Short Stories

So far all of the short stories we have read for class have been dark and depressing. I don’t feel that literary fiction is often lighthearted or cheerful because the human condition isn’t bright. Often time people can look at a situation and think of the negative aspects rather than the positive because there are few completely optimistic people in a world full of hatred and anger. Naturally, a person will be selfish if it means that they can advance themselves in society and satisfy their personal desires rather than considering their peers. There is so much that can be said about human nature and almost every point that an author wishes to make on the subject could be written in gloomy manner. Society isn’t on the right track where it currently stands and it will never get there. There are too many people with no morals and even those with morals aren’t perfect and fall under the temptation to lie or take advantage of others. There will always be fighting between groups of people because not everyone sees eye to eye. There will always be rape and war and hate crimes because there will always be people that do what they want, when they want, and to who they want. There is almost nothing good that can be said about human nature in general and I feel that the authors we have read so far have done a skillful job of getting across their ideas through their dark stories. 

Hills Like White Elephants

When I'm reading I prefer to be told the thoughts of the characters rather than their conversations. Conversations can be misinterpreted in any situation including in person and over text. "Hills Like White Elephants" wasn't enjoyable in my opinion because I had to decide for myself what they were talking about. When I first read the story I thought the man was one of those people that had taken their religion to an extreme and conviced a group of followers that he had spoken to God himself and that they should all follow him or be sent to Hell. In all the Criminal Minds episodes I've seen where this type of religion was addressed, the guy had multiple young wives. I thought that Jig was one of these wives that he had gotten pregnant on accident. My idea of the topic of their conversaion was a tad extreme. Usually I have no idea what the story is about until we start discussing it during class, but this time I went overboard and completely missed the mark. I was so shocked that the couple was talking about an abortion that I went around talking about it all day. It was so interesting to look back and find the details that led to this conclusion.

How Far She Went

I think that the most interesting character/figure in "How Far She Went" is the dog. When the grandmother left for the cemetery she told the dog to stay and it disobeyed, hopping in the back of the truck, barking until he is let in to the main cab. After they reached their destination the dog whined at her hem, but when she picked him up he wriggled and whined, trying to break free from her, "restless as a child." I thought it was interesting that the dog was compared to a child and was described in the same way as the granddaughter. I'm not sure if it's significant, but the dog was ignored when the grandmother took off to go after the motorcyclists and her granddaughter. This seemed to be the beginning of the grandmother choosing her granddaughter over the dog. The pattern continued when she killed the dog to stop his barking. After the grandmother and granddaughter came out from underneath the dock the grandmother rocked the dog like a baby, or a dead child. I think the dog was a symbol of the grandmother's dead daughter, Sylvie. By killing the dog she finally came to peace with the lack of a relationship she had with her daughter and began a new relationship with her granddaughter.

Interpreter of Maladies

I just got done reading the short story for tonight, "Interpreter of Maladies.” When I first started reading I noticed that the dynamics of the family were a little off, with the husband stuck in a book and the wife shutting herself off completely from her spouse and children. When she finally expressed interest in Mr. Kapasi and his stories about interpreting for a doctor I thought she was actually interested in him, not the stories themselves. I assumed the same thing that Mr. Kapasi did: that they would have some kind of romantic relationship. It was obvious she wasn't happy in her marriage and he felt the same way in his own. I think I was still reading the story as I would a commercial piece of literature, assuming there would be a romantic relationship. It's hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that I won't have answers after reading sometimes and I'll have to think for myself. I have to get used to looking for a deeper meaning and understanding what it is the author wants to get across to the readers. I don't know why Mrs. Das shared her deepest secret with Mr. Kapasi. He was an interpreter, not a therapist that she could go to to work out any deeper issues she may have. It doesn't seem like a coincidence that Bobby was part of her secret and also the child that was attacked thanks to her crumbs. Now that I think back to the location of this series of events, it was kind of mysterious. Maybe a spirit had been listening in on the conversation between Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi? That's probably more of a commercial literature explanation. I'll have to work on getting more into the story.