“Reflections on Poetry Ch. 15”

"This Is Just To Say" – William Carlos Williams

    This poem is just a note a husband would leave his wife on the fridge after eating some plums he later realized she may have been saving for herself. I like this poem because it shows that there is beauty and art in everyday life.

"Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town" – E. E. Cummings

    This poem is interesting because it plays with word order. It doesn't really make sense unless you rearrange the words in each line back to their normal order. I also like how it uses words that are usually verbs as nouns and so on. It makes the poem even more interesting.

"Carnation Milk" – Anonymous

    This poem is really catchy and funny. I like it because it's true, you don't have to go milk a cow yourself to enjoy a can of carnation milk. I also like this poem because it's just plain silly.

“Reflections on Poetry Ch. 17”

"Fork" – Charles Simic

    I like this poem because it describes an everyday item in a peculiar way. It describes a fork from the point of view of someone who has never seen one before and is afraid of it. It's really interesting.

"Tired Sex" – Chana Bloch

    I found this poem quite amusing. Is this really what women think of sex? "We're trying to strike a match in a matchbook that has lain all winter under the woodpile" It's a funny metaphor. I wonder if her partner feels the same way.

"El Hombre" – William Carlos Williams

    I like this poem. He speaks of the sun in a different way. He refers to how the sun does not really rise, but we call it a sunrise. He speaks of how the sun gives him courage. It's a good poem.

“Questions on Hamlet”

I

3. Horatio has a formal sort of strictly servant like relationship, but as the play goes on, he becomes more of a friend to Hamlet.

II

3. He thinks he's a know-it-all.

4. He always manages to state the obvious well, but he never strikes me as saying much of anything useful.

III

2. Hamlet charges her with ignoring the truth. Our sympathy definitely diminishes as the play goes along.

4. That it was used to entertain everyone.

IV

2. The death of her father and the exile of Hamlet. Act IV Scene V 72-79.

3. Hamlet's madness was brought about by his inner confliction of his duty to avenge his father and his desire to be passive with the situation.

V

2. His appearance gives a different view on the situation of all the dead royalty.

GQ

1. Whether or not to do what is comfortable or to do all that you can to do the right thing. It seems to be the main crisis in the play.

2. From the moment the ghost told me.

7. The play loses some of Hamlet's inner thought.

 

“Reflection on A Worn Path”

The point of view in the story and the point of view in the movie are different in a lot of ways. In the story you are obviously left to make your own images of the story, but in the movie, it helps to paint a picture of symbolism. In the story, the point of view seems to focus on the old woman. In the movie, however, it seems to reinforce the points of view of all the other people that the old woman comes across.

“Fan of Public Health Care”

Does anyone notice how ridiculous health care is today? It seems like if you get hurt nowadays you are screwed if you don’t have insurance. I have seen many cases where hospitals have simply let people die because they wouldn’t be able to pay their bills. Even if you do apply for health insurance, most agencies will look for every reason not to insure you. There is no need to worry, however; the government has come with an ingenious plan-make having health insurance the law. If someone refuses to get health insurance, they go to jail...where they get health insurance is free.

Questions for Tuesday

“A Rose for Emily”
1. The meaning of the hair being gray is that Miss Emily had to have had slept with the corpse recently.
2. The unnamed narrator is an unnamed townsman who is speaking for the entire town.
3. “A Rose for Emily” seems better told from the narrator’s point of view rather than the main character’s point of view because if it was told from Emily’s point of view, there would be no mystery.
4. When Emily bought the arsenic, it foreshadowed that she killed Homer because of his disappearance shortly after. It seemed a little obvious and therefore somewhat gave away the ending.
5. The narrator shows the contrast between a changing reality and Emily’s refusal to recognize change by sharing the time that she kept her father dead in the house for three days and her killing Homer so she wouldn’t leave her. She also refused to pay taxes.
6. The difference in the character and background of Emily and Homer is that Emily is from a high society background and Homer is a more laid back person.
7. I find the story to be grim and a little creepy since there was an old woman sleeping with a dead man.
8. I believe that Faulkner saw Emily as a sad old woman. He uses Homer as a symbol as Emily’s rose since she somewhat had him on display like a rose.

