The Minority Report.....short story style

Plot!
The story is split into ten little chapters that follow the realizarions of Anderton. As the story progresses, Anderton realizes the truth and meaning behind the predictions of his crimes, and he uses those realizations to prevent Kaplan from destroying the Precrime headquarters entirely. The setup of the plot in this way allows the reader to follow Anderton in his realizations of the truth. The plot also has a very rapid pace. It does not focus on minute details, but rather gets to the point of what is happening and moves on. This parallels Anderton's fast-paced state of mind as he is suddenly brought into the intense situation and must hastily decide how to deal with it. He does not focus on the details around him, but rather focuses on the major events that are causing the potential problem. In the same way, the story's plot is fast-paced, especially during the times when Anderton is hurried. On page 130, when Anderton is being kidnapped, the story does not reveal many details about the kidnapping. It focuses on his "being dragged through the rent that had been the door." This helps illustrate Anderton's frantic state of mind.
Point of View?
The story is told from third person point of view and focuses on Anderton and the environment around him. The fact that Anderton is the only character that the narrator knows about further emphasizes the mental progressions of Anderton. We immediately know that the point of view is this when we are told that, upon seeing Witwer, Anderton thinks that he is "getting bald. Bald and fat and old" (page 119). This point of view has a further impact when Anderton believes he has been betrayed by "my wife and a younger man" (page 131). The narrator does not reveal that his wife is trying to help in the Precrime lab, so the reader is forced to make the realizations that Anderton does as he makes them. This story focuses on these realizations, and if the narrator was omniscient, then the realizations would not come as a shock to the reader, eliminating the theme of the story. This point of view is essential for the reader to be as oblivious to the goings on as Anderton is.
Characterization$
The characterization of the main character, Anderton is completely indirect. Though there are other characters that are characterized through both direct and indirect, they do not have as large of an impact as Anderton. Anderton is mainly characterized as a hasty yet determined character. This is best shown when he immediately leaves when he sees that he will commit a murder, or when he states "I'm going to murder Kaplan anyhow" (page 146). Though he knows that this act will hurt him and his family, he does it for the better of his program that he started. He is determined that his program will work. He makes hasty decisions that may not be the best, but do ultimately benefit his program. These characteristics are slowly revealed throughout the story. This further goes along with the realizations of truth by Anderton. As he makes knew decisions of what to do, the reader is shown a new aspect of his character. At the end when he leaves with his wife, the story has finally revealed all of his character, just as he has made his final realization of truth.
Setting%
The physical setting of the story has little significance, but the story is set in a different time period. Though most of the story seems like today, the society has been able to harness the thoughts of people who can read the future. They have made these people pretty much machines, taking away all dignity they have. One of Anderton's subordinates is "in charge of the monkey block," which refers to the area of the lab that has the humans that predict the future (page 122). This shows that society has become much less considerate of human dignity. This lack of dignity makes Anderton's realizations that he needs to sacrifice himself for mankind even more noble. He shows dignity to all of the world when most of society does not even show it to the people that help protect them. This realization of the importance of human dignity is yet another realization that Anderton makes regarding the truths of the world around him.
Theme~
As I have stated in every little section of this blog so far, one of the themes of this work is Anderton's realization of the truths around him. He originally sees the majority report and a hoax, but he eventually realizes, on page 149, that, due to his actions, "Kaplan, as the majority report had asserted, was dead." He realized that the majority report was right all along, but not because he was a bad person. He killed Kaplan, because he cared more about his program and the safety of the country than he even knew. He realizes his compassion and willingness to sacrifice as he learns the truths of the reports. These realizations are a major theme of the work. They are not only made by Anderton, but they are simultaneously made by the reader. This further emphasizes that theme. The reader realizes the theme of realizations which hammers home the theme itself. Woah

Eveline.

I understood this question the least. I understand that she is sitting in her house watching the night come, but i can't tell if she is remembering the events described or if she is actually experiencing them. I can tell that her father is abusive, especially since the mom is dead, but I don't know if she is actually experiencing her dad in the story. I just can't quite tell. I will definitely need to read it again to see.
One thing that I am confident did happen is the boat scene. I love that fact that most stories with that situation end with the girl following the guy, but not this one. Eveline is just like "well I'd love to, but no thanks". I just love that. I wish more stories had realistic endings like that.

