The lesson

3.) The relation ship between Sylvia and Sugar is that they are cousins. They live down the street together. They are B.F.F. The contrast between sugar and Sylvia and Sugar is Sylvia seems to be meaner than Sugar and not as smart. Sugar seems to be a little more caring and figured out why miss more took them to the toy store.

4.) She gave her a sorrowful look because Sylvia kept stepping on Sugars feet to make her stop answering Mrs. Moore's question. Life is not equal and that maybe they needed to go to school to learn so they can have a better job and make money. The effect of Sugar's definition of "an equal crack at the dough" on Miss Moore was that it made her happy because she under stood the lesson that she was trying to teach. The effect on Sylvia was that she was mad at Sugar because she new the answer she also decided to turn and walk away still having the money that Mrs. Moore had given her for the taxi.

the swimmer

In the story John Cheever shows the characters post World War II as being wealthy. It shows them having parties with caters and bartenders. He also shows most of the people having swimming pools. In a few parts it shows houses where people have moved and their houses for sale. The ending of the story seemed to confuse me but it gave me a feeling of someone coming home from war and the families are not there. This made me sad.

Everyday use

4.) The mothers refusal to let Dee have the quilts indicates a permanent change of character because she wanted Maggie to have them. She never did anything like it before because Maggie always let Dee have what she wanted. She told Ma that Dee could have the quilts but Ma decided that God wanted Maggie to have them. She dose this now because Grandma Dee and big Dee had taught Maggie how to quilt and that they would want Maggie to have these family items and also she knew this is what God wanted. The details in the story that prepare for and foreshadow the refusal are that Dee seemed to want a lot of the items that had been in the family for a while. Asking her mother if she could have this and if she could have that. When she got the quilts out of the trunk she seemed to think that they were already hers. She seemed to think that Maggie wouldn't take care of them. After the refusal of the quilts she seemed upset at her mother and Maggie and left, leaving Maggie smiling and not scared of Dee anymore.

Interpreter of Maladies

2.) How does the plot help to illuminate the differing cultural view points of Mr. Kapasi and of Mr. and Mrs. Das? Which cultural view point is presented with greater sympathy?

The difference of the cultural view points in the plot were that Mr. and Mrs. Days are typical Americans. They are dressed in brightly colored clothes and visors. The story makes you think that they come from a lot of money in the family. Mr. Kapasi seems like an older gentleman who is trying to earn a living working two jobs. He wore plane clothes made of synthetic material that he use to give tours. The view point that has greater sympathy would be Mr. Kapasi because he had to work two jobs to make enough money to feed his family. Mr. Kapasi's home life was not that great because his wife never spoke to him.

8.) What does the ending suggest about Mr. Kapasi's future? Has his encounter with the Das family created any permanent change in his out look on life or his view of himself? Is the ending happy or unhappy?

The ending suggest that Mr. Kapasi's future would include not getting any letters from Mrs.Days because the address on the paper slipped away. The story also makes me feel that he will go home to his family. After meeting the Das family, his outlook on life and view of himself has changed because of the information about Bobby not being Mr. Das son made him feel bad. He felt that Mrs. Das should tell him the truth about Bobby. I feel that he now seems better with his family life. It seems like a happy ending because the Das family is now back together again and Mrs. Das seems to be happy. And to me I feel Mr. Kapasi was glad that his address floated away.

The Destructors

1.) Who is the protagonist in the story--Trevor, Blackie, or the gang? Who or what is the antagonist? Identify the conflicts of the story.

The protagonist of this story would be Blackie because he was the leader of the gang. He also told everybody what to bring and what to do at the house. The antagonist of this story would be Trevor. He didn't want to do anything to the house because he thought it was a beautiful house. The conflicts of this story would be they wanted the house to fall down but they did not want to steel anything from it. Another is they found money in a mattress and did not want to steel it so they burned it. They didn't want to hurt Mr. Thomas so they locked him in the loo.

5.) Of what significance, if any, is the setting of this story in blitzed London? Does the story have anything to say about the consequences of war? About the causes of war?

The significance of the setting would be that it is telling you about parts of London and how it has been hit by bombs in the war. Also how the people are living in the underground stations do to the bombings. Yes the story does say about the consequences of the war because the gang hangs out at a broken car-port and how the bombs has smashed houses close by.

hunters in the snow

Jessica George
9/15/08
English
Hunters in the snow

3. Which is the most sympathetic of the three characters? The story deals, in part, with the power struggle among the characters. Which character is the most powerful? Do the balance of power and alliances between the characters shift as the story proceeds?
Tub would be the most sympathetic character because he took all the criticism from Kenny and Frank but he is still their friend. He also feels bad about shooting Kenny. The most powerful character would probably be Kenny before he got shot. He was the most powerful because he bossed Frank and Tub around and told them what to do and how to do it. He seemed not very nice to them most of the time. Yes the alliances changed because before Kenny got shot he was the most powerful then after he got shot Tub and Frank were just as powerful.

7. What is the purpose of the scene in which Frank and Tub stop at the tavern for food and coffee, leaving the wounded Kenny in the back of the truck? During their conversation, Frank analyzes his own character and expresses remorse. Are his insights and remorse genuine? Why or why not?
The purpose of the scene in which Frank and Tub stopped at the tavern for food and coffee was that they were cold. The truck had a broken window and it was snowing out. They couldn’t feel their fingers. Franks insights and remorse are genuine as he is sad, because he has to tell his wife that he loves somebody else and he is worried about the children. He states that she has been good to him for a lot of years. In the story it makes it sound like he is starting to cry.

8. The final plot twist comes in the last two sentences of the story. Here the narrator speaks directly to the reader, giving us information the characters don’t know. How is this an appropriate conclusion to the story? What final statement is being made about the characters?
It is an appropriate conclusion to the story because Frank and Tub seem to be doing the same thing Kenny would do. The narrator gave information that made you think that they weren’t going to take Kenny to the hospital. The narrator talks about the stars being in the direction of the hospital but they are going in the wrong direction. The final statement about the characters would be that they would all have done the same thing so they would not get caught by telling the doctors they shot their friend. I believe that Kenny will probably die due to the friends not going in the right direction.