Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa

Point of View
This short story is in first person point of view. The main character is told to build a baseball field and he does. He does not hesitate to build the field and with the use of first person, the reader understands his love of baseball. The reader experiences his love of baseball first hand. He says, "I count the loves in my life: Annie, Karin, Iowa, Baseball" (pg 513). He inherited his love of baseball from his father. The reader receives this information through his memories of his father. He would talk about the present events occurring and then tell a story that happened in the past.

Characterization
The main character introduces all of the characters in the story. His wife Annie is 24 and when he tells her he is going to build a baseball field she replies,"If it makes you happy you should do it" (pg 512). She does not try to persuade him to forget about his vision. Her looks are directly characterized. She had hair the color of "cayenne pepper" and she had "at least a million freckles on her face and arms." Shoeless Joe is idolized. He believed that "Shoeless Joe was innocent, a victim of big business and crooked gamblers" (pg 513) when he was accused of throwing the World Series. He did not want to believe Shoeless Joe did anything wrong. He also loved his father. He tells many stories about his father and his inherited love of baseball.

Setting
This story takes place in eastern Iowa on a farm. The main character is a farmer. He hears a voice and has a vision of a baseball field and knows he must build one. Because he is a farmer, he had a lot to lose by building a baseball field in the middle of his crops. He did not have very much money because he states he was "operating [the farm] one inch from bankruptcy" (pg 512). This shows his devotion to carrying out his vision of the baseball field. He truly believed Shoeless Joe would come and play baseball on his field.

Plot
The story begins with the main character talking about his father and Shoeless Joe and is then followed by the famous line, "If you build it, he will come" (pg 511). The reader is presented with this question: Who is the "he" referring to? The reader is given an explanation of what 'it' is because the main character is given a vision of a baseball field. Because Shoeless Joe is mention within the first paragraph of the story, it can be inferred that the 'he' is Shoeless Joe. When I got to the end of the story though, I felt the 'he' referred to the main character's father also. He mentions his father playing ball in Florida and at the end recommends a catcher who played ball in Florida. He would get the chance to see Shoeless Joe play baseball and he would see his father again who had passed away.

Theme
One theme in this story, no matter how corny it sounds, is to follow your heart. The main character hears a voice and acts on what he was told to do. He asks himself, "Was it really a voice I heard? Or was it perhaps something inside me making a statement that I did not hear with my ears but with my heart?" (pg 513) He loved baseball and had devoted much of his life to it. It kept his father close because they both had a special love of baseball. He is also very close with his family. He has a wife who loves him and a daughter who adores him. He had a good relationship with his father. My favorite part of the story was the ending when Shoeless Joe says, "This must be heaven" where he replies, "No. It's Iowa." He then thinks about all of the special people in his life who love him and he then says, "I think you're right, Joe" (pg 522). Family is very important and is something that all people should value.

Once Upon A Time

This was my favorite short story in this section. The story was very ironic because the family was so focused on preventing people from breaking into their house, they did not think about the effects it would have on the family. The little boy ends up getting caught in the jagged metal coils the family had installed to prevent anyone from breaking in. He got the idea of breaking through the wire coils from his book of fairy tails given to him by his grandmother. She was the one who told them to protect their house from burglars. In the beginning of the story, the narrator hears a creaking noise and automatically thinks someone is breaking in. I cannot say how many times I have heard a noise and thought someone was breaking in. I am glad I have a cat because I blame all mysterious noises on him.

A Worn Path

Question 5
Phoenix cannot see very well. She is not blind but she has a cane to help her move around. The fact that she has poor vision dramatizes the entire story. Her journey is more difficult because she cannot see well, she has a long way to go, and she is elderly. The same trip for a younger person with good eyesight would not be as challenging and less dramatic. She talks out loud to herself to ward off any creatures and uses her cane to detect any objects in the way. When she gets into town a lady ties her shoe for her. She picks up medicine for her grandson and the medicine is free. I thought that Phoenix is a very loving and caring person because she was willing to make the long trip for her grandson so she could get his medicine.

Eveline

Question 7
I believe Eveline is a sympathetic character. Her mother had passed away and Eveline had promised her mother she would take care of her family. Her two of her siblings were dead and the others have moved away. She feels obligated to stay with her father though she fears him. She is afraid he may abuse her because he had abused her brothers. She was seeing a sailor but her father did not approve so they had to meet in secret. She does not go to live with the sailor. She decides to stay with her father. She is a sympathetic character because she does not choose to go with Frank. She stays behind.

Miss Brill

Question 7
In the beginning of the story, Miss Brill brushes her furs off so she can wear them. She describes the animal and says the eyes looked as if they were saying, "What has been happening to me?" I thought the fur symbolized Miss Brill. She is getting older and is having trouble adjusting to age. When I began reading this story I thought she was younger because she described some people as being 'old' so I assumed she was young. She was crying at the end of the story. She cannot believe that she is old. She makes up this story of how everyone is an actor playing a role, but she was just pretending. She is unhappy with her life.