The path was worn, all right.

This story is pretty weird. At first, I thought that I was reading about a walk in the park. Most of it involves Phoenix's walk, but it is more the stops that matter. She continuously stops and talks to people that are not there, which makes me wonder if this story even happened. I wonder if the man that she talks to that seems to be real isn't just another product of her imagination. It is obvious that the scarecrow and the ghost aren't real, but is it possible that the man and the medicine stop didn't happen either? I guess we will never know.
I also want to discuss the issue of her grandson. The final question hints at this, but I'm gonna say some stuff about it too. The reader does not know if the grandson is alive or not, but it doesn't really matter. All that matters is that Phoenix's life focuses around helping him. He is what keeps her going, and that is what we must focus on. The issue of his existence isn't a big deal.

I'll show you a children's story.

"Once Upon a Time" made me laugh out loud. I very rarely like stories that I truly like, but when someone writes a children's story about a child getting shredded in razor wire, I must applaud them. This said, I'm going to answer question two which kind of relates to that. The stylistic devices that create the satirical atmosphere of the story are the sarcastic uses of phrases that are common in children's stories. Many children's stories end with the phrase "and they lived happily ever after." This story had that phrase in its opening line. That shows, from the beginning, that the story is making fun of children's stories. The story is full of examples like this that further illustrate it as a satire. The fact that the child gets shredded by razor wire due to a children's story's inspiration is only the icing on the cake. This story is a perfect example of a satirical piece. I loved it.

Miss Brill (the Russian)

Well question five asks what the importance of the lady in the ermine toque is. Well I'll tell you. Miss Brill is socially naive. She doesn't understand any of the events that are occurring around here. We know this because the story is told from what she sees. It is obvious that she sees everything as good and awesome, while most things that she sees aren't too pleasant. The lady in the ermine toque is CLEARLY (yes, I am quoting Mr. Costello's book with the answers) a prostitute. She is soliciting some guys in the scene that Miss Brill encounters, but Miss Brill doesn't know that. She thinks that it is just a pretty lady talking to some guys. This is a prime example of how Miss Brill has no idea of what is going on around her. She is a little old lady who sees the world as perfect, when it clearly is not.
On another note, I have no idea what is up with the funky hat. She seems sad when she puts it up in the end, so I just don't know its importance. Hopefully I'll find that out soon.

Everyday Use?!?!

Okay so I'm not sure that I really understood this one. First off, I don't know why a woman would change her name from something semi-normal, Dee, to something like Wangero. I understand that she is being cultural, but that's just crazy. I also would like to point out the fact that it appears that this cultural change is an act. It is too extreme to be real.
Also, I think that the last paragraph is odd. The women seem so civil and proper throughout the story, then they suddenly whip out the snuff. It does make them seem like they are comfortable with each other, but couldn't it be something like lemonade or Popsicles? I just don't like the choice of common ground. Either way, I'm just not a fan of this one. I've definitely read better.

So why were they hunting in the snow?

I am going to focus on the irony in this story. First, it is ironic that Kenny is shot for no reason at all. Though Tub thinks he is protecting himself, he has no need to. Kenny, as we find out, was told to shoot the dog. He had no intention of shooting Tub. It is also ironic that the two men seem upset that their friend has been shot, but they really aren't too concerned. They show us this by taking his blankets when they are cold and by stopping at the tavern. Their comfort is more important than his life.
I also really, really like the last line. I think that it is so clever to take a very common phrase, change one word, and completely change the meaning to a much deeper connotation. The fact that the narrator uses "different," not "wrong" shows that they chose this path. It was intentional. They meant not to take their friend to the hospital. Even if it wasn't a choice, it was a subconscious one. This story is about their true motives.

