Louise Erdrich “The Red Convertible”

This short story was not one of my favorites. It's a narrative by Lyman, who is a member of the Chippewa tribe. The story takes place in 1974. Lyman and his brother buy a red convertible and decide to drive around the world with no specific place in mind. They come across a hitchhiker who is heading to her home in Alaska. They all share some good times together before Henery, the older brother, Has to report for his military duties.

The main theme I got from this story was brotherhood. It's clear that both brothers have a close relationship with each other and there actions prove it. Before Henery left for the war he wanted to give Lyman the red convertible.

Since this story is from Lyman's point of view, why would he want to share this story? I think it's because he Cared for his brother. Maybe he wants to Perserve his brothers memory.

Charlottes web

This was one of my favorite movies growing up. I remember watching it in school a few times as well. This is a story of friendship between a pig and a spider. Charlotte, the spider, is very ill and can't hang on very long. Wilbur, the pig, wants to help charlotte but does not know how to save her so he decides to save her children. Wilbur makes a deal with a rat who is a friend of his, and they are able to bring charlottes babies back to the farm. The ending was my favorite part of this story because it gives me a peaceful feeling. How the author reflects on Wilbur's triumph, and mentions that Wilbur was "well taken care of" proves this.

Li-Young Lee “From Blossoms

This was a very short poem but I had trouble analyzing what the author was trying to say. By looking at the first stanza it seems like the author is buying peaches from a boy. The next stanza I got the idea that the author was eating the peaches because she say "peaches we devour, dusty skin and all". The third stanza I think the author is comparing summer to eating peaches. Im probably wrong on that one but what else could the peach stand for?

Donald Barthelme “The School”

This is the weirdest story I've ever read. Everything from parents to puppies to salamanders all died and I don't know why. The end of the story when the class ask the teacher to make love with Helen, I did not see that coming. But afterwards a gerbil walked in so maybe the idea is that showing love can create life. If someone undrstands this story please feel free to tell me.

“A Silver Dish” by Saul Bellow

The first thing I notice is that death seems to be his favorite subject weather it's The death of a father fighting old age or terriorist excuting prisoners. The author mentions that "the papers give it to you". He means all of the fighting and Murdurs that occur in the world are brought to you by newspaper and television. It usually becomes a Dinner conversation later. That is very true about today's society as well. I would even say that there is a bigger influence of death in the news today. I can't remember the last time I turned on the news or read a paper with no killing or hostile situations. Can anyone else remember?

Howl

This poem was very hard to understand. I noticed a lot of drug references and psychology. It purposes this in a negative way. The imagery is very dark in my opinion. I got the idea that mental illnesses were a big discussion topic. Electrotherapy was talked about specifically. The author is clearly against it but this topic is very interesting to me. The way this was written I think this Poem was meant for a select group of people and not the general public.

I do have questions, one being, what does "Moloch" mean? It is mentioned in the second section before every line.

Harrison after class

In class we talked about how much control should the government have. This writing made me think about what kind of rules the government has put in place to promote total equality. Is that even possiable? Do we want total equality? I think it is not possiable because everyone is different. I may be more athletic than some people but there is always someone else who is faster or stronger than me. The quote that we talked about "everyone makes the team" is a bad thing in my opinion. If everyone gets a metal for participating then what's the point of working hard to win. Treating everyone equal kills the desire to workhard and goes against what being an American is all about. America is suppose to be the land of oppertunity. In todays society they tell you if you work hard you will be successful and achieve your goals. But does the government really believe that? I don't think they do. Look at our educational system.