“Teenage Wasteland”

1. The story is from third person limited omniscient point of view.
2. The opening paragraph of the story signifies not only the physical but in internal changes taking place in Donnie as he grows up.
3. It leads her to let make decisions for her regarding her children and their discipline because she trusts others more than she trusts herself.
4. Daisy goes from being skeptical of Kyle to completely relying on him to being jealous to being suspicious of him and in the end she question whether the reason why Donnie left or if he is the reason the he stayed as long as he did.
5. It shows that her parents are more concerned with Donnie.
6. I would describe Tyler’s presentation of Daisy as both satirical and sympathetic. He seems sympathetic with her struggle with parenting Donnie but satirical towards her personality and self-consciousness.

Favorite Movie

Does anyone have a favorite movie? Among the top of my list would have to be “The Lord of the Rings” Series. Tolkien work on the books was possibly some of the greatest novels ever written and the movies weren’t far behind in greatness. Not only were they filled with a lot of action, but they were also filled with all kinds of themes from literature such as Good vs. Evil along with others. The movies also fit well with the theme of our class: heroes vs. monsters. The action, themes, and accuracy of the movies make the books come alive.

The cut that hurts the most…

If you gotten one before, then you already know what I am talking about. You might think that being stabbed or even a bad break-up would be the thing that would give the most painful cut. In fact, it is neither of these. The cut that hurts the most is beyond a shadow of doubt…paper cuts. Why do they suck much? They look like nothing, but just getting them sends a shockwave of discomfort through your body so bad that it will make you cringe. If that is not enough, the cuts seem like they last for weeks and are always burning! How can something so small be such an inconvenience?

The Great Mystery

This is a mystery that has plagued mankind for many years. No one quite knows why it is. It just is. Ever since they came into being, they were placed into a situation that just does not make sense, and no matter what we seem to do, nobody can answer the ongoing question: if hot dogs come in packs of ten, then why do hot dog buns come in packs of eight? As you can all clearly see, this is a very good point and the fact of it being so is just absolute insanity.

“Reflection of Flannery O’Connor’s Works”

Flanner O’Connor was a famous Southern writer who lived from 1925-1964. O’Connor was also a devout Catholic. She used these aspects of her being in her works. Her Southern roots had influence in a lot of her works. Not only are most of her characters portrayed to have a Southern accent, but the settings of most of her stories are based in the South. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the grandmother is thought of by some people to be evil. Other people, particularly the Southerners, believe that the grandmother just cannot comprehend the modern world, but has good intentions.
O’Connor’s Catholicism also plays a part in her writing. Many of her stories have some kind of religious background. In “Parker’s Back,” the wife is very religious. In an attempt to finally please her, Parker gets a tattoo of “Christ” on his back. Many critics also argue that her works are a reflection of how the South was slowly losing its religious reputation back then and turning into a violent South.

Reflection on “A Good Man is Hard to Find”

While reading Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the elements of writing that stood out most to me were foreshadowing and irony. The grandmother reading about the Misfit in the newspaper foreshadowed the fate of the family. The grandmother and Red Sam talking about how you cannot trust anyone anymore and then again mentioning the Misfit foreshadowed yet again that this family would run into trouble. The irony of the grandmother warning against running into the Misfit and then her mistake of leading them right to him was almost laughable.

Questions for 10/21/09

“A Good Man is Hard to Find”
1. Near the beginning O’Connor says that “in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady”, describing the grandmother. Red Sammy seems to emphasize that the Misfit would come this way.
2. The grandmother is an old-fashioned lady whose remarks reveal that she is somewhat “stuck in her ways”. She remains static as she seems to believe that there is good in everybody.
3. She realizes that the Misfit is just like her grandchildren in the way that their generation just does not agree with the older generation.
4. That the Misfit was an average guy who believes that world is ultimately going to be judged for what they do no matter how simple it is. This reflects O’Connor’s view that the South’s religious views are coming to a violent end.
“Revelation”
6. The vision that Mrs. Turpin gets afterwards reveals the answer to that question.
7. That piety actually puts a person below everyone else instead of above as a pious person may believe. She is left with the new view that maybe she is not better than everyone else and that she should stop putting people in “classes” as she usually does.
“Parker’s Back”
5. It shows that his views on life are shallow and that he does not like to look at the big picture
6. He did it so Sarah Ruth would finally accept him. He expected her to finally look at him other than just some bum that does not know what he is doing
7. It shows that he did not believe his own feelings.
8. That he does not really care about anyone but himself and he does not deserve his own sympathy by his standards.
9. She feels like he is hiding who he really is and by whispering his name he finally admits to himself who he really is.

