Popular Mechanics

"But he would not let go. He felt the baby slipping of of his hands and he pulled back very hard. In this manner, the issue was decided."

Alright, this was creepy and sad. But I did not really understand why we read it. I saw no significance. I know I say that quite a bit, but for this story, it is actually true. So I'm glad that we are going over this one in class. The part I did not like in this story was obviously the ending. I think it is an awful thought to think that two people would be so angry with one another that they tore their own baby apart... literally. I'm sure this is not the first time this has happened. Maybe people haven't actually ripped their baby apart, but I'm sure deaths of small infants have to do with parents who get into angry fights. I honestly don't really know what else to say on this story because I don't see any literary techniques except the lack of quotation marks in the dialogue.

You're Ugly, Too

"Evan had abandoned the moon mask and dolled herself up as a hausfrau, in curlers and an apron, a decision she now regretted." p. 363

Something that caught my eye in this short story was the costumes that some people were wearing. In some ways, I think they kind of symbolized particular things in their lives. For example, Evan was a housemaid and she was going to be married soon. I think that that could foreshadow possibly what she will be doing with her life. The man who was dressed as a naked lady stood out. He just got divorced and so he lacked having a woman in his life, so he compensated with the costume. The man who was a cross dresser might have really wanted to be a woman. (OK, that one is a weak one) Finally, Zoe went as a bone head. I think this describes her so well. First, she makes her costume as a joke. This is kind of how she has lived her whole life: as one giant joke. Second, the bone head symbolizes the kind of person she is. She doesn't really get things as well as others and is sort of dense. She does not understand social situations as well as most people do and is extremely awkward. So the bone head embodies who she is as a character.

The Drunkard

"'Twill be all over the road,' whimpered Father. 'Never again, never again, not if I live to be a thousand!' To this day I don't know whether he was forswearing me or the drink." p. 350

The biggest thing for me from this short story was the irony. The obvious irony was when the son got drunk. This whole time the father had been getting drunk while other people had to take care of him. However, this time around, the son stole the father's alcohol in hopes that he would not get drunk. Contrary to his (the son's) belief was that HE ended up getting drunk. This worked out in his favor though. The father saw a mirror image to what he was like when he is drunk and he was the one taking care of his son now. This turned his point of view around and eventually aided in him quitting the alcohol.

Another irony that someone in my small group mentioned was that maybe there was some sort of parallel between the funeral and the alcoholic tendencies. The mother was hinting at the father drinking himself to death. The irony comes to play when he was getting drunk at funerals. I thought that was kind of interesting and I'm not really sure if that's an actual irony of the story or not.

The Lottery

"The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green." p. 263

In this story, we were told to focus on its point of view. The point of view in this story was different than the other stories for the most part. It was third person objective point of view. The narrator had no personal attachment to the story and I think that sort of paralleled with the characters. Once they knew who was going to be stoned each year, they let their feelings and connections quickly diminish as their brutality and barbaric nature took place. Another thing about the narrator's importance was that they allowed the townspeople to tell the story. And since it did not focus on one character, a wider picture was given to show how widespread this tradition was to the townsfolk. While reading, there were not hints or anything really given to foreshadow the ending like most stories that involve a narrator being a character within the story. This was important and kind of gave a surprise ending.

Also, I thought it was kind of ironic how the lady stoned was late and almost did not show up. What if she hadn't been in attendance at this annual sacrifice?