Wednesday, October 7, 2009
American History and A&P
The last two short stories we read, "American History" and "A&P" are very similar. They are both narrated by teenagers. The girl in "American History" just turned 14 and is almost a woman and the boy in "A&P" is almost 19. Back in the 1960s, a boy 19 years of age was a man. They are both maturing through normal experiences. The childhood tendencies of guilt, nervousness, shyness, and regret are still with these two characters through their tribulations. The way these stories were written made them personal for me. I think because of their childhood tendencies and their sense of guilt on a regular basis made them relatable. The first story was so beautifully written that I couldn't stop reading it. It was as if the girl was talking to me and only me. I felt like she was my best friend and everything she said I listened to and could relate to. The second story I couldn't relate to as much (haha) but the feeling of regret he got at the end made me think about the things I regret quitting on. These short stories are so fascinating in a very odd way. I am getting quite scared of myself because I am actually ENJOYING reading. Crazy.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Oh, Aida...you are so funny sometimes but I do understand completely what you are saying. Those stories were relatable and they made you thinkg about your personal beliefs and your past. They made you really think, not only about good works of literature and what is encompassed in those but also about life and different perspectives. I find it amazing how authors can put all those little details into a story, knowing they are doing so, while making it so subtle that if you blink you could miss it. These stories had definite thought put into them.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you, Aida, about the stories being interesting and relatable. I'm obviously not Hispanic so I don't really know what it feels like to be rejected because of that, but I can relate to the "crushed" crush. I'm sure we all can, like Mr. B pointed out the other day when he had us raise our hands if we ever cried after a break-up. We all experience the hurt from the rejection in different ways, but like pain, rejection is still rejection. I think simply the fact that I'm a girl made it easy to relate to American History. Like you said, it was harder to relate to A&P, but you made a good point about the regret idea. As much as I try not to, I find myself regretting things.
ReplyDeleteI think those are very gender biased stories when it comes to relating to them. I mean I can easily relate to the distant crush in A&P but yet not so much as the "crushed" crush in American History. I think thats part of the reason he chose these two for reading side by side, because I think he was trying to get some kind of a reaction from everyone and it's definately easier to get a reaction to the text in A&P for a guy, than it is for a guy to react to American History. though, yes almost everyone should have by now felt both emotions in each story by senior year in highschool, there are still some that we as people just don't admit.
ReplyDeleteVery true... many times stories will be biased as far as relating to them goes... Especially those two we read. It would make sense, then, that Mr. Bruno paired them together.
ReplyDeleteAIDA. I am on the same page as you. When I was reading American History I literally felt like I was her, like I was being looked down on by his mother. It really made me think for a second about her situation and how wrong it was for the mother to act that way towards a child. That's what I absolutely LOVE about short stories. They're to the point, quick to read (usually), and get their message across perfectly. I could keep reading these short stories for the rest of the year.
ReplyDelete