I found the story plot to be original and truthful. Its not my most favorite short story that I have ever read but its not the worst. I like how in depth Ivan gets into his dreams of winning the lottery. It almost seems he has been planning it for awhile. What I dislike about him is he only thinks about himself in his day dreams. His wife, who would receive the money, because she has the ticket, isn't included. I think this is truely rude and ignornant because if he married her, he should love and care for her, not disrespect and try to get away from her.
At the beginning, I feel Ivan is a good man who takes care of his family but at the thought of being rich, he slowly turns into an evil, selfish man. I can't say his wife is any different though. I was shocked at the end when both the man and wife turn against each other over something they don't have. It is a completely different perspective of how a family is supposed to act in society. Families should stick together through good and bad.
My favorite part is when the truth is strongly shown as reality hits their thoughts and they are back to their old lives. The story also tells the truth of how your dreams can be crushed so easily, even by a simple number. I found what helped me keep my attention is the quick paced, second guessing conversation and thought in this story. Every time an idea is stated, there are always second opinions about it like the consquences of that action or what the wife thinks of it.
Overall, I think this story is good for everyone because it shows the hard truth in people's lives and how quick a person's personality can change at the thought of being more powerful.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Chapter 9 to the end of the book...
Maeve Livingstone is one of Grahame Coats many respected clients. She has suspected that Grahame has been stealing from her over the years and goes to confront him. If I were Maeve, I would have demanded my money along time ago because there was millions in the account being wasted by Grahame for his house. While she is there, he bribes her with jewellery and other merchandise in order to pay back the money. As she is examining the merchandise, he comes up behind her and hits her over the head several times with a hammer until she falls to the ground unconscious. For a quick escape, he changes his bloody clothes and picks up his fake passport that he had made years before. His destination is Saint Andrews.
As all this is happening, Charlie and Spider are constantly attacked by birds until one day; Spider is engulfed by black birds and transported to another world where his hands and legs are chained to stakes in the ground. Charlie is left alone in the park after this incident wondering what to do next. Charlie regrets going to the Bird Woman, as would I, because he never expected that his brother's life would be put in danger. Later, he realizes that he must trade the feather; he was given by the Bird Woman, with her promise to save his brother. The only problem is that he lost the feather. On a quest, he flies across the ocean to Mrs. Dunwiddy’s house where he was exorcised. She explains to him that she doesn’t have it and the only other person that could have it was Mrs. Higgler, who coincidently is on vacation. Once again, he goes to the airport and gets on a plane to Saint Andrews, in the Caribbean. Charlie, in my opinion, has alot of courage to go to great lengths to get the feather back to save his brother. I think this act of love helps the brothers realize how much they are a part of each other later in the story.
In the land of Animal Gods, Spider was tortured. The Bird women slashed his face and body with her claws and to silence him, she tore out his tongue. To make matters worse, Tiger was creeping around ready to devour what was left of Spider. Tiger comes across to me as vicious, cowardly, and overconfident. With his powers and little strength, he was able to keep Tiger at bay until he could get loose. But his intelligence proved me wrong when he made a spider out of dirt and blood, so he could get help. When the spider returned, he brought an army of spiders of different varieties. I liked this part the best because when Tiger returns, the army uses its venom and teeth to injure him and leave Spider alone. The best motivator for me to read further though was Tiger told Spider he had Rosie, his lover.
Tiger is right. Rosie met Grahame in Saint Andrews while she was on a vacation cruise with her mother. They bumped into each other at a local restaurant in town and he invited them to his vacation house. At this part, I was yearning to tell Rosie not to go because I knew Grahame would try to pull his off another murder scheme but I couldn't. As we all know, Grahame has a psychopathic side to him which over powers his sane self and he locks both women in the meat locker where Tiger is lurching.
Now as you have probably noticed, everyone is in Saint Andrews, even Daisy who is following Grahame because of the crime he committed in England. The only reason Grahame knows Charlie is on the island is because Charlie stops at his house and wants to fill up his water while on a bike ride to find Mrs. Higgler. Grahame thinks Rosie and her mother are a decoy to trick him but really Charlie doesn’t even know Rosie is on the island. He tries to run Charlie off the road but failing to do that, he confronts Charlie and Daisy at dinner by holding a gun to Daisy stomach. As a distraction, Charlie sings on stage and proposes to Daisy. He uses this line to get away but I believe deep down, he meant it at that time. This event takes both of them away from Grahame so he can’t hurt them and then he disappears. Here, Charlie also finds Mrs. Higgler who gives him the feather.
Charlie has to go to the world of the Gods to give back the feather. On the way, he meets his father and he gives him a green fedora (a type of hat) to put the feather in. This hat was his father's favorite and it means alot to Charlie because it smells like his dad and reminds him of his childhood. He then moves on to find the Bird Women who exchanges promises and hands Charlie Spider’s tongue to give back to him. After awhile of wondering, Charlie comes across Spider who reattaches his tongue. On the way back to the real world, they converse about their childhood and how they are both part of each other and that their separation made them stronger. But while they are leaving, all the animal's eyes were watching them. To keep peace in the "land", Charlie sang his song, which was of his life, and the animals began to dance and forgive Spider and Charlie of their wrong.
