swimming pools

When i was younger, I went to our country club pool with my dad.  The sun was shining on a warm summer day in Texas, and as our car pulled up to the pool, the excitement in me grew.  My dad opened the door for me as i hopped out and ran as fast as i could towards the entrance.  When we got inside, my dad and I found a great pair of chairs that happened to be poolside.  When I hopped into the pool, i made my way over to the basketball hoop that was attached to the side of the pool. My dad and I started playing pool basketball when i got out for a minute to get the ball.  With the ball in my hands, I ran and jumped right next to the basket so i could try to dunk the ball.  I slipped as i was jumping and i hit my mouth on the rim of the basket. When mouth hit the rim, it completely knocked the big tooth out of my mouth leaving me screaming and blood running down my mouth.

hidden ideas in well lighted places

In the end of A Clean, Well Lighted Place we begin to see that the old man does not just stay at the cafe drinking because he enjoys being a nuisance to the young waiter, but rather the old man spends his time in the cafe because he knows he has no one to go home to, so he would rather be at the cafe than be alone.  The young waiter sees the old man as a waste of space and this mentality is relative to the younger generations.  The old waiter realizes why the old man stays at the cafe and has an epiphany leading to the old waiter to sympathize with the old man. The old waiter and the old man stay in the shadows because they dont want to be seen because they feel like they arent worth anything to society.

Unacceptance

Paul’s Case, Barn Burning, and The Chrysanthemums all share a common theme of unacceptance, and the main character in each short story fights their own battle with society and trying to fit in.  Throughout the three short stories, each character either feels not accepted by society, the people around them, or even by themselves. In Paul’s Case, Paul fights an internal battle with his sexuality that prevents relationships from forming with other people.  Not only does Paul battle with himself, but he also fights the feeling of not being accepted by society because of his unusual personality.  In Barn Burning, Sorty Snopes has trouble being accepted by both his family and society when he has to decide if he wants to turn his parents in for their crimes.  If Sorty turns his family in, he will be more accepted in society, but if Sorty turns in his family, he will not be accepted by his family anymore. In The Chrysanthemums, Elisa does not fit in nor is she accepted by the society because of her outward appearance.  Because Elisa is not gorgeous, she feels like she does not have them same worth that a more attractive person has, so Elisa spends most of her time tending to her chrysanthemums. When Elisa quickly befriends a tinker, she is overjoyed because people usually do not take such an intrest in her.

https://steller.co/stories/362752037839963720

Paul's case

In Paul's Case, the main character, Paul, spends his life running from his problems in life.  Paul has a hard life and rarely sets himself up for success and often finds himself in bad situations.  Paul spends alot of his life running away from his depressive thoughts to try and be happier. When Paul runs into situations that are inopportune, he turns them into false realities and makes things seem more glamorous than they really are. Part of Paul's problem is that he appears to be in denial of how bad his life is, so he lies to make things seem better.

rebellion in the yellow wallpaper

The biggest act of rebellion in "The Yellow Wallpaper" is the narrator writing in her journal.  As a woman in that time, she was expected to stay home and do what her husband says.  In the story, the narrator's husband does not want the narrator to write or to work.  With the narrator already feeling nervous and anxious about being in a strange house, she feels those activities could help her.  The narrator starts keeping a journal. In her journal, the narrator becomes fixated with writing about the almost menacing yellow wallpaper in the master bedroom.

The Real Thing

The Narrator begins the story trying to find the perfect models to paint.  When he meets the Monarchs, he believes he has finally found "the real thing." The narrator begins to see that sometimes "the real thing" isn't as good as it was made out to be.  I think the biggest change we see in the narrator's outlook on life is that he begins to realize that everyone is not the person they want you to believe they are.  The narrator ends the story with a line that essentially means he is okay with not being paid for his artwork, because the experience he has just had is more valuable.

Mr. Poe,

After reading your new short story, The Black Cat, i find it very pessimistic and hard to understand why you find people to be born with inherent evil.  Your characters show that you believe people can be perfectly sane and still be bad people just because they were born evil. The narrator in your story becomes belligerent and violent when he drinks. He beats his wife and animals when he drinks, but not just because he is drunk, but also because he has the power and ability to do it.  In regards to the narrators cats, I feel that there may be a deeper meaning behind the cats, and that the cat possibly is a symbol for issues you see in today's society.  Any response or comments from you would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Nathaniel Hawthorne