Response to "After You, My Dear Alphonse"

Author's Note- This is another short response that I could turn in to an essay.  It is a response to the short story "After You, My Dear Alphonse."

Question- Write an analysis of how this story relates to the topics of naivety and  reverse racism.  How does it compare and contrast our society in Pewaukee?  Other areas of the country/world?  What lessons do you think Shirley Jackson is trying to teach us?

The story "After You, My Dear Alphonse" has a mother that is unintentionally racist.  She tries to convince herself that since her son's friend is black that he has a poor family.  She finds out that it is not true and tries to cover it up.  She is curious to what kind of lifestyle this negro boy goes through and to make it easier on her part she assumes to much with to little information.  She has been grown up in a society where black people are treated like dirt and they think they can be as useful as dirt.

This is somewhat similar to Pewaukee because if someone from outside the MidWest came to Wisconsin they would think there are going to be cows and cheese factories all over the place.  Again they assume to much with to little information, just like the mom in the story.  If someone from outside the southeastern part of Wisconsin came to Pewaukee they would think that all of us are rich and spoiled.  I actually agree with that although it is not 100% true, but for about 70% of our district is true.

I believe that Shirley Jackson is trying to teach us the importance of not being prejudice.  The mom in the story  has grown up in the society where she heard only people saying hurtful things to different colored people was natural.  She thought because he was black that he had no where to go and his dad was use to lifting heavy objects and was built.  But since she prejudged she got burned by her own son and his friend.  What Mrs. Jackson wants us to take away from this passage is that we should get to know people before we can judge them.

Text Analysis

The Old Man

Author's Note- This is a response from the short story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" that I turned in to an essay.  I am working on improving my score for text analysis and I am working hard on my introduction.

It was a quiet night, with a slight breeze from the east.  An old man walks in to a bar 20 minutes before closing.  Not just drinking to get drunk, but drinking to have someone with him.  To feel excepted and to take his mind off his insomnia.  The story has some brief descriptions of the scene that are a little different in the film version.  The story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" starts off in a small cafe with an old man sitting by himself, while the two waiters in the cafe watch him to make sure he doesn't leave without paying.  There are some differences I noticed.

The title says "Well-Lighted," which means that it is a place where you can have a pleasant drink by yourself but still feel like you are in someones presence.  It is a quiet night in the bar with two waiters and an old man.  The lights are on at two o' clock with only one old man drinking a Brandi.  But the interesting part was half of the bar lights were out.  Then when they were closing up the cafe in the second part, the lights were all on.  It was a nice day but a odd feeling about the music too.

In the beginning of the first part of the films there was nice music but there were lower tones in it making it a very creepy feeling.  This was example of foreshadowing saying that something will happen but we don't know if it is good or bad.  You would figure that it would be bad when the waiters are talking about how he tried to hang himself.  It could mean that he is drinking to die again because he is depressed and is not wanting his life to go in the direction he wants.  But at the end it is the same music then at the beginning but it sounds less creepy and more peaceful.  This probably means that he had a good day but the pain will be put on someone else.

The older waiter was supposed to go to more of a bodega then a cafe in the story.  The small bar that he went to was nice and calm, but was strange.  It was lighted well, but not well enough.  When the waiter orders a drink he examines but does not sit and spends about five minutes in the bar.  I think that the old man is what the waiter will represent in the future by the way he acted in the bar.  It seemed like he felt out of place, like he didn't want to be with anyone else.  He may not realize it but the old man could be him someday.  It rethought the mind of the waiter and helped him realize his inner self.

The symbolism in this story mainly focuses on the little things such as the lights.  But the big picture may lie in the directors way of perceiving how he thinks the waiter feels.  The old man has passed on the humbleness through a cafe which symbolizes a calm place where lonely people can find hope.

A Clean, Well Lighted Place Comparison

Author's Note- This is another piece that I could make into an essay but for now I am just making a 2 paragraph draft.

The title says "Well-Lighted," which means that it is a place where you can have a pleasant drink by yourself but still feel like you are in someones presence.  It is a quiet night in the bar with two waiters and an old man.  The lights are on at two o' clock with only one old man drinking a Brandi.  But the interesting part was half of the bar lights were out.  Then when they were closing up the cafe in the second part, the lights were all on.  It was a nice day but a odd feeling about the music too.

In the beginning of the first part of the films there was nice music but there were lower tones in it making it a very creepy feeling.  This was example of foreshadowing saying that something will happen but we don't know if it is good or bad.  You would figure that it would be bad when the waiters are talking about how he tried to hang himself.  It could mean that he is drinking to die again because he is depressed and is not wanting his life to go in the direction he wants.  But at the end it is the same music then at the beginning but it sounds less creepy and more peaceful.  This probably means that he had a good day but the pain will be put on someone else.

A Clean, Well-lighted Place Question

Author's Note- This is a short response that I could turn into an essay.  I am responding to a question from the short story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place."

Question - 3. Write a brief analysis of the two waiters.  What do they represent about life?  What does the café symbolize?

I think that this means that there are two main sides to a humans mind.  You have the greedy young one that wants to go home and you have the patient older one that is okay about the man staying.  The man would represent the problem.  And finally the café would represent the human thoughts.  When the young waiter tells him to leave he is just thinking about himself, trying to get home to see his wife and kids.  This was a life story and it depends on how you deal with the situation in order to make the right choice to be a “well-rounded” person and not self-centered.  You need to think about others before yourself or the situation will be not as you expect.

Text Analysis

The Kind of Ransom of Red Chief the Boy Who Was a Pest

Author's Note- This is a piece about a small paragraph from a scene in the short story "The Ransom of Red Chief."  I chose this scene with two other members who are also writing about this scene.  I am working on body paragraphs and idea application.

