A&P Reflection

I think that what makes this piece so powerful is the description of the girls as they walk into the supermarket. For example, the narrator notices even minor details—details that usually would be overlooked. In the beginning when the girls are walking into the supermarkets in their bikini’s, he notices the chunky girl with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit, at the top of the backs of her legs.” The narrator’s attraction is prevalent, and it is his description of the girls that portrays his attraction towards them. It is also his description of them, especially the example I just used, that makes me see him as a sleazy character. His use of the word ‘cans’ draws me to have this immediate opinion of him because it’s a bit of a slang word, which I view as disrespectful. This piece helped me come to the realization that the description of external characters is important but not only in building their character, but also the character who is describing them.

A & P

When I was reading A & P, the narrator is not portrayed directly but rather through the people and setting he describes.  While he was describing the girls, especially, Queenie, time seems to be moving very slowly.  It seems as though in this store, there's time to relax and think about things.  That's essentially what the narrator is doing.  He is also talking to the reader, more so in the beginning of the story.  

I think the turning point is on page 1495 when Lengel speaks for the first time.  This is the break where the narrator stops narrating and talking about the characters and the setting.  The story turns into more of a dialogue.  This general area seems like the climax of the story.  By the end of the story, everything comes crashing down.  

A&P Structure

One thing I found very interesting about this piece was it's format. It was one long narrow column of text. There were no indentations, only empty space between paragraphs. This had an interesting effect of the dialogue.

Throughout the piece the format prevents us from seeing too far ahead. We can't really gauge what will happen next because none of the standard cues are there for us. Even when characters first start talking, the tags used and the descriptions attached to them ensconce them in their own paragraphs.

This is not true, however, when Sammy quits.

Here there are no tags, and the sentences are short, not taking up more than one line of text. This gives them wait. It speeds up the pace of the dialogue from the slow march the block-text of the piece had maintained previously, reminding us, even after the narrator tells us that this is the "sad part" that we've reached the climax of the piece.

Dialogue in "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

      Flannery O'Connor's short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find" uses dialogue in an interesting way.   For much of the story, the grandmother will not stop talking.  Instead she chatters away as her son and his family ignore her.  The narrative, while giving her a voice, also ignores her with lines like, "If I could paint, I'd paint that picture" being followed by unrelated action: "The children exchanged comic books."  However, it is her voice that leads them to the Misfit.  Leading them to a plantation that is actually in Tennessee, she tricks her grandchildren into wanting to go.   This story has a lot of tension surrounding the grandmother because she is from an older, more racist and classist, generation, while at the same time she is a pitiable character being routinely ignored and belittled by her family.
        The conflict between dialogue and action also speaks to the power dynamic that is present once they meet the Misfit.  The murder of the rest of the characters is implicit, signaled only by the shots in the woods, while the grandmother attempts to convert the serial killer.  The pacing of her dialogue builds tension throughout the work, coming quicker and quicker towards the end, signaling the hysteria that she feels.  She is simultaneously ineffectual and deluded, working on referent power dynamics that are no longer important, such as telling him "I know you are a good man. You don't look a bit like you have common blood." This emphasis on his social class highlights the disconnect between the two characters: the grandmother things that if she tells the Misfit what kind of man  he is, he won't kill her family.  The Misfit does not care.

A&P

Updike's A&P captures perfectly almost every sensory detail through the eyes of the story's protagonist, Sam. While the actual plot is rather boring - three girls walking in to a grocery store, buy something, manager is rude, cashier quits - Updike is doing a lot under the surface. Throughout the entire piece it seems like the author is gradually building up Sam's frustration with his job. He's constantly watching other customers, indicating that he's bored. The constant references to the store's aisles symbolize that he feels constricted at this job, like the walls are closing in on him so to speak. Sam's description of the three girls is in such vivid detail, i.e.

