Jim Crow

How far have we really come from this story?

Sure, on the outside, America appears to be less racist and segregated than we used to, but are we in reality or just in appearances?

How often do you see a group of kids from different races hanging out together? How often do you see a group of kids all of the same race hanging out together?

How much racism is in our thoughts, but not in our words or actions.

Often times we a segregated not by our prejudices, but simply but our choices based on comfortably.

The story of Richard Wright is sad, but so is most America today.

Sweat

Just once I want to read a story whose language I can understand with having to read it three or four times. Too be honest, I found this "short" story to be long winded and rather boring. I never felt drawn into the characters of Delia or Sykes. Even the ending, which could have been dramatic and exciting, I felt was underwhelming. And I'm not quite sure how a poisonous snake attack could be underwhelming, but it was. All in all, I was not impressed with this story.

Why I live at the post office

So, it took me about 3 readings to catch everything that was going on in this story. To be honest, it took me that many reading just to understand some of the language the narrator (Sister) was using. I also used an online site with a summary just to make sure I didn't miss anything.

This seems to be a common example of preferential treatment of a younger child over an older child. Since I am the oldest to two kids, I can some what relate to what Sister is going through. It seems as though with most families I know the youngest child, or baby of the family, always seems to get overly protected by the parents. With my younger sister, she could abuse me physically as much as she wanted, but if I laid a finger on her, it was total Armageddon. I guess parents want to make sure the their youngest child to not getting bullied by their older siblings and so the pendulum swings all the way to the other side.

As was true in my house growing up, and in most houses, Stella-Rondo plays the victim card perfectly, even though Sister is the true victim. In fact, I bet if you asked Stella-Rondo, she would tell you that Sister gets all the preferential treatment and she gets the leftovers.

Modernism

Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

I thought this to be more of a short story than a poem. I'm sure that I was supposed to find the imagery and hidden meaning in the piece, however, it was completely lost on me. I didn't understand what the mountains, or the drinks or even the strange names of the people were supposed to represent. I guess this poem/short story went over my head.

I have not read a lot of Hemingway's works, although I have read The Old Man and The Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls. I usually enjoy his work, however, did not on this occasion.