Popular Mechanics

"But he would not let go.  He felt the baby slipping out of his hands and he pulled back very hard.  In this manner, the issue was decided." - Raymond Carver.

For this blog, I am going to formally answer a question included in the text.  The question is this:

Discuss the story's final lines.  What is the "issue" that is "decided?"

At first, when I read the story, I thought that the issue decided was who the baby was going to go with.  I thought the father ended up getting the baby for it seemed like the couple was fighting over the baby itself.  Then, I realized that it was probably actually the picture of the baby that they were fighting over.  The "issue" that was "decided" was that the father got the picture frame.  After the text says the woman picked up the picture, there is nothing else to suggest that she picks up the baby.  This would also help to explain why the two were being so aggressive while fighting over the object.  If it was the baby they were tugging and pulling at, I would be very shocked.  Such aggressiveness would seriously hurt a little infant.  But, now, after considering it to be the picture they were fighting over, I believe it wasn't so bad that they were tugging and pulling at it.

You're Ugly, Too

"'Just kidding,' she said. 'I was just kidding.'  But he gazed at her, appalled and frightened, his Magic Marker buttocks turned away now toward all of downtown...'Really, I was just kidding!'" - Lorrie Moore.

It may seem a little harsh, but I do not really have any sympathy for Zoe (Sorry, but I have no idea how to spell her name with the accent mark above the e.).  She thinks she is being funny and intellectual, but I feel like she is just being overly sarcastic and a little rude.  For example, she tells her students that her opinion is the only one that matters in the classroom.  I agree to some extent that maybe she does have a little more intelligence, but I feel like she should be more open to others' opinions.  Also, when talking to Earl, she tells silly stories that would be complete turn-offs to any person.  All in all, she is just a very awkward person.  If she wants to hold any sort of relationship, she needs to stop being so sarcastic, be open to others' opinions and ideas, and most of all, stop being such a creep when talking to men.  The quote above shows how her jokes are only funny to some extent.  At some point, they become annoying and people become totally irritated.

The Drunkard

"But the next morning, when he got up and went out quietly to work with his dinner-basket, Mother threw herself on me in the bed and kissed me.  It seemed it was all my doing, and I was being given a holiday till my eye got better." - Frank O'Connor.

For this blog I am going to formally answer a question included in the text.  The question is this:

Is the title seriously meant?  To whom does it refer?

After reading this short story it became obvious that the title was not meant to refer to the father.  The drunkard was really meant to refer to the son after he drank his father's drink and became intoxicated.  Since the title refers to the son, it helps to contribute to the humor of the story.  It's funny how the son was able to both help his father and gain praise from his mother by drinking an entire cup of alcohol all on his own.  Normally, this situation would not result in praise, but that's what helps to make the situation funny.  It was also both humerous and ironic that the son embarassed the father on the way home because everytime the father became intoxicated, he was embarassing his family.  Hopefully this made the father realize that he was hurting his family.  Hopefully it will also stop the father from drinking excessively.

The Lottery

"Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the sip of paper out of her hand.  It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal-company office." - Shirley Jackson.

For this blog, I am going to formally answer a question included in the text.  The question is this:

What is a "lottery"?  How does the title lead you to expect something very different from what the story presents?

The online dictionary states that a lottery is "a gambling game in which a large number of tickets are sold and a drawing is held for certain prizes."  When I first read the title of the short story, I assumed it was going to be about some kind of game where people might win prizes or other things like that.  As the story progresses, it becomes obvious that this lottery game would not be so exciting.  In the end, the woman who is picked from the lottery gets stoned and dies.  This reminds me of the movie Lottery Ticket in ways other than the death of the winner at the end.  In both this short story and the movie, the winner of the drawing has unfortunate things happen to him or her as a result of winning.  Tessie ends up being stoned.  In Lottery Ticket, Kevin is chased into hiding by his neighbors who all want a chance at taking the ticket.  In both cases, there are regrets after the person has won the lottery.