"here was this chunky one, with the two-piece -- it was bright green and the seams on the bra were still sharp and her belly was still pretty pale so I guessed she just got it (the suit) -- there was this one, with one of those chubby berry-faces, the lips all bunched together under her nose, this one, and a tall one, with black hair that hadn't quite frizzed right, and one of these sunburns right across under the eyes, and a chin that was too long -- you know, the kind of girl other girls think is very "striking" and "attractive" but never quite makes it, as they very well know, which is why they like her so much --" 

Another interesting instance where Updike has great description is the cashier-typing moment. I think these types of tangents the narrator goes off on really give us some insight into the character and his own sort of insecurity with his current work situation. It's clear that when he quits he's doing it out morals and what he feels is right. This is implied when his manager tries to make him feel bad by saying quitting would upset his parents, but Sam doesn't care. While quitting your job at a grocery store isn't so noble at first, it is in this case because, through Updike's set up, we can assume that Sam always takes orders, and based on the prose, this quitting will be his first, and last, defiant moment at A&P, and I think this micro-achievement in the realm of the story is rather triumphant to writers. We can be an example in terms of plot escalation and building up towards that climactic moment of resolution. 

A&P_Updike Sammy character evolution

The evolution of character is extremely well paced and intriguing throughout the short story. When we first meet Sammy he is a young, semi immature individual who has a wandering eye for the opposite sex. Though he wishes he were above the objectification of the young women, his eyes follow them as much as everyone else’s. The climax of the story, Sammy quitting his job remains in a similar vain of Sammy’s immaturity, because he quits his job in the hopes that the young women will admire and appreciate him. He hides behind the veneer of chivalry to get the young women’s attention.  In the end Sammy is left with a slap across the face by reality, not only has he lost his chance of ever being appreciated or wanted by any of the girls, but he is now forced to face his life like an adult, and start anew.   

A&P, Updike

This piece was strong in the description of its characters and setting, which were both detailed and powerful. I found the story interesting because of the unexpected conflict that arises which takes the story in a completely different way. Through Updike's characterization of Sammy, I found him to be rash in the decisions he made. I felt it worked to both show characterization and push forward the conflict. Through the conflict Sammy was also portrayed as perhaps young because an adult would give the situation a thought before making major decisions. Sammy seems to have made his decision to impress the girls who by the end have left already. I think the ending is powerful becaues it leaves him to bear his consequences, like an adult in the real world.

Character Development in A&P

Emily Hughes

November 25, 2014

In his story A&P, John Updike condenses an entire adolescence of character development into a single very short and direct scene.  Unlike War and A Worn Path, in which conflict is driven by the setting, A&P uses differences in characterization to fuel the conflict and character development.  It is the childish rebellion of Queenie and her friends that drives Sammy's character to leave the A&P.  Sammy romanticizes their choice to shop in only bathing suits, mistaking their juvenile pride for a better reality.  The setting allows Sammy's attraction to these girls to escalate, allowing a climax of conflict when Sammy finally decides to quit his job.

While Sammy's sudden action does demonstrate character development, his departure from the A&P actually fits well within our perception of him as a character.  I think this is how Updike creates such a strong sense of familiarity within this bizarre scene.  Sammy's decision is certainly surprising, but, for me, this surprise arises more because of the inconsistency presented between Sammy's narration and his actions.  We are drawn to trust the narrator, but he gives us no suggestion that he might consider quitting his job.

However, the decision itself makes sense if we reflect on the carefully constructed depiction of Sammy.  There is something brash and immature about his departure that feels very consistent with Updike's characterization throughout A&P.  We receive this characterization almost immediately, when Sammy describes the old woman at the cash register as the girls first walk in.  Sammy's reaction to this woman's distress shows that he does not like conflict.  However, he is comfortable enough with his settings to rebel in his own thoughts, calling the customer a "witch" who would have been "burned over in Salem" had she been born much earlier.  We begin to feel that Sammy is dissatisfied with his work, but also that he can be easily influenced by his environment, a sort of growing frustration associated with adolescence.  When he at last decides to leave the A&P, we are surprised but certainly not shocked into disbelief.  Sammy's decision to leave the A&P is consistent with Updike's characterization, making this story authentic and believable.

