.  This nature presents itself fully in the final scene with Earl when she "pretends" she is going to throw him off the side of the building.  The darkness of her character separates the reader and Zoe; as the story progresses, the reader becomes less sympathetic toward Zoe.

Lonely Hearts

"Can someone make my simple wish come true? Is it you?" (Cope, 973). 

     The villanelle form in which Wendy Cope chose to write "Lonely Hearts" helps create a lonely and empty tone.  Additionally, the questions asked at the end of each tercet suggest the search for the person is ongoing.  The search for "the one" has resulted in failure various times for these people.  The villanelle form allowed Cope to construct the poem in a way so that it appeared like advertisements in a newspaper.  There is something ironic in the fact that these people are looking for the one but the one has to meet certain requirements.  The ironic aspect of this is that nearly every story ever told about love or friendship gets its happy ending when one person stops forcing others to meet their requirements and starts working on bettering themselves and making themselves more worthy of a great love.  This creates this sense that these requests/desperations will result in failure which puts the reader in a melancholy state knowing these wishes will most likely not be fulfilled.  At first, I wondered whether or not the location of North London held much significance.  The connection it appears is the common association of London with rain and rain with loneliness.

Bright Star

    When I first read John Keats' "Bright Star", I initially making a connection between the stars and love.  As I read it again, it seems as if he is comparing and contrasting the way the world is viewed.  There is great beauty to be seen from a distance, like a star would.  From above, the world would appear more calm and quaint than it actually is.  "And watching, with eternal lids apart, Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite, The moving waters at their priestlike task Of pure ablution round earth's human shores," (Keats, 792).  Though Keats creates such a serene image with this language, he also proclaims the beauty that can experienced on earth as well; this beauty is not strictly visual either.  The stability and serenity the perspective of a star offers is tempting, yet it is both unobtainable and unfulfilled.  In this poem, Keats, in a way, asks the question of whether people prefer to consistently see beauty and perfection or experience life in a more active, realistic role that is somehow much more fulfilling.

     This particular poem reminded me of a song I heard a long time ago on a t.v. show.  It takes the same message Keats sends by contrasting perfect beauty with reality.

Eveline

     James Joyce's character of Eveline has extremely clouded judgement.  Her childhood was obviously rocky; therefore, she does not have a clear grasp on her own self-worth.  When she is offered the chance to escape, it seems a simple decision to make.  However, this decision is clouded by the way she has chosen to look back on her life in her moment of nostalgia.  With full knowledge of her father's abuse, she chooses to remember the good despite the severity of the bad things that have happened to her.  As she recalls the memories of her childhood, she implies a desire to be back in the place which has a significant effect on her decision to not join Frank.  However, the life she had as a child cannot be restored.  Her mother has passed, and her brother has moved away.  The life she longs for no longer exists; she is negligent of the passing of time and how drastically her life has changed since childhood.  "Home!  She looked around the room, reviewing all tis familiar objects which she had dusted once a week for so many years, wondering where on earth all the dust came from" (James Joyce, 218).  The only thing that has remained stable throughout this time has been her father.  Her life seems based upon stability in that she recalls components of childhood play like clock-work.   On some level, Eveline must find some comfort in this stability which fuels her reason for not joining Frank on the ship.

How I Met My Husband

      Alice Munro juxtaposes the characters of Alice Kelling and Edie in multiple ways in her short story.  The reader sees their different appearances as it is presented to them through the eyes of Edie.  Edie claims there is a lack of youth in her appearance which Edie clearly must have considering her age.  Differences between the two characters can also be seen through their relationships with Chris Watters.  In her own mind, Edie feels she has a better insight into who Chris is and what he feels; this was highlighted by the fact that Chris Watters character is mainly referred to only by his first name (in Edie's speech and thoughts) while the rest of the characters are referred to by either solely last names or their full name (i.e. The character of Alice is referred to as Alice Kelling throughout the entirety of the short story.).  In the story's concluding paragraphs, Edie makes the contrast between Alice and herself evident.  "If there were women all through life waiting, and women busy and not waiting, I knew which I had to be.  Even though there might be things the second kind of women have to pass up and never know about, it still is better" (Munro, 146).  Alice Kelling has spent a considerable amount of time waiting for Chris to at least make a decision about their relationship.  She follows him to figure out whether he actually intends to marry her or if he will finally break it off with her.  She is the type of woman who waits.  Edie decides she cannot be this person and moves on with her life by marrying the mailman.

Mary Shelley-"Frankenstein" Part 2.

The Ultimate Cliffhanger. 

"I was at first touched by the expression of his misery; yet, when I called to mind what Frankenstein had said of his powers of eloquence and persuasion, and when I again cast my eyes on the lifeless form of my friend, indignation was rekindled within me" (Shelley, 164).

The conclusion to Shelley's "Frankenstein" may or may not be a cliffhanger due to how the reader perceived Victor and the creature throughout the story.  The creature claims he is going to go to the North Pole to commit suicide after he has been reassured of the death of his creator.  This causes me to doubt whether or not he will actually do it.  The creature claims he was suffering significantly more than Victor; therefore,  I do not see why he would need to see Victor dead before himself.  I do not see what Victor's death accomplishes for the creature.  Additionally, the scene in which the creature kills Elizabeth causes me to question whether or not he actually goes to die in the end.  When Victor looks up and sees the creature out the window, the creature is grinning and points to the lifeless body of Elizabeth.  This made me believe that the creature had lost any sense of humanity that he had managed to gain from the DeLacey family.  Based on this evidence, whether or not the creature dies in the end can be called into question.