"But we're dealing with humans, and it ain't human for anybody to give up two thousand dollars for that forty-pound chunk of freckled wildcat.  I'm willing to take a chance at fifteen hundred dollars.  You can charge the difference up to me."  This quote that Bill said to Sam in the short story "The Ransom of Red Chief" symbolizes a boy who is on the verge of craziness.  At one point the boy even threatened the kidnappers that he was going to scalp them and light them on fire the morning after they kidnapped him.  The thought out plan came back to bite them later.

When Bill and Sam stole the kid who called himself "Red Chief," they never thought of the craziness and insanity of a boy.  When they got "Red Chief" to go with them and hop in their van, they urged him with candy.  When "Red Chief" heard this he threw a brick at them, but accepted, they noticed he was hyper and in his own world.  I believe this is foreshadowing telling them he will ware them out.  Plus the boy didn't want to stay home, this was an immediate red flag for me telling me that even if they did get money for him it wouldn't be much or at least not as much as they expected.  As the story went on, another quote told me what they thought they would get.  But based on the boys experience, they should have thought more carefully.

The idea was well thought out, for a day, but when Sam was about to write the note and ask for $2000 for the kid to return home safely, Bill begged Sam to lower the ransom.  This is also foreshadowing that the ransom could drop more if they feel insecure about the price.  They thought the father would want his son back, and boy were they wrong.  The father sent a note back saying he would take the boy for $200 dollars in return.  After thinking about it they finally gave up.  The boy is a pest that is way to hyper and insane.  To add to their abuse from a young boy just wait what they do to get him back to the house.

After a backfire decision, they bribe the "Chief."  With a "so-called" silver mounted rifle and a pair of moccasins.  If he is such a pain in your side that you have to bribe him to get him to leave, it is obvious that the father knew what he was doing.  The kidnappers had no idea what they got themselves into.  It reminds me of a character in a story where he did not know what he would get himself into, but in the end he pays a price not expected.

"The Glorious Whitewasher" is an excerpt from the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.  In the excerpt there is a boy named Tom that is washing a fence with the whitewasher water when a boy named Jim comes along.  Jim has been sent to give extra water to Tom when Tom convinces Jim to wash for him while Tom gets water.  Jim gets caught for doing the work and gets beaten by Aunt Polly who told Jim what to do.  Jim thought he was doing good for washing the fence but gets in trouble.  Kind of like Bill and Sam but only they knew that they would get in trouble if what they were doing didn't work.

The foreshadowing in the story gave most of it away.  If you read in detail throughout the story you can imagine what the ending will be like.  The symbolism to me meant that you need to think carefully about decisions and go the extra mile before you decide and it ends up biting you later.

When the Mountains Get High

Author's Note-  This is a short poem that I created when I was inspired by watching the "To this day" project one more time.  I tried to add symbolism and figurative language. 

                        It happens all the time

The going gets tough

If you get tired

It is still happening.

Even though the earth may not move

The mountains still roll

As if they are trying,

just trying to make you fall.

There may be valleys

but we can't do them slow

There may be flat land

                    but we can't do them fast.

The mountains will be the slowest

with every step it gets harder

every pound it gets weaker

until every bit of strength is gone.

The mountains hurt

my body hurts more

but you just keep pushing,

hoping the next day will be better.

It may make you fall

It may make you bleed

As if the mountains are intentionally trying

As if there is a black hole at the bottom.

But there is a light

The mountain may seem big

but it is only how big you make it

and its your life, put it in your hands.

Text Analysis

The Unlucky Prize

Author's Note- This essay is a text analysis on the short story "The Lottery."

"They do say," Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, "that over in the north village they`re talking of giving up the lottery."

The text above is a scene from the short story "The Lottery" in which Mr. Adams is telling the oldest man in town, Old Man Warner, that some towns are getting rid of the tradition of the lottery.  It represents a turning point in the story.  Shirley Jackson, the author, wanted to hand out clues throughout the story in which they are almost all pointing out that the lottery may be a bad thing.  Some of the turning points such as the one above represent grief, anxiety, and hope for the future of the town.

Because of the grief and anxiety in the story there were many turning points.  Such as when the men were nervously laughing it meant that they didn't really want to be there and they were obviously nervous.  They were having trouble with the lottery, possibly not understanding it.  When the "prize" is given to someone every year and the topic of other towns stopping it, it must mean something is troubling the lottery and so their is grief and anxiety.

There is anxiety in the turning points also especially in the laughing of the men.  It shows it because the men were laughing with nervousness, like they were uncertain about their fate. Anxiety also occurs in the phrase above because Old Man Warner wants to die an honorable death if he does happen to be chosen even if it is nerve racking and a painful, certain death.

Lastly the phrase represents hope.  This phrase is one of the only ones in the story that represents hope but is the strongest point.  The "Lottery" is a pointless tradition that has been going on for a long time but no one knows why.  When Mr. Adams said other towns were stopping the lottery it could also mean that one life a year could be saved.  If the lottery would be stopped there would be no grief and anxiety anymore, but there would still be hope.

"The Lottery" reminds me of the book The Hunger Games in the way of the picking of the tributes.  It is not necessarily lucky to win and fight for your district.  Plus many people did not want to be picked so that brings a great deal of grief and anxiety to not be picked or for your children not to be picked.  Also in the "career" districts (1 & 2), the volunteering tributes, if you're confident you are going to win, is in a way like Mrs. Delacroix taking the largest stone to show that they have compassion towards their district to win and their self to win and come back home, and for Mrs. Delacroix it is like to lose and get it done quicker.

The hope of the village could stop the killing of innocent people during the annual "lottery."  Hope is the strongest thing that the village could do to get over grief and anxiety.  Although according to Old Man Warner the "lottery" represents a tradition that cannot be broken even though it is pointless and strange.