"A&P"- John Updike

I liked “A&P” for John Updike’s use of description. This story is incredibly realistic. I could picture it perfectly. I’m not sure what to make of this story. On the one hand, I dislike Queenie because she’s the stereotypical popular girl, but on there other hand, I feel bad for her because she’s being objectified. I think in the end, though, I actually feel bad for Sammy because he quits because of Queenie. I think she was the catalyst for him quitting, but I feel like she was playing him. I really don’t know how to interpret this story. The way Updike uses description creates a complete picture. He uses unique phrasing that made me burrow further into the story. For example, on pg. 1495, when Sammy describes sliding down her voice into her living room. It’s such an unusual way to describe a voice, but it works so well. I think that’s why Updike’s writing is so great; he was able to use description in a way that’s so unique.

Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf

When I was younger, there was a particular tree at the park near my house that I would climb whenever I was scared or worried or stressed about things. From up in the branches of that willow tree, I could look over the pond below and enjoy some nature without really having to think about what was bothering me. The only downside, however, was people not expecting someone to be concealed behind the dangling limbs. I would hear the strangest snapshots of conversations from this vantage point, always wondering whether I should try to leave to give them privacy and thus most likely startle and alarm them, or if I should just stay put and let them remain ignorant of my imposition. Most often, I'll be honest, I stayed in the tree. It was always very interesting trying to piece together the context and meaning of the words I heard, to build a mental world around these characters I knew nothing about.

In many ways, this piece is very similar to my experiences in the tree, which is most likely one of the reasons I found it so enjoyable. While the focus is often on the snapshots of these groups passing by these particular flowers and the questing snail, the setting remains the center of the scene while the characters shift around it, the opposite of what is seen inmost stories. The reader is left to try to tease as much as they can from the dialogue they are given before the focus switches to the next subjects passing by. While the dialogue is often very specific, using specific names and experiences of the characters, it still leaves room for speculation and interpretation, leaving a great deal up to the imagination. Through its irregular and somewhat experimental style, it is able to capture the feeling of the variety of people in this garden, all with their own hopes and dreams and experiences, without having to go into great detail on anyone. In short, it is a fantastic example of the "show, don't tell" rule of writing that we all strive to accomplish in this course.

The Use of Force

I thought The Use of Force was a rather eerie piece. A part of the dark atmosphere, besides the topic of disease, is  how Williams use of no quotation marks in the dialogue makes the point of view of the doctor seem much more real, almost like a sort of stream of consciousness style of prose. It also makes it feel like the parents and their daughter are merely tokens in the doctor's eyes, a "Just another job" type of attitude. Williams' structure in this short story also ties in to the plot arc idea we touched on in our last class. He invents the setting in the beginning, followed by the conflict (sick daughter), the rising action (her struggle), and the climax (the doctor being forceful). His gradual escalation of the parents and doctor growing impatient was perfectly executed in my opinion. I thought Williams did a really great job of painting a portrait of the setting. The only thing I would critique is that the daughter's age is rather ambiguous, and I can't tell whether or not she's not talking because of her ailment, her age, or just her overall disregard for the doctor. Williams almost makes the daughter character seem feral to some extent, or at least that's how I read it. I think this story is a great mold that we can look on in terms of crafting a setting (the house), and how it's better to show, not tell, and to have characters move and have action, as opposed to just merely stating what's happening. The gradual rise to frustration with the daughter can also be looked at for writers  as a means of giving a conflict substance, and developing on that conflict to reach a climax.

War and the Five Stages

In reading this I was very pleased to notice how Pirandello handled the parents' discussion of their marked for death offspring. Rather than making it a large pity party as someone who might not have experienced or witnessed such a loss might, they created the argumentation that so often comes with grief, when you try to frame it in a way that is manageable. These parents do so by competing in a small war of their own over who's pain is worse off. What I find most interesting is that they begin bargaining.

