Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Monks of the Abbey Victoria and The Virgin of the Small Plains

1. Compare and contrast the short story you choose in a given week to the novel we are reading that week. Consider differences in character development, plots, settings and themes. Consider how the length of the form, i.e. short story vs. novel, impacts the story. Which did you prefer in a given week and why.

This was the first time I have had to give any thought to which story I prefer. Previously I always picked the short story without hesitation. This week, I loved both stories and had a hard time choosing.

The differences character development is that The Virgin of the Small Plains didn't have a a true main character. I would assume the author would say that Abby was the main character since she appeared the most but she wasn't a typical main character. The Monks of the Abbey Victoria had an ordinary main character that they story revolved around.

One plot was a man that was conned into taking the fall for other men stealing a schedule of TV shows that they sold to the competitors for a premium. The other plot was about a nameless murder victim and the killers were discovered at the end of to story.

The settings were completely opposite. The Virgin of the Small Plains took place in a very small town in Kansas and The Monks of the Abbey Victoria took place in New York City.

The length of the story always makes me choose the the novel. I am more into the story because I know the characters. The short story was a close second because it was very clever and well written. It is the only short story that I liked that I read so far.

2. Do you attribute any differences between the short stories based on the gender of the author? If so, explain what differences you observed.

I attribute the amount of emotion included in the story to the gender of the author. The Virgin of Small Plains included well detailed emotions of how Abby felt when Mitch left and when he returned. It talked about how Rex never really got over Sarah.

The Monks of the Abbey Victoria talked about a husband cheating on his wife and he didn't seem to have he had any second thoughts about cheating on his wife. His only concern was about getting caught. I think that if a woman were writing the story, he would at least think about his wife and feel somewhat guilty for going out with another woman.

3. Review each short story. What did you like or dislike and why? Did the mystery in the short story work for you, i.e., were you challenged, surprised, satisfied or unsatisfied by what happened in the end.

I liked this story because I did not expect for him to be set up and have to take the fall for the other men stealing the schedule. I never saw that coming so I was satisfied because it had a good twist at the end but it still explained it enough to where I didn't feel like I was left "hanging."

4. Reflect on the rest of the course, including your thoughts, reactions, observations, etc about the online discussion, the novels and anything else that strikes you as relevant to the course and your experience. DO NOT REPEAT WHAT YOU HAVE POSTED IN THE ONLINE DISCUSSIONS.

This was my favorite week of the story because The Virgin of Small Plains was my favorite story of the course. I also read The Monks of the Abbey Victoria which was by far my favorite short story. I have discovered that I typically prefer a female author of a male author which I did not know before this course. I didn't know how important the emotions were for me to be engaged in the story before I took this course.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Hothouse

1. Compare and contrast the short story you choose in a given week to the novel we are reading that week. Consider differences in character development, plots, settings and themes. Consider how the length of the form, i.e. short story vs. novel, impacts the story. Which did you prefer in a given week and why.

Hothouse was about a homeless man that was an escaped convict. I think that I would have liked Hothouse more if it were longer. I think that the character development was lacking a little which I felt was the reason why I didn’t feel sorry for John Kelly. I felt the reason why it was lacking was because of the shortness of the story. I actually preferred the short story this week because I felt that Mystic River was too dark for me. I feel like Hothouse could have had a lot of potential if it was a little longer and they gave a little more history of his life. It talked about how he murdered his wife and S.J. Rozan could have made you feel more sorry for John Kelly if story was a little longer. Rozen could have made it seem more the wife’s fault for cheating on him.

2. Do you attribute any differences between the short stories based on the gender of the author? If so, explain what differences you observed.

I felt that S.J. Rozan spent most of the story building up to the last two pages. I thought she did a good job of describing the setting in the little time she had. I also thought Dennis Lehane did a great job of making you feel attached to the characters. So far I feel like women are more known for making me more attached to the characters and Lehane is an exception.

3. Review each short story. What did you like or dislike and why? Did the mystery in the short story work for you, i.e., were you challenged, surprised, satisfied or unsatisfied by what happened in the end.

I liked the story but I don’t feel like there was really a mystery in the story. I felt like it was just a short story, not a short mystery story. I was a little surprised that he died in the ending. I thought that they way the story ended, I realized that she had foreshadowed his death a few pages before so then I wasn’t surprised at all. I didn’t really feel satisfied or unsatisfied with this story, it was just lukewarm. I would have found the ending more upsetting if I were more attached to him.

