All Conversations

Week 1:

     Mrs. Hutchinsons was painted the way she was in the story "The Lottery" because Jackson was showing the reader who the target was from the start of the piece. From the beginning of the story, Mrs. Hutchinson is portrayed as someone who is forgetful. She is late for the lottery, which is surprising since that now that I have read the whole story, I know that it is an important event. I believe that Mrs. Hutchinson portrays someone who does not believe in the lottery. She is someone who does not see its importance, and views it as unfair as well. Contrary to popular belief, I believe that her being chosen was not ironic, but expected. The ritual may have picked her out of the other citizens because she is a threat. She is the only one in the town late, she is the only one who views the lottery as unfair, and I believe that she was seeked out for these reasons. My reasoning is supernatural, but the story itself is a far fetched one, so any reasoning is viable. Hutchinson's personality helped me understand that the lottery was a creepy event where someone lost instead of gained, contrary to the title.

Week 2:

     "Bloodchild" is an intriguing story, with a unique series of events. The first person voice plays an important part to the flow of the story as well. The first person voice puts the reader in the exact same position as Gan. It also shows how naive Gan is and depicts how manipulated the humans are by the aliens. Through the first person voice, the emotion is felt as well, especially when Gan is in disbelief after he experienced the "birth". In contrast to "Bloodchild", "The Lottery" has a third person voice. This tone gives more of a mysterious sense to the story, since the true meaning behind the lottery was not fully revealed until the end of the story. Because the story was in third person, it felt as if what was going on was ordinary. Both stories are depictions of lives of people in a different world, but in "The Lottery" there is no development on what the characters are thinking during the whole process of the lottery, which adds to the big reveal of the story. Butler achieves more of a sense of emotion, and puts the reader in the shoes of the characters through the first person voice.

Week 3:

     While reading the story I had my own assumptions, but after reading some posts, I came to the final conclusion that the content of the story was actually someone taking notes on how to perform a certain job, or in this case a "mission". It stated that this was so future women would be successful, so she must have been recording this to be able to pass it on. The construction of this story did not affect my reading habits, it was quite interesting to read a story like that. The change in style allowed me to fully grasp what was going on, and it was also suspenseful at times. Line by line, it felt like I had read something very important. While reading, I was partly confused, since I did not understand whether it was an instruction, or an actual recollection of specific events. Parts were alarming, such as the sexual ones. The way that the narrator explained the method to cope with those situations was alarming as well. The way the story was written made the actual instructions seem to be easier said than done. The different scenarios in the story were intriguing. Scenarios where the narrator was in danger were the most suspensful, not only because it is full of action, but it also made me think that someone was actually in a dangerous situation, much like what was described. 

Week 4:

     George Saunders uses voice in the Semplica Girl Diaries to invoke both sympathy as well as horror to the reader. The first person diary entries invoke sympathy to the reader by identifying with the reader. The main character is in debt and having problems at home, which occurs in the lives of people every day. He needs to troubleshoot problems while raising his kids, as well as keep food on the table. When the main character hits the lottery, everything changes. Instead of using that money to help his family, he uses it to spoil his child. In his eyes he was trying to make her happy, but he stooped down to the level of the rich people, who are greedy. Not only this, he uses this money to purchase human dolls known as SGs. It is at this point where George Saunders uses voice to invoke horror. The main character now has these SGs hanging from his yard, and it is causing turmoil in his family, especially his daughter Eva, who feels conflicted. She sees through the merit of having SGs, she sees them as inhumane. I feel different that the main character in this story, he brought these issues upon himself, he should have been more responsible. This perspective is opposite of Gan's perspective in Bloodchild. Gan is in a more similar position to the SGs rather than the main character of Semplica Girl Diaries. He is being submissive to the aliens just as the SGs are submissive to those more powerful. First person point of view helps the reader be in the character shoes, but it also allows the reader to see with his or her own eyes and develope a unique perspective.