I'm Back With Short Stories!

Hello! This blog had become a thing that made me resentful to do. I hate imperfection and once I started missing weeks upon weeks of posting I got annoyed at myself, but (whether anyone is reading this or not) I care about this blog. While it may have been, years since I last posted, I really want to keep it up! I have read a ton of books since I last posted for fun, for school, and for mental health. Here is a list of books that you can be looking forward to reading about in the weeks coming up: Jacob Have I Loved, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Remarkably Bright Creatures, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Midnight Library, Twilight, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Little Women, and so many more! To be honest, I have really hit a book goldmine and am enjoying reading so much right now! I am in love with all of Taylor Jenkins Reid's work, and I'm currently reading Atmosphere. Right now, I just want to post a quick collection of short story summaries and reviews that I have read with my class this year. This is a rather long post, so please try to bear with me!

All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury:

Rating: 7/10

"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury is a story that outlines the idea of bullying's impact on students and mental well-being. Throughout the story, a class bullies a young girl named Margot for being unique and different. I would rate it a seven out of ten. Honestly, I wish that there had been a slightly better ending and more closure. It sort of felt as if the story just needed to end, but other than that I loved the idea of the story and the theme that Bradbury uses in his stories. I believe that this is an important message to share with others for anti-bullying purposes, which make the story well worth it

The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell:

Rating: 10/10

I absolutely loved this short story. Bradbury's imagery, symbolism, and connotations were out of this world! His writing skills were truly showcased in the story. In addition, I always love the dystopian genre in general. In contrast to "The Most Dangerous Game," I felt like this story had amazing character development as well as setting development. The symbolism surrounding the plot of insanely beautiful and eloquent. Out of the past three stories that we have read, this is most definitely my favorite yet! "The Pedestrian" has a unique, dystopian setting that is along a dark empty street, next to lonely houses. Many of the darker and more eerie elements of this short story come from the setting. Bradbury compares cottages to graveyards by saying, "... he would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows, and it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard," on the first page, paragraph two.  This depressing comparison sets up the tone for the entirety of the short story. This tone is desolate, eerie, and somber. Part of this setting is explained when the author notes that everyone is disassociating from other people by watching television. The fact that computers have taken over their jobs, while television sets are taking over their minds can show the reader just how desperate the situation had gotten. The main character, Leonard Mead, thinks that these people are practically lost from life and describes them more a set piece than a character.

The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury:

Rating: 10/10

I absolutely loved this short story. Bradbury's imagery, symbolism, and connotations were out of this world! His writing skills were truly showcased in the story. In addition, I always love the dystopian genre in general. In contrast to "The Most Dangerous

Game," I felt like this story had amazing character development as well as setting development. The symbolism surrounding the plot of insanely beautiful and eloquent. Out of the past three stories that we have read, this is most definitely my favorite yet!

Writing Prompt: How does the story's setting (the dark, empty streets and lonely houses) help show us the main ideas about technology? 

"The Pedestrian" has a unique, dystopian setting that is along a dark empty street, next to lonely houses. Many of the darker and more eerie elements of this short story come from the setting. Bradbury compares cottages to graveyards by saying, "... he would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows, and it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard," on the first page, paragraph two.  This depressing comparison sets up the tone for the entirety of the short story. This tone is desolate, eerie, and somber. Part of this setting is explained when the author notes that everyone is disassociating from other people by watching television. The fact that computers have taken over their jobs, while television sets are taking over their minds can show the reader just how desperate the situation had gotten. The main character, Leonard Mead, thinks that these people are practically lost from life and describes them more a a set piece than a character.

The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs:

Rating: 7/10

I really liked this story, but definitely not as much as I loved "The Pedestrian." I felt like Jacobs did a really good job at building suspense and choosing precise wording. For example, he repeatedly uses the number three in his writing (three sections, three family members, third drink, three men, three wishes, three pauses at the gate, three knocks, etc.).  This is a perfect example of how W. W. Jacobs uses very subtle but important clues in his writing to make the reader on edge and hyper-aware that something bad is about to occur. When I was discussing this story with my shoulder partner, we decided that the main character could have quite possibly gone mad out of greed throughout the story. Ultimately, I really enjoyed this story but there were just a few things that made me not appreciate it as much. First of all, I wish there was a bit more of an ending where we could see the wife's reaction and the husband's thoughts. Secondly, I wish there was a bit more elaboration on Mr. White's reaction to the loss of his son. There were a few minor references to his reaction, all of which were positive. I just wish that this vital part of the story that showed him truly going insane, was showcased a tad bit more. Other than that, I do think this story was excellent!

In the passage, "The Monkey's Paw," we learn to be careful what we wish for. The author, W. W. Jacobs, is able to connect this theme with the story by making a single wish lead to disastrous downfalls. Mr. White, the main character, wishes for 200 pounds. He does not specify the means by which he wants it. Initially, this is not a red flag to the reader because it sounds like a reasonable wish. As the story progresses he recieves this sum of money, but it is in the form of compensation for the death of his son. This tragic event seemed to not even affect his mental state. It shows that, not only, was the wish dangerous because he lost his son, but he also lost his sanity. He started to prioritize wealth and greed over simple pleasures of life. If he hadn't of gotten his dream wish, he wouldn't have lost his son and he wouldn't have become greedy. Many other cautionary tales have similar themes and plot lines, but W. W. Jacobs was able to present his story well enough that the reader was on the edge of their seat the entire time!

Thank you so much for reading! In conclusion, I genuinely believe these are all incredible pieces of literature and agree with my teacher for exposing us to these authors. While I wasn't the biggest fan of some of them, I certainly loved reading them in class and reflecting on them. These summaries were also part of a classwork assignment where I had to create a Google Site to summarize them, so I'll leave the link right here. Remember to read! Thank you!