You're Ugly Too

Lorrie Moore's You're Ugly Too has one oddball of a main character. Not completely with it when it comes to situations she encounters, she often makes comments at the wrong times- not completely understanding how to act at different times. She, however, sees nothing wrong with her personality or actions. Pathos is evoked here. She is lonely and has not found love in her life. She does not even believe in it at all. The audience cannot help but feel sorry for the eccentric soul who lives a loveless life. Using anecdotes of the students' teacher evaluations, the story is told in a way that reveals Zoe as a woman who just does not have it all together. "'Actually I have been going to a lot of doctors recently.'" Poor Zoe is waiting for the results of tests she had done, and while there has an interesting conversation about her views on love. By the end, it is possible that someone just might have changed her mind.

Getting Out

"Getting Out" by Cleopatra Mathis is a deep and eventful poem about an unhealthy loving relationship. The whole poem is like an oxymoron the two love each other but the relationship is brutal. It just doesn't work for them to be together, but neither of them can let go. "Every night another refusal, the silent work of tightening of the heart," (Mathis 896) shows how the nights were exhausting and they compared it to a jail. That simile proves the relationship to be impacting both characters negatively. However, in the end, the two were cordial- not only that but even loving. Looking back on everything, they knew what they had to do to be able to start over their lives. Now one lives a happy life, and the other still lives in the memories of them. She wants to remember their relationship as it ended, but there was much more than that. Not all relationships of love work; some leave scars bigger than others.

Irony- Story of An Hour

    Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour has a great deal of irony expressed toward the end that contributes to its theme. Main character Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition that makes her heart fragile and weak. Breaking the news of her husband's sudden death seems to be the most of their worries. Carefully telling her with loved ones by her side, the manage to tell her and save her heart from breaking. However, the irony comes when the husband comes back to the house because the information that he had died was false. The sudden surprise of her husband's return actually causes her demise. Her heart was startled by the good news and gave out instantly. "He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife." (Chopin). This contributes to the theme of death. Death is a sensitive subject and when someone loves another, it is difficult on the heart. The love between the Mallard's was forever changed by death- both one that was untrue and one that occurred after.

Delight In Disorder- What A Guy!?

Robert Herrick, author of the poem "Delight in Disorder", described what every girl wants to be told is true about her. Women are most beautiful when they don't mean to be. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and this speaker believes that imperfections are more beautiful than perfection. In the subject's disorder, she is even more attractive to the speaker. "I see a wild civility; Do more bewitch me than when art Is too precise in every part" (Herrick 979). Women strive to be perfect for men most of the time, is it nice to know that we are noticed more when we aren't trying. Through the imagery of the disorderly clothing and appearance of a women, the author is able to show how disorder can be attractive. To him, the imperfections are perfect. The clothes described as "a fine distraction" "neglected" and "careless" at first, at the end come to mean wild beauty.

Lonely Hearts- The Rhyme, The Reptition, The Like..

In the poem "Lonely Hearts" by Wendy Cope, the structure is that of a villanelle. With the required repetition and rhyming of two lines consistently, the form is incredibly appropriate for the poem and its purpose. It seems as though all of the speakers are desperate, and we see that with the continuous repetition of "Do you live in North London? Is it you?" (Cope 973) and "Can someone make my simple wish come true" (Cope 973). These people are all looking for other people in London to help meet their needs. Referring to the "Personals" section of a newspaper or magazine, they tell a brief description of themselves in the hopes that someone will read this and then want to comply. The structure of the villanelle fits with the ad well. They are able to share personal information and what they are looking for through the short paragraphs. Each of them is seeking a match- it is their simple wish. They hope the ad will fulfill their needs and people in North London will seek them out. Although the needs of each writer may differ, the repetition of phrases connects all of them in a unique way.

Eveline- Home is Where the Heart Is

In Eveline, by James Joyce, readers are quickly introduced to the two huge life choices that Eveline has, and will soon make a decision on. She can remain home with her abusive father and practically absent brother or she can take on a new name and a new life with Frank- her boyfriend. Though the new life seems enticing and exciting, especially to a person living in an unhappy household, her heart still yearns for the "comfort" of home and familiarity. Frank offers her a chance to start over new in Buenos Aires- an exotic new place where she could get away from the difficulties of home. However, the whole time, while her mind is set on moving, her heart is nagging at her and telling her to stay. This is the internal conflict that Eveline is dealing with throughout the short story. One of the biggest factors in her gut-wrenching decision to stay at home is actually the absent, but significant character of Eveline's mother. This character, though she is dead has a huge impact on Eveline emotionally. Eveline struggles to leave home because of a promise she made to her mother while she was dying to "keep the home together as long as she could" (Joyce 220). By the end, she chooses home over love and familiar over new. As much as I was disappointed in her decision, I was not surprised- if she was set on going, she would not have been thinking that much about it

How I Met My Husband- The Title Means Everything

    In the short story How I Met My Husband by Alice Munroe, the title explains the whole purpose of the short story itself. The story is all about the events leading up to her meeting her husband. Edie, the main character in the story does not even meet her husband until the last two paragraphs of the story. The way the story begins with the entrance of Chris, most readers would be quick to assume that he will be Edie's husband. The way they met was interesting with Edie in Mrs. Peebles' dress and him having just landed a plane in their backyard, so it would not be surprising if that was the story of how Edie met her "husband". Although she was quite taken with Chris and waited so patiently for his letter-"I was perfectly happy- waiting" (Munro, 145)- in the end, she eventually realized her naivety. She may have fallen for his charm back when she was young and innocent, but she did come to realize her mistakes at some point. A girl can only wait so long without any doubts. However, through her waiting, she did manage to meet and eventually marry her husband, so even though she had to do some growing up in order for that to happen, to her, it was probably worth it.