Fleas Epidemic in America

Has anyone been watching the news lately about the flea epidemic? They have been saying on the news that there is an unusual infestation of fleas this year. Apparently, the past winter was not hard enough to kill all of them. Not only is there an infestation, but they are also a new breed that are insanely hard to get rid of. My friend’s dog has a flea collar, takes Frontline, uses flea shampoo and still has fleas. Hopefully, they do not take over.

A Streetcar Named Desire

My wife and I went to the play this past Thursday evening. The place was a little smaller than I was expecting, but the interior was gorgeous. The play was good and the acting was good as well. The play is about how Blanche comes to live with her sister, Stella, and her husband, Stanley, because she lost the property in another city. She comes saying that she lost it, she did not sell it and there is no bill of sale. Stanley is very suspicious of her and goes through her things. It soon becomes obvious that there is something that Blanche is not telling them. Soon the truth comes out that Blanche was actually kicked out of town because she molested a seventeen year old boy. Throughout the play, this becomes apparent by her promiscuous attitude.

Contrasts within “The Glass Menagerie”

“The Glass Menagerie” is about an American home that strives for the American dream even though many conditions are set against them. Tom works at a warehouse in order to provide for his mother and sister because the father left them many years ago. Amanda is obsessed with her past and always has an inferiority complex because of it. Laura has pleurosis and is crippled because of it. This gives an inferiority complex as well and makes her a very shy girl. The play is set near The Great Depression so times are still hard. It is easy for the reader to see that the play is a big contrast representation. One critic listed many subjects that the play contrasted. Two of such examples were the dreamer and the doer, and fantasy and reality.
The play deals a lot with the concept of the dreamer and the doer. There were also all kinds of examples of both. In the play, the mother, Amanda, was stuck in a sort of dreamer state. It was like she wanted the world to be in a perfect state. She tried to make everyone else’s lives perfect by trying to manage them for them. The irony of this is that she was not making them perfect at all. Although Amanda may have thought that she was doing Tom and Laura a favor, she was actually making them worse. Tom had his own dreams while Laura had hers. It may have seemed like Amanda wanted certain things for her children, but in fact, she only did this because she regretted not having the things for herself. Amanda was obsessed with trying to find Laura a husband, but this obsession only existed because she was afraid that she would end up like herself-alone and depressed (an “old maid as she calls it”). She was also trying to force her will on her son as well. Tom worked at a factory making shoes all day. Obviously, this job would get old after a long period of time. Unfortunately, Tom did not have much of a choice since there was no one to take care of his mother and sister. So he often escaped his reality by going to the movies and watching how actors made their dreams come true. Tom also liked to drink. He did all these things just to get a break from life. Amanda thought that he was becoming more like his father which, once again, made her do silly things because she was obsessed with her past. Amanda was always just stuck on making things like they once were. Tom, on the other hand, was somewhat a combination of both a dreamer and a doer. He worked at a shoe factory to provide for his family. This is not exactly anybody’s idea of a dream. Tom was a dreamer in one sense; he always dreamed of joining the Union of Merchant Seamen. I believe that his way of living pushed him into not only dreaming of joining the Union, but also doing so. In the end, he somewhat ended up like his father and running away from his responsibilities.
There is also a lot of fantasy and reality tied into the play. Amanda attempts to live a fantasy by pretending to live like she did when her husband was still around. She tried so hard to make things like her fantasy that she sometimes ended up doing more harm than good. By pushing Laura to find a guy, she might have influenced Laura’s feelings of inferiority and timidness. Also her desire to keep her son around so he did not end up like his father might also have played a role in why Tom left in the first place. Tom even said in the story that her constant nagging is what makes him do the exact opposite just so he could get away from her. Maybe this is why the father left in the first place? Even after her husband left over fifteen years earlier, Amanda still could not learn that you cannot force people to obey your fantasy-that is just reality, which she could not get a grip on. Laura also lived in a fantasy. She was a cripple which made her very shy and also gave her a complex. She escaped her reality by taking refuge in her glass menagerie collection. When the unicorn’s horn broke off, I think it represented Laura’s desire to become just like everyone else. I think it also symbolized that Laura finally felt like a normal person now that she talked to her high school crush, Jim. I think that the fact that she gave the broken unicorn to Jim was a representation that he was the one who made her feel normal, just like the broken unicorn.
“The Glass Menagerie” is about the American dream and how it contrasted with reality; nobody was, is, or ever will be perfect. The play shows how the typical 1930’s family lived and what their lives were actually like. It showed how people wanted to be just how they wanted and how they dealt with it. Laura just wanted to be normal, Amanda wanted her old life back, and Tom wanted a new one. It all shows what people do and how they act to achieve dreams.

