Rocking-horse winner

The theme of this short story is that wealth and luck are not the most important things in life. The Rocking-Horse Winner is a story about a boy named Paul and his journey to find the meaning of luck. What was the name of the boy’s Uncle? Why does the boy imagine his house is talking to him? Do gamblers you know rely on luck?

I actually enjoyed this short story. Master Paul seems to be very intelligent for his age. Although it is probably not wise for young boy to already know so much about gambling, it is amazing how his rocking horse gives him the inspiration for his pick. However, I do believe that luck has a lot to do with his winnings.

On a deeper level I don’t think that he wants to keep the horse because it gives him the answer to which horse will win. I think that he won’t let the horse go, because it is the only thing that has been with him his whole life. Both of his parents are not involved in his life and he has been taken care of by a nanny since he was born. It is very unfortunate that he dies in the end, and I think that his mother realizes at the end that she has driven her son to this state. Her remarks about how luck and wealth were everything, killed the boy. He tried so hard to put luck back in his parents’ lives that it killed him.

This story has good syntax and organization built in it. I admired the author’s word choice and the flow he created. I actually felt a connection with the story, and I think that’s why I enjoyed it.

PR 2: 1943

This poem deals with the trials and tribulations of a young soldier in World War II. He is straight out of high school and torn between the life he lives as a soldier and the one he left behind. The transitions the author uses between war life and normal life are very good. Dominick being knocked out in a high school boxing match, and then ten months later dieing in Tarawa is a very clear transition that the author uses.
The narrator shows his longing for home with the description of the milk delivery to his home in Connecticut. It is amazing how something as small as milk being delivered can make a man miss home when he is at war. Being in a war at such a young age can take a major toll on his life. Not only is he lucky to survive the war, but if he does survive his life will be affected forever.
Mainly at the end of the poem, the author wants everyone to realize the cost that war creates. While people at home are continuing their everyday lives, the soldiers are bleeding and working on broken machines. Their bodies are worn, but yet they press on. The comparison to their frost bitten feet to the color of milk was a very nice touch as well.

I stand here ironing

The theme of this story is that motherhood can be tough at times, but it will all work out for the children. This short story describes the life of a girl named Emily through the voice of her mother, the narrator. How old was the narrator when she had Emily? Why is the girl’s story told through the mother? Do you know of someone who was in the same situation as Emily?

I Stand Here Ironing is an intriguing story. Personally, I thought overall it was good and its style was something new. Definitely this was better than the last story we read. The syntax and word choice displayed in this writing were appropriate and fit well with each other. As for characterization of Emily and her mother, there are definite distinctions. Her mother is presented through direct contact and Emily is an indirect presentation. Emily is a dynamic character that is developing throughout the entire story. Her mother is sort of a stock character to me. There are many stories you can look at and recognize her, the young mother that is poor and can not care for her child.

Overall Olsen organized herself and put her thoughts into a decent short story. The play on the iron board at the end was a good choice. However, there are many stories in the world that deal with struggle single mothers and their children (I’m not saying they are bad). I think if she had put the same energy into a different theme, she might have made a more inviting story.

The Lesson response

The Lesson is about one girl’s (the narrator, assuming she is a girl) struggle in poverty and the life she experiences through Miss Moore. How is Miss Moore always dressed? Why does the narrator want to leave the toy store? What do you know about the affects of poverty on children?

Miss Moore is doing great things by acting as a mentor to the young children in the story. By educating them on the benefits of improving their lives she hopes that it will enjoin them to think about their futures. She is their only hope to a better future. Their parents do not care about how their children are educated or even if they are educated. However, the way in which Miss Moore shows them how life could be may not have been the best way. She created a lot of hostility and hatred towards those who have better lives. The trip to F.A.O. Schwartz was a nice trip, but the prices of the toys set the group off. They realize that they will never be able to afford them if they remain in the same place they live now.

I thought that the narrator was a very strong character. She definitely is street smart as well as intelligent, even though her vocabulary does not show it. I especially liked the end of the story where she states that nobody will beat her. The narrator has the determination to improve her life and that is a great start.

This story was ok to me. I didn’t get much from it, and I felt it wasn’t the best-written short story I have read. The voice was good and style was something different. However, overall I didn’t have much connection to it.

joe's thoughts

Joe’s ability to communicate with others around him has actually frustrated him more than it has helped him. His request to be put in the outside world has been crushed and the doctors are against such thing. Joe realizes that these people are afraid. They are afraid of letting people see the future. The future is war, and the people tending to Joe know that war will break out again. When it does the nation will need soldiers, and Joe being seen by the people of the world will result in no one enlisting in the military. Without soldiers our country can not defend itself. At the end Joe is “pointing” the gun in his sedated sleep, because he is getting back at the masters of war. When the common man has a gun put in his hand, he will point at the leaders and he will live.

My wants like Joe's

What Joe wants is not unreasonable. However, it is a situation that I understand why it is against regulations. I would want some of the same things that Joe wants. I would want to have contact with others that I know and love, but I wouldn’t want to be put “on display” as an exhibit. I think that Joe wanting to be a “spokesmen” of sorts for the affects of war is going too far. It is almost like treason against your nation. I definitely would want communication with people around me and to be able to get out of the hospital and outside. Human interaction is the best cure for any illness or injury. It is what we as humans strive for. However, I think if I were in the condition that Joe is in, I would probably rather to have died. His life is nothing that I would want to live.

Joe's wants that he can't have.

Joe has gained a way to communicate with the outside world. The hospital uses Morse code to talk with Joe by tapping on his head. He can encode messages from the taps. The main that Joe wants is to be put back together, but he knows that is impossible. However, he would like to be involved with the outside world. Joe wants to be taken outside of the hospital and a “live” exhibit for people to observe. He could be an educational tool to show the affects of war and what could happen to a soldier. His body would be a reminder to officials that are putting the country in war of what is happening to the men in the battles. The request of Joe is against regulations because the government would be broken down due to him. Generals couldn’t recruit soldiers, and the horrors of war would be released to the entire world. The only thing that Joe can due is live in his hospital bed, lonely and not able to make a difference.