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Date: 27/09/2019

Entry 2

Reading: the story of an hour by Kate Chopin

The story of an hour is a short story about a woman who finds peace, joy, and liberation from the death of her husband. She is portrayed as a selfish monster who does not find the news of the death of her husband sad since she is barely remorseful. Later on, she finds out that the news on her husband’s death was false, and she has to die when she sees her husband alive. Instead of mourning like any other normal woman in such a situation, the heroine of the story appears to be free and happy. The story shines the light on the struggles women go through in their marriage life. Mrs. Mallard could not wait to be free, and that is why she is portrayed as liberated when her husband is allegedly reported dead. From her reaction, it is clear that married women feel trapped in marriages and are less happy as compared to men.

Entry 3

Reading: black men and public space by Brent Staples

Black men and public space is a short essay Staples wrote addressing his own experiences on how he is stereotyped for being an African American and his intimidations in the public space. He is treated unfairly and is often discriminated against due to his skin complexion, which forces him to change himself. Apart from changing his appearance and the way he walks to avoid frightening others, he dresses in a sophisticated manner to fit in the society’s accepted codes. He also tries to whistle tunes from classical music which he intends to lift and lighten up his mood and thus make him appear friendly in the eyes of others. The story brings out the aspect of discrimination along cultural and racial lines. Staples was stereotyped as unfriendly and may be harmful due to the color of his skin, and he slowly gets the acceptance when he changes his appearance and personality.

Entry 4

Reading: the lesson by Toni Cade Bambara

The lesson is a short story about the trip, which was initiated by a well-educated woman in the entire neighborhood to expose the children to the outside world. She intends to show the children that there is more to life than the poverty and the oppression there are used to in their black neighborhood. They toured a toy store in Manhattan where economic inequalities and social injustice are demonstrated through the prices of the toys in the store. All the children can barely afford them, but some still choose to spend their last money on them. The narrator in the story is determined to show how the marginalized communities lived in darkness and are entirely clueless about the outside world. It is true since from the narrative; it is clear that Miss Moore made the trip happen which in turn means that she is responsible for the exposure of the children to the outside world free from poverty, unlike their oppression community.

Entry 5

Reading: a very older man with enormous wings by Gabriel García Márquez

A very older man with enormous wings is a short story on magic realism. It is about a character that appears in the backyard on a stormy night and the reactions of the family, the town, and even the visitors from outside the town. The older man with wings speaks a different dialect, and their neighbor believes that he is an angel. The news spread all over the town, and people come to see him at an expense which enables Pelayo and Elisanda to make a fortune. A new carnival, however, arrives in town and the attention shifts. Later the angel flies away after being ill. From the story, various people had an opinion about the older man with wings. Some thought of him as an angel while others, such as the priest disagreed with that bit and maintained that he was not an angel. The opinions mirrors on their ideals of religion on top of how they treated the angel.

Entry 6

Reading: the jewelry by Guy De Maupassant

The jewelry is a short story about a man who kept looking for the perfect woman to marry. After his wife passed away, he realized that her jewelry was real when he always thought it was counterfeit. This makes him conclude that his wife had another lover. His sorrow is quickly wiped away by the fortune he made from selling the jewelry. Moving on, he meets another woman whom he perceives as quite different from his first wife. The second woman is, however hot-tempered, and she makes him unhappy too. He gets a second deception of trusting nonvirtuous women on top of the first one which was entirely on infidelity in marriage. The story teaches us about observing the situation and making decisions. The Lantins told themselves lies which unfolded out when Mrs. Lantin passed away. Sometimes the things we stress about are just in front of our eyes just that we blind to notice them.

Entry 7

Reading: the birth-mark by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The birth-mark is a short story about the obsession with human perfection. Hawthorne writes about a scientist and a philosopher who gives up his career to marry a beautiful woman, Georgina, who is all perfect except that she has a small red birthmark in the shape of a hand on her cheek. Aylmer is so obsessed with the birth which continues to haunt him in his sleep and Georgina agrees to have it removed to stop the trauma it caused her husband. Aylmer works on removing the birthmark, and his wife trusts him after a few instances of mistrust. The plan works, and the birthmark slowly reduces, and soon the birthmark will fade away completely. However, it fades away with Georgina who dies with her birthmark. The birthmark in the story represents the flaws of the human race. Aylmer emerges as a failure who murders his wife instead of perfecting her. It mirrors the liability of women to sin, distress, and death.

Entry 8

Reading: a worn path by Eudora Welty

A worn path is a short story about an older woman of African America descent who sets on a journey through a thick lonely forest to get medicine for her sick grandson in the city. Phoenix encounters several challenges throughout her journey including thorny bushes, a large dog, barbed wire, etc. she does not give up, and she makes through to the city where she meets the nurse and explains her grandson’s condition. She persists and goes back whenever to save his grandson, which a gesture of her unconditional love for the child. The story highlights the unconditional love for others, Phoenix in the story is an older woman who can barely take care of herself but unselfishly chooses to take care of her grandson involving traveling through dangerous rural paths to the city to get him the medication he needs. She is willing to set aside her other problems to help out.