“Harrison Bergeron” Study Questions

The opening sentence implies that the fact that everyone was equal in that manner was a good thing, something that we have been striving for. People were given handicaps so that no one would have an advantage over anyone else. Capitalism and democracy cannot prevail without competition so they must be gone. Totalitarianism has come with Diana Moon Glampers has found a way to control everyone and make them think it is for their own benefit. The elimination of advantages, difference, and competition suggests that these are the things that cause inequality.
These changes would be impossible under American capitalism because the people who have power, CEO’s, government officials, the wealthy, and the famous, would not allow anyone to make all people equal. They like being the best. The human tendencies of empathy and compassion could result in such a world. If middle class greed, envy, and pettiness spread, it could cause such a world because the middle class could over throw the people in power. The popularity of shows like Oprah hints that Americans enjoy watching compassionate people. Oprah is a role model because she gives to people and allows “ordinary people” on her shows and gives them advice along with physical things. Barbie dolls were redesigned to look more like “real” people in order to help young girls develop positive body images. Teachers inflate students’ grades when they show effort in order to make students feel good about themselves. Organized sports giving all members of the team playing time and giving trophies to every child on the team helps to give children self-esteem. These trends suggest that Americans want all people to feel like they are equal whether they have talent or intelligence or not.
The agents of “United States Handicapper General” makes sure that everyone is equal and that no one is smarter, more talented, or more beautiful that anyone else. Such agents are massive threats to society. They have power over everyone and can pretty much do whatever they want to. Political overthrow or revolution could cause such absurdities. Giving government way too much control could lead to this. These agents develop handicaps that people must use to make themselves equal with everyone else. They imprison or kill anyone who does not use proper handicaps.
Vonnegut might be parodying affirmative action, equal rights laws toward women, and civil rights laws. Conceptions that equality means everyone doing the same thing, that no one is better at anything than anyone else motivates radical mediocrity.
Equality related to commercial life means that everyone has the same buying power, everyone has the same quality of products and wage laborers have to pay everyone the same as what they are being paid. Yes, capitalism causes inequality but allows movements for equality. The tension of inequality is such an irresolvable force that no one short of an extreme radical could cause true equality.
Hruska statement reflects the American attitude that mediocrity is not good enough. Vonnegut seems to be saying that people will never be equal unless they are all willing to settle for mediocrity and never live out their true potential. He seems to be saying that competition is important.
George and Hazel Bergeron are described as an intelligent husband who is greatly handicapped and a “normal” wife. They lead a “normal” life just like everyone else. Vonnegut is parodying the average family and warning against believing everything you hear. Television, radio, and the mass media tell you only what they want you to know and then switch quickly to the next subject, which most often keeps you from thinking for yourself.
Harrison Bergeron is such a threat to society because he is incredibly talented, incredibly strong, and incredibly handsome. He also does not believe that he should have to be handicapped in order to make other people feel good about themselves. He is fourteen years old and has been handicapped by three hundred pounds of scrap metal, head phones, glasses, a red nose, and no eyebrows.
Harrison appearing where his escape was being reported made it so that the whole world could see him and what he had to say. He says that he is the Emperor because he is so superior to everyone else. I’m not sure Vonnegut is suggesting a return to feudalism and aristocratic political institutions, he was just saying that Harrison was superior.
Harrison is trying to show the world how could it can really be, instead of constantly being plain and normal. His actions can be compared to Sammy’s in that he was trying to be a hero and make a change and also he did pick an empress as Sammy did his queenie. Sammy’s actions were caused by this girl and his fascination with her. Harrison’s were caused by his talent and his frustration that he was not allowed to use it. The young strive for change and the old just see things the way they’ve always been. The damsel in distress motif translates to people needing a hero to come in and lead them to what’s best.
Harrison tells the musicians that he will make them barons and dukes and earls in order to motivate them to do what he wants them to do. Such noblemen would follow their emperor and obey him without question. By following his orders, the musicians obviously wish to become noblemen and therefore do not want to be equal with everyone else. They want to be better. Beauty and aesthetics play a big part in Harrison’s rebellion. He himself is extremely handsome and his empress is truly beautiful. Unveiling their beauty to the world makes the world know that everyone is not equal and allows for them to be followed.
Harrison and the ballerina’s dance and kissing represent beauty and talent and desire in a world where these things have been completely banished and hidden. Their dance was so beautiful and graceful it seemed as if they were defying all laws of gravity and motion and doing with their bodies only what they willed.
Diana Moon Glampers shooting down Harrison and the ballerina shows that she will go to any length to keep the world how she wishes it to be. Her name suggests that she is hard and cold as the dark side of the moon. Her character is similar to Lengel’s in that they both were extremely set on everyone following the rules just how they felt they should be followed. They’re also similar in that they both ended a fantasy for the protagonists in the stories.
Hazel Bergeron forgets what she is crying about because she is mentally handicapped, not by the general but just by life. The last line of the story signifies the monumental typre of day that has just occurred and been completely forgotten.
The appropriate limits to enforcing equality is making sure that everyone gets a fair shot but not limiting people from being the best that they can be and not stopping the better suited, more talented person from getting the job or winning the election or whatever. People should be given equal opportunities but actual results should depend on personal quality and talent because if you make laws saying that you have to hire a person just because they are a minority it limits the majority from having a shot and being the best that they can be.