Back to Rosie and her mother, who are in the meat locker and surrounded by Tiger. Grahame cannot let them go so he is prepared with machetes and other large knives. When he opens the door, Ms. Noah shakes her bare bottom which causes him to go into a short state of shock, while Rosie takes him down with a chain left in the room. One of the knives digs into his leg as he tumbles to the ground, unable to get up. As the ladies try to make their escape, Tiger comes to Grahame insisting that he will enter his body to kill the ladies; otherwise he will die of blood loss. Grahame agrees and becomes part animal because now he can get his revenge on them and Tiger also on Spider by killing Rosie. Grahame and Tiger are similiar in personality and have the same motives to kill. To save her daughter, Ms. Noah distracts Grahame/Tiger. She fails but to her rescue is Maeve who wants revenge on Grahame for her murder. Maeve cannot touch humans but because he is part god, she can. She kicks and punchs him until he retreats and she has her revenge. While this is going on, there is enough time for the Saint Andrews Police and Daisy to come to their aid.
At the hospital, Spider is waiting to see Rosie. News spreads that Grahame is dead and Ms. Noah is in terrible condition but is surviving. Rosie accepts Spider back and Charlie falls in love with Daisy. Charlie later properly proposes to Daisy and they have a child named Marcus. From when Charlie met Daisy and Rosie met Spider, I knew that both couples would end up together. Charlie realized that he loves to sing and that everyone has their own song to sing. He passes this knowledge to his son and they sing with the mermaids, Charlie's father used to say were in the ocean.
As all this is happening, Charlie and Spider are constantly attacked by birds until one day; Spider is engulfed by black birds and transported to another world where his hands and legs are chained to stakes in the ground. Charlie is left alone in the park after this incident wondering what to do next. Charlie regrets going to the Bird Woman, as would I, because he never expected that his brother's life would be put in danger. Later, he realizes that he must trade the feather; he was given by the Bird Woman, with her promise to save his brother. The only problem is that he lost the feather. On a quest, he flies across the ocean to Mrs. Dunwiddy’s house where he was exorcised. She explains to him that she doesn’t have it and the only other person that could have it was Mrs. Higgler, who coincidently is on vacation. Once again, he goes to the airport and gets on a plane to Saint Andrews, in the Caribbean. Charlie, in my opinion, has alot of courage to go to great lengths to get the feather back to save his brother. I think this act of love helps the brothers realize how much they are a part of each other later in the story.
In the land of Animal Gods, Spider was tortured. The Bird women slashed his face and body with her claws and to silence him, she tore out his tongue. To make matters worse, Tiger was creeping around ready to devour what was left of Spider. Tiger comes across to me as vicious, cowardly, and overconfident. With his powers and little strength, he was able to keep Tiger at bay until he could get loose. But his intelligence proved me wrong when he made a spider out of dirt and blood, so he could get help. When the spider returned, he brought an army of spiders of different varieties. I liked this part the best because when Tiger returns, the army uses its venom and teeth to injure him and leave Spider alone. The best motivator for me to read further though was Tiger told Spider he had Rosie, his lover.
Tiger is right. Rosie met Grahame in Saint Andrews while she was on a vacation cruise with her mother. They bumped into each other at a local restaurant in town and he invited them to his vacation house. At this part, I was yearning to tell Rosie not to go because I knew Grahame would try to pull his off another murder scheme but I couldn't. As we all know, Grahame has a psychopathic side to him which over powers his sane self and he locks both women in the meat locker where Tiger is lurching.
Now as you have probably noticed, everyone is in Saint Andrews, even Daisy who is following Grahame because of the crime he committed in England. The only reason Grahame knows Charlie is on the island is because Charlie stops at his house and wants to fill up his water while on a bike ride to find Mrs. Higgler. Grahame thinks Rosie and her mother are a decoy to trick him but really Charlie doesn’t even know Rosie is on the island. He tries to run Charlie off the road but failing to do that, he confronts Charlie and Daisy at dinner by holding a gun to Daisy stomach. As a distraction, Charlie sings on stage and proposes to Daisy. He uses this line to get away but I believe deep down, he meant it at that time. This event takes both of them away from Grahame so he can’t hurt them and then he disappears. Here, Charlie also finds Mrs. Higgler who gives him the feather.
Charlie has to go to the world of the Gods to give back the feather. On the way, he meets his father and he gives him a green fedora (a type of hat) to put the feather in. This hat was his father's favorite and it means alot to Charlie because it smells like his dad and reminds him of his childhood. He then moves on to find the Bird Women who exchanges promises and hands Charlie Spider’s tongue to give back to him. After awhile of wondering, Charlie comes across Spider who reattaches his tongue. On the way back to the real world, they converse about their childhood and how they are both part of each other and that their separation made them stronger. But while they are leaving, all the animal's eyes were watching them. To keep peace in the "land", Charlie sang his song, which was of his life, and the animals began to dance and forgive Spider and Charlie of their wrong.
