The Cuban Swimmer

The Cuban Swimmer was an interested read for me because I was trying so hard to visual it as i read.

Imagining it as a play really forced me to use my imagination since the whole story took place on a boat in the middle of the ocean.

overall it was an interesting read and dealt realistically with the idea of a "family dream" and how sometimes we take on our parents passions to make them proud or impress them.

Margarita almost lost her life at sea trying to impress her father, but ultimately she realized that if she was going to succeed she had to do it for herself first, not him.

Oedipus

Oedipus was my least favorite story in the course. For some reason it just didn't register with me like the others. Maybe because I didn't enjoy the irony much, i've read "dark" stories but this was damn right brutal. haha

I respect what they did and like the references towards fate and not being able to escape your "destiny" but this just wasn't the story for me. 

The Sound of Thunder

The Sound of Thunder is an awesome story and example of Ray Bradbury's genius. This was another story I read previous to this course but didn't fully process until this second read.

In it he talks about the dangers of time travel in such a powerful and poetic way. Bradbury's ability to tell a science fiction story in such a unique way made him such a icon in literature, this piece easily being one of his most vivid and well written short stories.

The part that stood out to me the most was when he described the Tyrannosaur Rex. The way he setup the scene and described his teeth and scales was amazing.

the yellow wallpaper

This was easily my favorite story of the course for a few reasons and took me 2 reads to process.

I based my research paper on "The Yellow Wallpaper" because of the fact that when I first read I felt like it was based more on her Postpartum depression than anything else.

Upon second read I caught on to the connection between her obsession with the wallpaper and issues in her relationship. I then realized the story had more to do with women and the way they were treated in that time frame than anything else.

It was a well put together story and really shined a light on how far we've come since the time period in which it was written.

Edgar Allen Poe "Tell-Tale Heart"

Edgar Allen Poe is one of my favorite author's of all time, so I was very happy to be covering one of his works in our Eng 102 class.

I first read Poe's work in the 7th grade, and credit him for inspiring me to write poetry, which eventually lead to me becoming a songwriter.

Prior to covering "Tell-Tale Heart" in class, I had the same impression on the story that I had back in 7th grade when I first covered it. I was pleased to see that as an adult I am now able to see layers to the story that I didn’t see as a teen, and make stronger connections to the characters and plot.

What I enjoy most about this story both then and now is the fact that Poe is able to bring you into the mind of this character who is so convinced of his sanity despite clearly being mad.

While the heartbeat and frantic ending was my favorite element of the story as a teen, as an adult I find myself more intrigued by the 8th night in the room, and how intense and haunting the imagery is of the narrator just standing in the room, watching over the old man.