Questions on "Where are you Going, Where have you Been?"

You would think that the main character would be Connie, however, in a lot of ways, you could see the main character being Arnold since is the main symbol. In so many ways, he was represented as the devil. Just as Connie had been out enjoying herself, the "devil" came along and presented himself as a friend in order to get what he wanted.The house serves as a metaphor for Connie's identity because the mother had been trying to paint the house for years. I think this symbolizes the mother's desire to change her daughter into a responsible young lady. The numbers 33 19 17 are often thought to be representative of the Bible story in Judges. In the story a man's concubine runs away from him. The man eventually gets her back, but treats her badly. In the end, the man kills her. The moral of the story being that you should always speak your mind or you could end up in a situation that you did not want. This clearly relates to the story as Connie definitely ended up in a bad situation. I think the biggest image in the story was that of Arnold Friend. I believe that he was supposed to create the image of the devil. Many things such as his stance but especially the way he came across makes me think this way. Much like the devil, Arnold comes to Connie like he's "an old friend" (take out the first r), but as the conversation goes on, the reader quickly realizes that he's nothing but "an old fiend" (take out both r's). This is also how the devil acts.

Essay 9/22

Every day, people do crazy things. It seems like they are getting more and more bold. I think a lot of these problems are coming from our increasing lack of morals. The articles that were posted on the blog this week inspired the movie and short story "Where are you Going, Where Have you Been" by Sharon Oates. Both of the articles were about how teenagers back in the sixties had a stupid lapse in judgement. It seemed like all the kids were interested in was their own personal pleasure. In the movie "Where are you Going, Where Have you Been", two girls run around trying to find guys. There is nothing wrong with trying to meet new people. Unfortunately, these girls were obsessed with it. They sought only their own pleasure. This in turn caused both of the girls to have a lapse in judment and cost them both dearly. Because they put themselves out there like they did, one girl ended up getting pregnant while the other ended up getting stalked by a guy who eventually ends up raping her. If both of the girls had just cared about anything other than themselves, the situation would have been different.

The three stories, “A & P”, “The One Girl at the Boys’ Party”, and “Rites of Passage” all are somewhat abstract stories and all have hidden meanings and themes behind them. They are all made up of pieces, that if broken down, it can sometimes help you see the greater meaning behind them.
In class, we did an exercise for all the stories. First, we took all the pieces that make up the short story or poem and organize them. Then, we took all of these pieces and looked at the way that the author used them or put them together. After looking at the way the pieces are put together, we can sometimes get a better view of the puzzle that the author laid out in their work.
This process helped me see the stories in a different way and see a better moral and theme than what I had initially made. First, we take apart “A & P” and begin to see that Updike was not just trying to tell a story, but trying to display a feeling of empty heroism or vanity. I think that Updike was just trying to show people in a story that a lot of times, heroism and good deeds go overlooked or completely unnoticed. Second, in “The One Girl at the Boys’ Party”, Olds appears to be using a play on words by using math to describe something in a beautiful way, but after taking this poem apart, we begin to see that she may actually be trying to show how the girl stands her own amongst the boys and how she is not the little girl that Olds wants to be. In other words, the Olds was trying to show how the girl was growing up. In the last story, “Rites of Passage”, Olds might seem like she’s just describing her son’s birthday party, but upon a closer look, we will see that she uses many similes and metaphors to describe the boys that would normally be used to describe men and vice versa. I think that she is trying to show that boys often act like men and men often act like boys, or even perhaps she is just saying that boys never really grow up.