Back to Rosie and her mother, who are in the meat locker and surrounded by Tiger. Grahame cannot let them go so he is prepared with machetes and other large knives. When he opens the door, Ms. Noah shakes her bare bottom which causes him to go into a short state of shock, while Rosie takes him down with a chain left in the room. One of the knives digs into his leg as he tumbles to the ground, unable to get up. As the ladies try to make their escape, Tiger comes to Grahame insisting that he will enter his body to kill the ladies; otherwise he will die of blood loss. Grahame agrees and becomes part animal because now he can get his revenge on them and Tiger also on Spider by killing Rosie. Grahame and Tiger are similiar in personality and have the same motives to kill. To save her daughter, Ms. Noah distracts Grahame/Tiger. She fails but to her rescue is Maeve who wants revenge on Grahame for her murder. Maeve cannot touch humans but because he is part god, she can. She kicks and punchs him until he retreats and she has her revenge. While this is going on, there is enough time for the Saint Andrews Police and Daisy to come to their aid.
At the hospital, Spider is waiting to see Rosie. News spreads that Grahame is dead and Ms. Noah is in terrible condition but is surviving. Rosie accepts Spider back and Charlie falls in love with Daisy. Charlie later properly proposes to Daisy and they have a child named Marcus. From when Charlie met Daisy and Rosie met Spider, I knew that both couples would end up together. Charlie realized that he loves to sing and that everyone has their own song to sing. He passes this knowledge to his son and they sing with the mermaids, Charlie's father used to say were in the ocean.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Anansi Boys- Chapter 7 to 8(*alot goes on*)
The plot is thickening! Mrs. Dunwiddy, Mrs. Higgler friend, knows exactly what to do about Charlie's problem. What I found creepy in the book is when Mrs. Dunwiddy said she was making turkey because Charlie was coming for supper the next day. The question running through my mind is Charlie is in England, how is he going to know to go to Florida for supper tomorrow. But when the story switchs back to Charlie, it seems like there is a psycic message sent to him and he ends up calling taxi and going to the airport, headed for Florida.
When he arrives, Mrs. Higgler is awaiting him. She takes him to Mrs. Dunwiddy where they stuff him full of food. At the end of the meal, they all gather around the table and pull out black candles, sherry(liquer), salt granules, herbs and soil. When all the props are in place, all the ladies start to chant and make low hums. To me this sounded like they were performing some type of exorcism which it turns out they were. As Charlie watchs, he is slowly overpowered by the noise and moves to a land of animals. But these animals aren't really animals they are partially humans and gods. I like how Neil Gaiman describes the animals in such a way that you can imagine how realistic they are with human faces naturally blended in to an animal's face. Charlie was sent here to find someone to help him get rid of spider but the only animal that will is Bird, who still hates Anansi for killing a bird before. Charlie trades promises with Bird and is awkwardly awakened by water being poured on him. Later on, another disturbing incident happens. Charlie seems to attract birds now. I didn't think this could be true but now I do beleive that he did go to the land of Gods.
When he arrives, Mrs. Higgler is awaiting him. She takes him to Mrs. Dunwiddy where they stuff him full of food. At the end of the meal, they all gather around the table and pull out black candles, sherry(liquer), salt granules, herbs and soil. When all the props are in place, all the ladies start to chant and make low hums. To me this sounded like they were performing some type of exorcism which it turns out they were. As Charlie watchs, he is slowly overpowered by the noise and moves to a land of animals. But these animals aren't really animals they are partially humans and gods. I like how Neil Gaiman describes the animals in such a way that you can imagine how realistic they are with human faces naturally blended in to an animal's face. Charlie was sent here to find someone to help him get rid of spider but the only animal that will is Bird, who still hates Anansi for killing a bird before. Charlie trades promises with Bird and is awkwardly awakened by water being poured on him. Later on, another disturbing incident happens. Charlie seems to attract birds now. I didn't think this could be true but now I do beleive that he did go to the land of Gods.
The Cask of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe
The death plot of Fortunato is a creul and disturbing one. It makes me feel sick inside knowing he was buried alive. I think I feel this way because I fear death and I have a fear of being trapped in small spaces from which I can't get out of. I don't know how someone could murder a person this way and not have any morals while doing it. For Fortunato, I think it would be a terrifing and painful death. If his cough doesn't kill him, the dampness, dehydration or starvation will.
I have concluded that I dislike Montresor because I think he took his revenge too far. There are other ways of coping with anger instead of death. Examples could be just ignore and stay away from Fortunato, or even just go to someone else with matters on wine. Montresor is just as bad as Fortunato in his revenge because he sunk down to Fortunato's level. If Montresor was the better man, Fortunato would still be alive. I think at the end, Montresor starts to come to his senses of the wrong he is doing but decides to kill Fortunato anyway. Evil still prevails good.
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