Hunters in the Snow

When I began reading the story, I thought it was going to be about three friends hunting. I was wrong. The characters in the story did not act like friends at all. They always made fun of each other and Tub ends up shooting Kenny. Tub and Frank do not even seem concerned for Kenny. He could die from the wound and they do not seem to care. They go back to the house for directions to the hospital. They put Kenny in the back of the truck but Tub accidentally drops him. He is not even being careful. Kenny was in great pain. When they are driving to the hospital, Kenny and Tub stop several times to eat and warm up. They leave Kenny out in the freezing cold.

Everyday Use

I believe the mother's refusal to let Dee have the quilts indicates a permanent change of character. She had promised to give Maggie the quilts because Dee did not want them in the past. Dee had not appreciated the heritage of the quilts. She was not even planning on using the quilts. The quilts were made to be used. If Maggie was given the quilts, they would have 'everyday use.' Maggie offers to her mother to give them to Dee, but her mother gives them to Maggie instead. This represents a permanent change because there was no doubt after she made her decision. She then enjoyed the rest of the day with Maggie.

Hunters in the Snow

In the beginning of the story, Frank and Kenny gang up on Tub and make fun of his obesity. Kenny seems to be the main source of the mean comments. Tub is often left behind when they hunt together. Frank and Kenny go off together when they split into groups, and Tub is left by himself. Kenny teases Frank about the babysitter which makes Frank angry.Tub shoots Kenny and this marks the major shift in loyalties. Frank tells Tub he would have done the same thing if it happened to him. As they go to the hospital, Frank and Tub make a few stops and they talk about their problems. They leave Kenny out in the bed of the truck while they eat and drink. They do not seems to be very good friends. Frank had sided with Kenny on everything before and now he is siding with Tub. Frank and Tub do not seem to care much about Kenny.

Bartleby the Scrivener

Question 11
When Bartleby first arrives, the lawyer is happy to have him. Bartleby works hard and does not complain. The lawyer is relieved that Bartleby works hard and does not have moodiness during the day. The lawyer then becomes annoyed and frustrated with Bartleby because he always responds, "I would prefer not to" when he is asked to do something. He threatens to fire Bartleby but he will not leave. He even pays Bartleby to leave and he still will not leave. The lawyer then becomes worried about Bartleby when the police come to arrest him. He felt responsible for Bartleby.

How I Met My Husband

This was my favorite short story for this section. It had a happy ending and it would make a very cute movie. The last sentence of the story made me think for a moment. Carmichael believed that she waited at the mailbox for him every day. Edie was really waiting for the letter from Chris Watters. Carmichael did not know the real reason why Edie waited by the mailbox every day and she was not going to tell him. Edie said, "...I like for people to think what pleases them and makes them happy." She knew it made Carmichael happy to think that she waited by the mailbox every day just to see him so she let him think that.

Interpreter of Maladies

When I read this story, I sympathised with Mr. Kapasi. He did not have a loving relationship with his wife. He had no relationship with his wife. They would not talk to each other anymore. Mrs. Das was also unhappy in her marriage. She did not act like she loves her kids very much. In the beginning of the story, Mr. and Mrs. Das were fighting over who had to take Tina to the restroom. They both did not want to help their child. When Mrs. Das was painting her nails, Tina wanted hers painted and Mrs. Das says, "Leave me alone." This is not appropriate speech for a mother to say to her daughter. Mr. Kapasi starts fantasizing about Mrs. Das after she asks for his address. I thought that he overreacted. She ends up losing his address and this is when he realizes that there would be no chance of a relationship between them.

How I Met My Husband

For most of the story, the reader is led on to think that Chris Watters will be Edie's husband. He is the new guy in town and a lot of the events revolve around the arrival of Chris Watters. It is not until Edie waits for Chris' letter every day that the reader is introduced to Carmichael. He is dependable and easy to talk to. Edie can talk to him and depend on him. He will be there with the mail every day at around the same time. Chris was not anything like Carmichael. He just showed up and he was intimidating to Edie. She was not very comfortable around him. He was also a lot older than she was. The surprise ending was appropriate. Chris Watters did not seem like that great of a guy. He would say things like "It's a good thing I'm used to shy ladies." or he couldn't take people up for plane rides because he had some ladies over. He did not seem to have much respect for women.

A Rose for Emily

Question 2
At the end of the story the reader finds out that there was a dead man in Emily's house. He had been murdered by Emily and the man was Homer Barron. In the final paragraph of the story, the reader finds out an interesting fact. There was a strand of 'iron-gray hair' on the pillow next to the dead body of Homer Barron. This shows that Emily must have loved Homer though she was the one who killed him. He did not love her so she wanted him dead. She kept his body after she killed him because she was lonely and wanted someone there for her. This shows that Emily wanted to be loved. She did not want to die alone.