The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara

This is an eye opening account of the social conditions and the class difference so evident in every major city in the United States. The kids were taken for the ride of their lives when Ms. Moore decided to take them to the famous toy store FAO Shwartz. The was like a new world for the kids they have never seen such expensive toys in their lives. One kid even make the observation that one perticular toy was more expensive than they all spend on food in a year.
This is the tragedy of our time when one part of the city is the richest in the world and few block from it people are living in utter poverty. Ms. Moore was the kind of bright shining light in the lives of those kids who tries to open their eyes to the class difference in the hope that one day they might learn something to bring them out of their condition.
The transformation of the main character "Sylvia" is stark. She was a very confident, doesn't give a damn kind of a kid before she come face to face with the reality. The reality of how there is so much class difference around her.Once she was put on the spot she lost her confidence and got intimidatd by the shere seriousness of the situation.

Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

This is a very short story about two people. they are arguing about the abortion. the girl wants to have the child, she is looking forward to the bright future and a life with her boyfriend and the baby. She feels that she could have everything if she wants. the boyfriend on the other hand is not ready for commitment. He wants her to abort the baby and enjoy life traveling around the world.
The story doesn't have a structured plot or storyline. it consists of just dialogue between two main characters.. I think it is the age old story of modern times where mostly girls want to have a normal life in suburb with a nice house , a car and a living family where as the men mostly wants to over extend their youth as far as possible without having any real responsibilities or ties that could restrict their movements.
In the story, Hemingway has used the imagery to convey the different sides of the argument. one side of the station is full of life with trees river and such things, the other side is dusty and bleak. the two sides represent the feeling the girl is having about her life.

A & P by John Updike

The story is about the life in a small town America. The highlight of the day for 19 year old Sammy was 3 girls walking into the store half naked. He did something stupid to impress them but realized very soon that he had made a mistake. But who can blame him for doing what he did, I know I cant I have made my share of stupid mistakes to impress girls when i was that age.
On a more somber note this story can be seen as a cautionary tale about making the right choices. Sammy realized that in the moment of heat he had done something stupid but merely the fact that he realized his mistake hinted that he might do ok afterwards.
The story is also a commentary on the sheepish nature of subarban America and how people in suburbia are totally immersed in their bubble.

Everyday Use By Alice Walker

This story is about the interaction of a mother and her two daughters inwhich she came to realise the true worth of her daughter who she had been neglecting up to this point. on a larger scale it is about the clash of two different point of views in the dialouge among the African Americans about their heritage. the story was written at the time when more and more African American were drawn towards their African roots in the defiance of their so called "white masters' culture."
In the story the narrator who is the mother of two daughters travels a long journey in order to find her daughter who was up to this point was seen as someone worthless. The older daughter Dee was always given special treatment which made her confident and bold and opened her to the new culture of rebellion while Maggie was unable to overcome her shyness and remained quite and subversive.

A worn Path by Eudora Welty

I am confused which story we are suppose to read because the story that i have read has nothing to do with a trip to newyork and to FAO schwartz. can somebody haep me. I found the sotry on this Link. http://www.moonstar.com/~acpjr/Blackboard/Common/Stories/WornPath.html

The Good Man Is Hard to Find

This is a very interesting story about the true nature of good and evil. It asks us questions about the perception we have about good and evil. Flannery' O Connor has raised some good questions about the way we percieve someone like a grandmother to be always good and someone like misfit as always evil. The story made us question stereotypes. Grandmother was obviously a very self centered woman. After reading on of the blogs from a fellow student I am thinking if O Connor was commenting on the christian practice of asking for forgiveness at the death bed.
I am also wondering why Quinten Tarentino hasnt decided to adopt it yet for one of is ultra violent action movies.

The Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka

This story is clearly bemoaning the lack of respect faced by many forms of art in the fast changing world. The hunger artist was very sad and angry at the fact that people misunderstood his art. They often accuse him of cheating. Sometimes people who were suppose to post gaurd on him provide instances where he can eat without anyone looking, what they seemed unable to realize was that he was not trying to find ways to eat but he take pride in his abbilities and his stamina for staying hungry for so long. It was an art for him and he could not dare cheat his art form.
This is very common these days when many skilled artist feel there art is not taken seriously by the people and they feel neglected. the fast changing world is making many art forms obsolete and with it many artists starving for the praise they so much struggle for.

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne

This story is very symbolic. Everything that happens in the story with the protagonist Young Goodman Brown is real or a dream, we dont know. The journey through the jungle can be the journey through life how a person faces the temptations of life. The name of the wife "Faith" is also very important point. The relationship could be seen as a person's relationship with his faith while confronting all the problems in life. the story strongly depicts the tug of war between good and evil in every day life.
The use of religious symbols and names like Faith points towards the trouble Nathaniel Hawthorne had gone throughout his life. His great grandfather was one of the judges in Salem Witch Trials and he had difficult time dealing with the legacy of witch trials. This story can be a seen as an attempt to deal with those issues.

The Purloined Letter

This story is about a letter which was used as a instrument of blackmail. It is interesting to note that the letter was only useful until the content of it were hidden and once they were revealed the letter would be of no use. The Prefect(Police Chief) was very meticulous in his search of the stolen letter but he lacks the creativity which would have allowed him to apply his professionalism in a manner more helpful.
The Prefect trained through his years of experience looked in every possible place where a letter can be hidden, what he failed to realise is that the letter is not hidden at all. A person not as blinded by his sense of "know it all" like Dupin applied his knowledge and figure out where that letter might be.
Dupin has hinted in the beginning of the story that the Prefect might not be very intelligent since he declared anything that he did not understand as oddity. Also when the Prefect laughed at the suggestion that it might be the simplicity of the thing that baffles him shows that he regard himself as highly intelligent.

The Use of Force by William Carlos Williams

This story has really confused me. At first I thought it was about sexual abuse but after reading through almost the third of the story I began to suspect that the author might be trying to bring attention to the brutal and unethical practices of doctors in the early part of the 20Th century. I remember reading about the practice known as lobotomy in which a part of frontal lobe of the brain was cut by a sharp instrument. it was the practice which was widely used in the early part of 20Th century as a cure for mentally disable people. the practice was later disqualified by the medical associations around the world an was banned.
Another point that came towards the end was about the human nature at its worst. when the doctor over powered the little girl he admitted that he was in fact enjoying the feeling of control over another human being. Reading this story through the lens of recent news of prisoner abuse and torture in Iraq and Guantanamo puts it in a whole new perspective. Ordinary people when put in charge over other human beings could commit such atrocities that are incomprehensible under any other circumstances.

The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin

This is a story of Mrs. Mallard who was trapped in a loveless marriage. Upon learning that her husband was killed in a train accident she finally saw a ray of hope. Slowly it dawned on her that she would be free to live her live the way she want to and there would be no one who could impose his will over her. But when in the end Mr. Mallard suddenly appeared unscathed from the train accident she found it hard to believe and died of the shock.
It is a nice little story which tackles with the big issue of women rights and suppression. Kate Chopin has used the imagery and symbolism in the story very beautifully to convey the emotions of happiness and sorrow. The scenery outside the window of Mrs. Mallard give hints of coming spring which in turn symbolize the feeling of being free. Mrs Mallard was feeling free as a bird, free to fly anytime anywhere in the open sky without any boundaries.
The story is written at the time when women were given very few rights and they were considered essentially the property of their husbands. The idea of being the owner of their own destiny was alien to the women of that time. when suddenly Mrs.Mallard realized that she would be free to do what she could not contain her happiness and the sudden shock of her fate turned sour took her life.
The story also warned of assuming things too quickly because it might not be as rosy as it appears at first glance.