Happy Endings

I really enjoyed Happy Endings.  I  liked how it points out that cliches are over rated, and in the end the ending doesn’t really matter.  I like how it was broken up into different smaller stories, and how each smaller story ends up back at point A.  I think that the last story that talked about the main idea would have made more sense if it wasn't included as a part F.  I thought of it as more of a conclusion.  I really like the idea that you always come back to point A in some way or another.  I don't agree with the author when she says that the plot of a story is just one thing after another and has no meaning.  I think that without a good plot a story isn't captivating enough to be enjoyable.

If I were to add a part it would be:

John and Mary couldn't stand each other.  They've always hated each other, from the day they started the same shift at work.  They often interrupt the building with the sounds of them screaming at each other.  Mary is sure she has never met anyone as vile as John.  And John is positive that he has never met anyone as horrendous as Mary.


But time passes, as it tends to do, and slowly their screaming fades.  Eventually the building is quiet.  Soon enough John asks Mary on a date and it all continues as in A.

And of Clay We Are Created

I really enjoyed this story.  I think that it had a sense of purpose, it felt important.  The part that stuck with me the most was the last paragraph that was written as the author talking to her husband.  She's saying that she understands that she will never fully understand what he went through.  She's telling him that she will wait until he figures it out and heals.  I think that this is either a very loving thing to say or  completely ignorant.  On the one hand, Isabelle Allende is telling her husband that she supports him and will wait for him through anything and can't wait for the day when they will "again walk hand in hand".  On the other hand she might be waiting her entire life for a man that might not heal.  Rolf Carle went through a traumatic experience that forced him to deal with tragedy as well as deeply buried emotions all within three days.  This is the kind of event that people don't heal easily from.  So while Isabelle is saying that she will love Rolf through anything, she might be foolish to think that he will be able to move past Azucena's death.



Article on bombing in Kenya

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/03/31/world/africa/31reuters-kenya-blast.html?ref=world

The Story of an Hour

I just read the Story of an Hour, I found this story extremely ironic.  I am curious to know how the story was received because it was written by a woman about how women want to be independent in a time when women were inferior to men.  I really like the contrast between how happy Mrs. Mallard was to hear that she was free to dying of disappointment when she realized she wasn't.  I think that women who read this story in the time period in which it was written would find it some what inspiring, or at least thought provoking.