Interpreter of Maladies

This story was told in the present and proceeds in order of a typical story. There are no flashbacks or instances in the story where we get a glimpse of what happened before hand. The Das family is taking a trip in India. There tour guide, Mr.K, begins to have a special kind of feeling for Mrs. Das. She takes interest into his job and later confides in him. Mr. K gives Mrs. Das his address which she keeps in her purse. However, at the end of the story, the paper flies in the air and leaves Mrs. Das' posession. He was the only one to see and care that it was gone. This signifies that yes, Mrs. Das did have somewhat of a tie to Mr. K at the beginng, but when he can not solve her problem, she no longer cares for what he is. The note symbolized a bond between them.

How I Met My Husband

The last line of the story reads, "He always tells the children the story of how I went after him by sitting by the mailbox everyday, and naturally I laugh and let him, because I like for people to think what pleases them makes them happy." The readers and Edie know that this is not the truth. The reason Edie waits at the mailbox is because she is waiting to recieve Chris's letter to her. The ending is a surprise to the readers. We, as readers, know little about Carmichael. We know he is the mailman and grows a love for Edie. However, we know Chris Watters because he is in the whole story. I believe they differ because Watters seems like a nobody. He is always traveling never being true. Carmichael seems to be a well respected man and loving. The surprise ending realistic. Edie marrying Chris would just not be right. Overall, I loved this story.

How I Met My Husband

Throughout this story, I was kind of feeling suspense. Every so often I would get an anticipation feeling for what is going to happen next, or if Edie was going to get caught. Suspense occurs in numerous cases: Edie trying on Mrs. Peebles dress and Chris Watters found her, Edie going over to Chris Watters tent, Alice Kelling was asking Edie questions about her being with Chris, and Edie waiting for the letters at the mailbox all show suspense. As a reader, I was curious as to what would happen. The biggest question in my mind was who is Edie going to end up with? Which guy was going to be her husband? Not only did the story reflect suspense, but the title did as well. "How I Met My Husband" implies there is a suspenseful story to be told.

That time of year

This poem was a tricky one for me. I looked at it in two different ways. However, I feel as though the poem is talking about late fall when things begin to die and people lose sight of their youthful qualities. The reason I feel it is talking about fall is because of the line "when yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang". This refers to the time when the leaves are dying and begin to fall and change colors. Also, there is a correlation to death. As the darkness takes away the daylight, the darnkess is a symbol for death. The deathbed is where ones life is truly expired and they have lived completely. Death also causes you to give up what you love soon after you have it.

Elegy for My Father, Who is Not Dead

I was a little confused by this poem. I thought to myself, what is the point? The speaker is telling of how his father wants a new journey. He wants to move on to bigger and better things so to speak. His father is not yet dead, but one day he will get the call telling him his father is dead. It seems to me that the speaker is not ready for his dad to die; however, his father is ready. This is true in our lives today. No one wants their family members to die, yet when the person is ready to go, it is up to the family to be positive and let them go. I found a comparison between the poem Crossing the Bar and this one. The phrase "embarking on a ship" is mentioned in both. Also, both poems deal with death. The comparison is how view of death is like embarking on a ship. IN the Crossing of the Bar, the person was ready to embark. However, in this one, the son is not ready to "say good-bye cheerfully as if he were embarkingon a ship."

#7 Lonely Hearts

This poem is mainly about how all people in the world need somebody to love. It does not matter who they are or what their personality is, we all need love in our lives. THe poem repeats the same line, "Can someone make my simple wish come true" and "Do you live in New London? Is it you?" in just about every other stanza. This allows for the poem to flow and get the main points across. Reading this the first time, I saw how the author made it important to show a diversity between the people it addressed. This poem was easy for me to understand because of the pattern and the obvious theme. One of the questions at the end says the title refers to the "Personals" advertising section in a newspaper. I can definately see this in a newspaper or magazine. The questions infer it is looking for someone to meet the requirements given.

#17 Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

The poem talks about a boy who does not want his father to die. However, if he does die he wants him to put up a strong fight. The pattern of this poem is very clear. The first, third, fifth, and sixth stanzas all end in the same line-"Rage, rage against the dying of the light." Also, the second and fourth stanzas last line is-"Do not go gentle into that good night." The use of this pattern enforces the speakers intent on what he is trying to convey. Rage and do not go gentle imply that he wants his father to be strong and stand away. The pattern allows the flow of the poem to be more permanent and allows for clear understanding.