Upon noticing this I went back and found that this short story's timeline follows the five stages of grief. It does not by any means bring one character full-circle, but brings the audience through the whole process by way of specific individuals.

We are first met with the mourning mother, who is ensconced within herself and does not speak, she is wrestling with the concept that her son is being sent off to war, and though she may not explicitly be denying this reality, her mannerisms are much of someone who has not yet accepted reality.

Next we are met with the other passengers as they yell at her husband for his tale of woe. They are anger. They flare up at him because he threatens the validity of their own loss, and soon this anger morphs into bargaining, as they discuss what is worse, to lose one son to war and have another, to lose and only son, or to lose all sons.

As the carriage comes to a consensus that all loss is awful they grown grim, a small moment in which we find depression. But this is cut short by the passenger who argues that none should cry. That the best way to die is in war, that he is proud of his son. This man represents acceptance.

However, the story is not as clear cut as this, as all the characters hold multiple facets. In the end the man who seems to accept his son's death, is seen growing closer and closer to tears, implying that he is in denial and only telling himself he has accepted things. In fact, when asked in outright terms if his son is dead, he bursts into tears as he truly realizes that his son is gone.

Setting and Language in Luigi Pirandello's "War"

Emily Hughes

November 18, 2014

In this short, emotionally condensed scene, Luigi Pirandello creates a painfully real illustration of war and its difficult impact on multiple generations.  Pirandello's writing style in "War" reminded me a lot of the extreme minimalistic syntax approach used by writers like Hemmingway and Marquez.  This straightforward, simple language allows the tension and conflict of this scene to be shown primarily through dialogue.

Furthermore, the use of such an enclosed setting helps the conflict escalate quickly and in a way that may not have occurred in other circumstances.  Luigi Pirandello places several very different characters into a confined and uncomfortable space.  Beginning with the husband's first speech -- "he felt it his duty to explain" -- conflict is ignited.  This conflict escalates through the story's conversation, exposing the range of emotional tensions that can surface within such an oppressive setting.

War- Pirandello

Reading this short story, setting is not the first thing that strikes me. We know they are in a carriage but that is all. I really enjoyed the dialogue between the characters. There was a clear rise in conflict when the fat travelers (the one who starts by saying "nonsense") begins to speak about his dead son. Along with the rise in conflict there is a sense of character development. All of the characters are each putting in their opinion based on how many sons they have, to see who has the right to be the most distraught. The woman seems to develop after the fat man ends his speech and she asks him if his son is really dead. It seems that the woman realizes that the fat man is speaking of his son as a duty to the country and just how satisfied his son was, which made him satisfied. But it seemed he never really thought of his son's death through the eyes of a father and that's what the woman brings out of him.

"War"- Luigi Pirandello

“War” by Luigi Pirandello was my favorite story this week. I liked it so much because it feels like the 1920s, but it’s also timeless. I also like the reversal at the end. That ending is what gives the story its point. It’s the reason this piece matters. The effectiveness of this scene comes from the emotion, which is created by the dialogue. The descriptions are just enough to give the reader a setting and an idea of what the characters look like, but the dialogue is more important. The dialogue sets the story in a certain time period, but because the descriptions of the characters who are speaking are so sparse, the reader is able to imagine that it could be English characters talking about their English sons or that it could be modern characters talking about their modern sons. The brilliance of this story comes with the idea of being happy, or at least at peace, for your son’s death because he died doing what he loved. By the end of the story, the fat traveller realizes that is a falsehood. The bottom falls out for him and the bottom falls out for the readers too. The last sentence gives a visceral image of grief that draws the reader in and allows them to grieve with the father.