4. Reflect on the rest of the course, including your thoughts, reactions, observations, etc about the online discussion, the novels and anything else that strikes you as relevant to the course and your experience. DO NOT REPEAT WHAT YOU HAVE POSTED IN THE ONLINE DISCUSSIONS.

I think Rozan could have added one extra page to show the relationship development between John Kelly and Doctor Morse. It also could have been better it told about Doctor Morse being upset that he was shot.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

The Blind Man’s Sighted Daughters and Eleven On Top

The Blind Man’s Sighted Daughters

1. Compare and contrast the short story you choose in a given week to the novel we are reading that week. Consider differences in character development, plots, settings and themes. Consider how the length of the form, i.e. short story vs. novel, impacts the story. Which did you prefer in a given week and why.

Here I go again talking about how the short story was TERRIBLE. Short stories are just not my thing. The plot in “The Blind Man’s Sighted Daughters” was actually really good for the first part of the story. Then it went to when they were older and the rest of the story bored the socks off of me. The story started off with two daughters that assumed their father murdered two people. I was very interested in finding out if there suspicions were correct. Then the story went to when they were older and they never talked about it again. All it talked about was their senile and violent father. I think that maybe a person with older parents would like this story more. I thought this was the worst story of all of them so far by a long shot. The character development was great in the first part and I started to feel like I was really beginning to know the characters. Then the story jumped ahead many decades and the main character was very different and cynical so I don’t know why he bothered with going into so much detail when she was a child. The plot was very good in the beginning and then just dropped off in the middle of the story. The setting was well described and in a family home with many marital problems between the problems. Then the middle aged daughter returned to take care of her very sick father that she had very much animosity towards. I am glad that “The Blind Man’s Sighted Daughters” wasn’t a page longer. The story was such a let down because the main plot was never touched on for the second half of the story. I much prefer “Eleven On Top” to “The Blind Man’s Sighted Daughters.”

2. Do you attribute any differences between the short stories based on the gender of the author? If so, explain what differences you observed.

Both of the authors this week were women. I assume that Joyce Carol Oates is a middle aged woman herself that has witnessed someone going through old age. I do not know how old she is but I assume she is older than Janet Evanovich. Either that or Janet Evanovich has stayed more in touch with her youthful side which makes her more appealing to me.

3. Review each short story. What did you like or dislike and why? Did the mystery in the short story work for you, i.e., were you challenged, surprised, satisfied or unsatisfied by what happened in the end.

I am sure by the time you begin reading this section, you know that the story was not my style. J The first half of “The Blind Man’s Sighted Daughters” worked very well for me. I was engaged and I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. The second half of the story was what made it the worst I have read so far. I was left completely unsatisfied because they never touched on the murder mystery for the second half of the story. I guess they did a little but not very much. The father did say that he wanted to go to confession so a reader might infer that he wanted to confess to both murders. I did not assume that because who knows what he wanted to confess. The second half of the story was just about a daughter taking care of her very mean and senile father. That is not a mystery in my opinion. I felt like I had to make myself finish this story and I was very glad that it was over. I was completely unsatisfied with this story due to the second half. I also thought the title was very misleading because when I read the title, I assumed it would be about someone that was born blind and had children that were still young.

On another note, I thought “Eleven On Top” was the best book that I have read for this course. I was surprised that Stiva was posing as Spiro. I didn’t even pick up that it might be him until it was spelled out for me. I was still assuming it was Spiro until Stiva admitted to be pretending to be Spiro. I was very satisfied with this story. The only thing that would have made it even more satisfying is if they told us which guy she picked in the end. Then I would give it an A+ instead of an A.

4. Reflect on the rest of the course, including your thoughts, reactions, observations, etc about the online discussion, the novels and anything else that strikes you as relevant to the course and your experience. DO NOT REPEAT WHAT YOU HAVE POSTED IN THE ONLINE DISCUSSIONS.

I really enjoy reading the novels for the course. I did not feel overwhelmed with the amount of reading this week. I do not like reading the short stories because I feel that I am wasting my time because every one of them has been a let down so far.

5. Add anything else that you think is relevant to the course and your experience. I'm not looking for anything specific here, only what may be important to you. If you don't have anything to add in this category, that's okay. I won't deduct points and it won't hurt your grade. However, interesting, compelling thoughts or observations can enhance your grade.


I really am trying to get my posts in earlier in the week but I was not able to finish the book until yesterday. Yes I realize that we are suppose to read it the week before but I do not feel like that is a realistic time frame for a person with a job and taking another course. I promise I really am reading as much and as fast as possible. I happen to read about the same pace as a snail!