Hunters in the Snow- Question 7

The scene where Frank and Tub stop at the tavern is intended to show how careless they really are. They leave their wounded friend in the truck. It's an absurd choice that most people couldn't fathom making, but that just shows how bad of friends they really are. It is as if they didn't care at all that they shot their friend. This scene is really explained in the last line of the story. The narrator tells us that the two had taken a "different" turn a long way back. I think that this is referring to their careless mentality. They never really planned on making the correct turn to go to the hospital. Well, they may have thought they did, but they didn't care enough to make it happen.

Bartleby the Scrivener- Question 4

This ridiculous "I would prefer not to" has a crazy impact on the daily lives of everyone in the story. First off, it makes the fellow scrivener's mad. They feel that they must do everything for him, because he would prefer not to do it. At first, they were not sure how to respond to this abnormal behavior, but they end up threatening him. On the other hand, the lawyer almost feels sympathetic for Bartleby. He sees the reactions not as rebellious, but, because they seem odd, as a sign of lack of intelligence. These sympathetic feelings make him allow Bartleby to do things that he would normally not allow. He originally is okay with Bartleby's sleeping in the building. He eventually realizes how weird it is that Bartleby will not do anything, only sit there, and asks him to leave. When he gets that same phrase again, he reacts by moving the office. Though this is an extreme reaction, it is elicited by an extreme person.

Interpreter of Maladies.

This one wasn't nearly as good as the other two. It doesn't have an exciting plot and the names are very confusing. I know it takes place in India, but some common names would have been nice. Anyway, it does focus on some issue that are applicable in today's world. People's priorities get in the way of their life. Mr. Das fantasizes about India as a tourist attraction, and he fails to appreciate it as a home for his parents. Also, Mrs. Das treats Mr. Kapasi like a shrink and tells him secrets that are none of his business. She wants help from him even though he makes it clear that he cannot give it. She makes her relationship with him rot very quickly due to her awkward secret telling.
I think that the message of this story is that people need to get their priorities in order. One should worry about family and other people's well-being above their own selfish interests. This is a universal theme that is applicable in all time periods.

How I Met My Husband

I really like this story. My favorite part was the irony of the last page. The entire story implies that the narrator is going to marry the plane man. It messes with the reader's mind and focuses on these events and details that make the relationship between the plane man and the narrator the center of the plot. The fact that she marries the man that saddened her at one point is very ironic. The mailman doesn't bring her the letter, making her begin to fake smiles at him. Ironically, she ends up marrying the mailman.
The other odd part of the story is that the title implies that the story will be about her meeting her husband, but the meeting of this man only takes place in a few paragraph. It is almost like the meeting of her husband was an afterthought that was thrown in at the end. The title of the work makes it obvious that that is not the case, but it does make the work very ironic.

How embarrassing.

So after reading the questions at the end of "A Rose for Emily," I got the impression that the ending was supposed to be a big surprise. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I saw details throughout the story that made it pretty obvious. As soon as I read that her house smelled of nastiness, I knew that her dad's corpse was in there. Maybe it is because I have watched crime shows in the past that have had a similar ending, but I was not surprised by the ending. It also could have been because I was told it was creepy. One part of it that did creep me out a bit was the fact that the people were creeping around her house after she died. I don't understand why everyone was so interested in the creepy lady's life. Just let her be.
I would like to mention, however, that the author of this story was messed up. Who writes a story about that?!?! Of all the things a person could write about, why would they pick that. Oh well. It made for a good AP Lit read. I'm also sure that he did get the tone across that he wanted. It is definitely one of the a story with a creepy tone.

A Rose for Emily

This story was full or foreshadowing. It talks of her stench, and focuses on her father's death. These two details were the biggest hints for me. Why else would there be a bad stench from a house in which the daughter did not want to give her father's corpse away? The effect of this foreshadowing is that it gives creates a disgusted feeling throughout the story. Each detail that point towards the ending of the story shows how disturbing Emily's actions are. It creates a very eerie tone that would not be present if the foreshadowing did not occur.
The foreshadowing is almost necessary for the piece's full effect. It is what keeps the story flowing. The details that are essential for setting up the ending are what foreshadow that ending. It is almost like the foreshadowing is a byproduct of the story itself.