The Use of Force Reflection

While reading ‘The Use of Force’ I wanted to take note of the characterization that develops throughout the prose piece. For example, the little girl is the main focus in the beginning, as the writer describes her appearance and the defensive body language she displays while interacting with the doctor (narrator). I took these details and viewed the little girl as a child who is just afraid of the doctor (like many of us were when we were younger) and persists to feel an aversion towards the doctor, despite her parents’ efforts to explain to her that the doctor is only looking out for her well-being. The doctor’s characterization, though, fully develops towards the end of the piece when he discusses the power he has in terms of the child’s health. His job as a doctor gives him this responsibility to heal this little girl, even if she wishes to keep her diagnosis a secret.

"War" by Pirandello

The struggle to rationalize leaving for war in this piece feels like an internal monologue despite being driven by the voices of various characters. The passengers in the carriage bounce back and forth between acknowledging and diminishing the pain felt by the husband and wife over the likely inevitable loss of their son. This dynamic felt similar to the kind of moral struggle where one is pulled between justifications of different kinds of logic that all bring compelling points in their favor.
In time, the conflict moves into the abstract through the voice of the fat red-faced traveler. The mother finds comfort in moving away from having to choose between the equally unsatisfying arguments of the other passengers to a narrative that seems to make pain disappear for her son. In the end however, the traveler's idealized view of war cannot confront the reality at hand.

War_Luigi Pirandello

Emotionally charged short stories can often times come off as cheeky, Luigi Pirandello writes an eloquent representation of human struggle and the all together harsh face of reality. Most generations in our modern world have been faced with the conflict of warring countries and many have had to go to the front lines to protect their homeland. Those of us who have not been touched by this often overlook the devastating effects of saying goodbye, possibly forever, to your own family. While it may be true that no ones "hard" is harder than anyone else's, it is almost impossible to put your pain into prospective. Pirandello transforms everyone's' struggle into one while crammed into one place where no one can hide. The conversational rhythm of the story made it easy to follow and the elegant word choice was descriptive and inventive in creating a scene. 

The Use of Force

Like "Popular Mechanics", "The Use of Force" also utilizes dialogue without quotation marks, which is something that stood out to me.  More so in the beginning, there is more focus on the dialogue.  The story then takes a turn, where the focus shifts to the main character and the child.

The setting is established and time seems to move slowly.  Moving along in the story, on page 1592, it seems as though here the story picks up its pace.  The first sentence in the last paragraph stopped time for a moment, signaling to the reader that this is the finale.  Ending the story with an incomplete sentence is effective.  

The Use of Force

        I really liked William Carlos Williams' short story "The Use of Force"!   His self-aware prose and retelling of his treatment of the little girl with diptheria was very realistic and his portrayal of the power that a doctor has, especially the in terms of license was really riveting.  His lack of quotation marks to signify when other characters were speaking allowed for the narrative to be centered completely, and obviously, in his control.   Since so much of his story is about acknowledging the use of force and the appeal of force, I thought this did a lot to allow the reader to trust him.
    Doctors are really interesting to me and I have really enjoyed hearing everyone's discussion of the other story that dealt with them, Hemingway's "Indian Camp".   By elucidating and being open about the attraction of power, even when it involves violence and a younger patient, "The Use of Force" made me think about how the agenda of characters can lead us to encounter characters that people may not like that much.  By taking the figure of "The Doctor" and then using text such as "But I have seen at least two children lying dead in bed of neglect in such cases...but the worst of it was that I too had got beyond reason.  I could have torn the child apart in my own fury and enjoyed it...In the final unreasoning assault I overpowered the child's neck and jaws" (1592), Williams is creating an interesting dilemma for the reader.  As a reader, which is more important? To have a character who is sympathetic or one who is realistic? Doctors have a professional obligation to heal, to protect people, and this specific doctor is exerting force (though he is enjoying it and is cognizant of that fact) so that he can eventually save her life.   I thought his sympathetic recognition of the girl's character and her desire to protect herself and his respect of that (along with his dismissal of her parents who are trying to persuade her to act a certain way due to a sense of social shame) was so wonderful when coupled when his own sense of power and the necessity of his duty.

This is a little jumbled so I hope it makes sense...