The Lesson

Sylvia has such a bad attitude towards Miss Moore, because she doesn’t want to be shown that she is poor. She doesn’t want to be taught the lesson that she is more towards the poverty side then the wealthy side. She wants to be wealthy and is jealous of people who are and don’t deserve it. She doesn’t want to be introduced to the “rich world”. Since Miss. Moore got her degree from collage Sylvia thinks that Miss Moore is trying to act above her. She treats Miss Moore this way, because she realizes throughout the story that she wants the luxurious lifestyle and she wants those expensive toys from F.A.O. Swartz. She knows that her family could never afford something like that and her mother would laugh in her face if she ever asked for it, but she is envious of it. Sylvia has sparked a question about the “lesson” in the story “money ain't divided up right in this country.” She envies Miss Moore because of it and that’s where her attitude comes from.

Hunters In The Snow

#3 I think Frank is the most sympathetic out of the three. I think this because when one of his friends has a problem he is the first to try and help fix it. When Tub was always talking about his diet and being fat Frank decided to stop off and get him four plates of pancakes, so he could stop worrying so much about his diet and just be full and happy with who he is. When Tub shot Kenny, Frank was the first to be extremely concerned and knew exactly what to do right away. When they were driving to the hospital his hands were becoming frozen, but instead of giving up he kept driving and driving to try and get his friend medical help. I think Frank and Tub have the power. Frank seems more like the responsible one in the group, but Tub seems to have the most respect and the “higher” authority. Yes the balance between alliance and power do change through the story because one minute Tub is in control of this whole situation and then the next Frank has to become a father figure and take care of his two best friends that are just getting themselves into more and more trouble as the story goes along.

#7 The point of Frank and Tub stopping for food and leaving Kenny behind was to show the friendship between Frank and Tub. Since Tub was on this diet and him being “fat” was such a big deal frank just wanted Tub to be happy. To show that Frank really cared about Tub and liked him just the way he is he bought Tub four plates of pancakes with extra butter and extra syrup. Frank just wanted tub to be happy with himself and not worry about anything that is bothering him and that Frank will always be there for him.

Everyday Use

#4 I think that the mothers refusal to let Dee have the quilt was a temporary change in her character. Mama knows that Dee is just about everything that she didn’t want her daughter to become. When Dee asks her whether she can have a quilt that is very important to the family Mama immediately tells her that she can’t because t is going to Maggie when she gets married. The details in the story are when she talks about Maggie in such a thankful and caring way and then when he talks about Dee it’s as if her spirit drops and she knows that talking about her will just take her smile away. You can understand through the short story that the Mama and Dee are opposites and that Dee is now an upper-class rich brat that rebelled completely against her mother’s wishes. Also, a big problem was that the reason why their first house was burned to the ground and that Dee’s poor younger sister was burned was because Dee wanted to rebel and set the house on fire. I don’t think her mother fully forgave her for that. Since Maggie is the “better” child in the family Dee knows that she isn’t loved as much. The mother is torn in two and she changes her personality when she is around either one.

The Destructors

The protagonist of the story is Trevor. The protagonist is Trevor because Trevor was the central “good” character. He is higher class and the whole story was mostly based on class. He is well educated and gets into less trouble than the rest of the gang does. All of the crimes Trevor wanted to commit were just small, petty, harmless crimes. The antagonist in the story is Blackie because he is the source in the story that brings up problems with Trevor (protagonist). Since Blackie is lower class and the gang leader he is the destructive element in the story. The conflict between Blackie and Trevor is that Blackie wants to commit larger and more harmful crimes because since all of his loved things like his house was takes from him in World War 2 than he doesn’t see why anyone should have a better lifestyle than him. He doesn’t have a great education, which Trevor does, so when Trevor decided to stand in the house when they were tearing apart Old Misery’s home Blackie was upset and wondered why Trevor wasn’t helping out. Trevor is trying to do everything the “smarter way”, which makes Blackie upset since he doesn’t have the education and higher class that Trevor has.

Who Impacted Me the Most

When I was younger, the one person I always wanted to be like was my grandfather. He had everything I always wanted. He had loyalty, hope, faith, compassion, and most of all love. He moved to Lake Tahoe, California with my mother, aunt, uncle, and grandmother. They had very little money and all my grandfather wanted to do was m support his family and give his children whatever they dreamed of. He craved happiness and wanted to succeed in life. When he moved in to his cozy two bedroom, one bathroom house he new that it would take a lot of hard work to provide what his family needed. He decided to build onto the house with his bare hands. He created another room, bathroom, laundry room, and another garage. He started to work as a butcher in a local supermarket. My mother would tell me stories all the time of her life with him when she was growing up. She would talk about there close relationship and I would talk about how much I love him and how he would teach me about life and how to grow up to be a good person. Since my grandfather grew up in Switzerland he had this very thick accent, which made it hard to understand him when I was smaller. As I got older I began to understand his English very well and he would teach me how to play cards and that if you want to succeed in this world you have to be honest, loyal, and a hard worker. He would always tell me to be myself and never let anyone make you change. When he past away in 6th grade I was crushed. My life felt like it was going up into flames. My mother was falling apart and I felt like I had to keep it together. Since I was extremely private back then it was very difficult for me to put how I was feeling into words. It was even difficult for me talk to my best friend about what I was going through. My grandfather had a huge impact on me. My mother tells me everyday I am becoming more and more like him and that he would be proud of how I am growing up. When I went to his funeral I felt confused and lost. I had no idea who half the people were and I was standing in a corner by myself while people would come over to greet me and pay there respects. I would stand there and say thank you, but felt out of place and awkward. My mother told me a few days before that I should be nice and greet everyone with a smile and talk to them a little, but I couldn’t stand being fake nice when I felt alone and depressed inside. I ran to the bathroom and stayed in there for a while hoping to avoid some more people. I thought about my grandfather and how he would hate having everyone here. He never wanted some sad memorial service I knew him better than anyone and he would never want people being sad he is gone. They would just want them to be “celebrating his life”. My grandfather in his words said “ I don’t do sad”. My grandfather is a big part of me and will always be a big part of me he has been my remodel for as long as I can remember and will always be the most important person in my life. He has taught me the most valuable things in life and will remain my hero.