Sharon Olds

“Rites of Passage”

Like “A & P”, Sharon Olds has a somewhat abstract way of writing. In her poem, “Rites of Passage”, she uses the setting of a boy’s birthday party to connect the show of man’s desire to be the strongest. With the six and seven year olds, she pits them against each. With the men, she displays them as war generals. I think that this shows the connection between men and boys by linking them together and showing that men, in some ways, never grow up; she is comparing a scuffle of a six and seven year old to the wars of men.

“The One Girl at the Boys’ Party”

This poem, “The One Girl at the Boys’ Party”, like “Rites of Passage”, is also an abstract poem, but in a different sort of way. In this poem, Sharon uses mathematical personifications to explain the outcome of a little girl at a boys’ party. I think Sharon uses a strange, yet very creative form in this passage. She relates the world in all numbers. Like in “A & P”, it makes you have to think about what you’re reading than what you would have had otherwise.

In Reflection to John Updike's Interview

In the interview, John Updike was asked many interesting questions, many of which helped shed light on what made him want to write the story. The interview did help me understand why he wrote the story and where he was going with it, but I do not think that it changed my opinion on Sammie’s status as a hero. Many of the questions asked were about why the story went the way it did. These questions did make me see a little subtle view on Sammie as far as a hero, but I still think that it is not enough to call Sammie a hero.

What is a Hero?

Since the beginning of time, heroes and heroines have been a part of history and folklore. The dictionary's definition of a hero says that a hero is someone who "in the face of danger" displays "great courage and self-sacrifice". That is a pretty good definition of a hero, but it does not exactly explain it specifically. What exactly is a hero? What makes up a hero? Is it just the qualities from a dictionary or does it mean having a certain mindset? I believe that a hero is a little bit different than what is stated by the dictionary. I believe that a hero is someone who takes the difficult road just because it is the right thing to do. A hero is someone who puts themselves last when it comes to the well-being of others. This means that a hero not only displays a feat of courage and self-sacrifice, but also he/she does not just do this for the publicity or to look good. A hero does it because he/she wants to out of the goodness in his/her heart and out of knowing that it is the right thing to do. In "A & P", Sammie displays what he thinks is heroism. In one way it was heroic, and in another way, it was not. Sammie did have the right intentions by standing up for the girls. Unfortunately, Sammie's desire for their attention led him to defend them a little drastically and in the end, he lost his job for something rather stupid. Overall, Sammie may be considered a hero had he had the right intentions in mind. Instead, he acted out of desire and personal interest. This stupidity and selfishness backfired on him and instead of looking like a hero, he ended up looking like a fool.

Assignment for 9/8/09

pg. 6

1. The sun tended to use persuasion to control the man instead of force like the Wind.


2. The harder he blew, the tighter he held it to him.


3. The sun made somewhat of a compromise with the man instead of forcing him to do his willing like the North Wind attempted to.


4. To serve as a model to show that persuasion is better than force.


5. Often times it is better to get what you want by dealing with someone rather than trying to make them do what you want.

pg. 8

1. The beginning; 2 (the part when Chuang Tzu is describing the tortoise)
2. He does it to make a point; he wanted to give the officers the picture that he would much rather be fishing than being cooped a palace.
3. He is into the simple things of life.

pg. 19

1. Just an average guy working in a supermarket; detail is important here in order to give the reader the most vivid picture of what is going on.
2. The author does a good job in portraying Sammy's image. Although standing up for the girls was heroic, what he did was a little outlandish just so the girls would notice him. This is much like the doctor in "Godfather Death" who would tempt death just to get a beautiful princess to notice him.
3. When the employees are being introduced; to give the reader a good view on why Sammy is acting the way he is.
4. He seems to be becoming more and more infatuated with the girls.
5. When Sammy really wants the girls to notice him; when the manager confronts the girls; when Sammy says that he quits.
6. So the girls will notice him; he wants them to look at him as a hero.
7. He seems to be obsessed with the girls and doesn't seem to like his manager too much.
8. That Sammy knows that his actions were about to make life much harder.
9. You have to abide by the rules in order work in that kind of business.