Aihearkisto: Short Stories

A Shocking Accident

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A Shocking Accident is a short story written by Graham Greene.

The story is about Jerome, when he was nine-years-old his father died. Jerome worshiped his dad, he admired him a lot and liked to imagine him being a secret agent, although he was an author Jerome heard about it when he was at school, his headmaster Mr. Wordsworth told about it. His father died when he was in Naples; he was walking to the Hydrographic Museum and suddenly a pig fell on him. During the next few years Jerome thinks about the death of his father, especially the way he died and they way he explains it to different people. When he is about to marry Sally he is worried because he hasn’t told her the way his father died.

The school Jerome went to seemed a little bit cruel, but probably the main reason of the cruelty and harshness wast to give the boys a disciplined education environment and in hope that they would behave well and properly when they were older. When it’s told that Jerome is about to get married the reader finds out that he hasn’t told Sally about the way his father died. This pretty much means that Jerome is a little scared of Sally’s reaction. He has told different people the way his father died, and people often have responded in a comical way. But when Sally finally finds out and is shocked Jerome is relieved and happy. It really meant a lot to him that Sally didn’t laugh, because Jerome’s love towards his dad was really strong and it would’ve made him upset if Sally had laughed.

I think the pig died after falling on Jerome’s dad, but I think it died on the scene of the accident and it didn’t suffer a painful and a long death. Also I think it was probably eaten afterwards by the pigs owner.

Why, Honey?

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Why, Honey? by Raymond Carver is a short story written in letter format, where mother (the narrator) tells of his son.

When mother’s son turned 15 she started to be more considered of his son behavioral. Before teenage years her son was a normal child, but suddenly he started to behave oddly.

First time, when mother find out of his son’s weird acting was after Fourth of July, when their cat Trudy gone missing. Cat was found dead from neighbor’s backyard. Neighbor told the Mother that he’d seen his son torturing their cat to death. – First mother couldn’t believe it but as the time has gone, she started to believe it.

Her son started lying and things between them got worse. Son lied about his salary which he said was 80 dollars, but his mother found out that the real salary was 28 dollars. Mother just couldn’t realize why her son would lie such a thing.

Next odd act from her son was when he lied again this time son lied of his free time. He said that he’d be watching some show, but in reality he were in school dance or riding with somebody in a car.

Mother started to be real considered of his son when he started laying of school field trips and when she found bloody shirt at back of his trunk with his knife and shotgun. Son told her that he had a bloody nose that day, but the Mother didn’t know either believe his son or not.

She started to get real nervous around his son. One day she tried to ask why he was acting so weirdly and why he wasn’t telling the truth. He son told her to kneel, but instead of kneeling to her son she just ran to her room, locked the door and never said anything to his son ever again.

Mother still knew what was going on in her son’s life, even though they really didn’t meet. She read things of her son from the paper and hear what he was doing.

I think that the mother had right to be considered of his son. I think every mom would be when they find out that their child is lying and ’playing’ with them.
Last paragraph suggest that mother didn’t want to be recognized or known or find, she didn’t want to be known as a mother of his son or she didn’t wanted to be contacted with anybody from the past. I think mother was quite reliable. I don’t know why she would lie of his son in the way she wrote.

I think the mother is writing to son’s father.

A Shocking Accident

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I read a short story called A Shocking Accident. Writer of this story is Graham Greene. It have writed on 1967. The story is tradegy about of Jerome`s being killed by a falling pig.
The story starts when protagonist has called into his housemaster`s room. In room housemaster tells to Jerome that his father has died by accident. When she tells that she looks out of the window. Jerome thinks that she is doing it becauce she is lieing but the truth is she is doing it becauce she can`t look into Jeromes eyes and say that his father is died. Reason of dieing is incredible. He died because a pig falled on his neck! Jerome doesn`t believe the reason because he has always beliewed that his father is secret agent or something like that because he travelles so much.
Jerome has big problems with telling all people that how his father died. He doesn`t want that people start laughing when they hear that incredible reason. He has two methods how to tell it. First one is just telling straight how it happened and second one is a bit more complicated. When Jerome is older he has big problems on telling his fiancèe about his father. He scares at how his fiancèe called Sally takes it. That is the reason why Jerome hasn`t shown Sally to his aunt. But when the wedding day is coming he has to show Sally to his aunt. In aunt`s place Sally finally hears about Jerome`s father and on big Jeromes surprise she tooks it really well. Only what she asks is what happened to pig. Probubly the pig died because it falled on fifth floor and no one can survive it.
Short story was pretty good. Plot was easy so it was easy to catching up with it. I recommend this for anyone.

Written by Juuso

Why Honey?

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We got this assignment with different variations and I
chose to read short story Why, Honey? by Raymond Carver
from our English text book. I decided to pick this one
because I enjoy reading this kind of mysterious stories
which let the reader use his/her imagination at intervals.
The story is written as letter from a mother to some man
who asks about her son. In the letter mother tells her and
her son’s story how they got apart.
The mother thinks that everything beganat her son’s
roughly 15th Independence Day when their cat, named
Trudy, got lost. Their neighbors told her that some boys
brutally tormented Trudy at nearby field and they were
pretty sure that one of the boys were her son. The son did
act caring but after he was neutral about Trudy.
This event was just the beginning of his odd behavior.
The mother isn’t able to understand why he had to lie about
everyday things like his earnings. This lying thing continued.
Mom got permission ask for field trip from the school, but
weird thing was that last day son had told her how amazing
things he saw at field trip that day.
As son grew up, so did distance between mom and son.
He bought a car and started hunting. One night son didn’t
appear back home from hunting trip. Mom spent whole
night worrying and finally at the morning he came back. But
he didn’t answer exactly where he had been, just laughed
at his mom’s worry. Mom decided to check son’s car trunk
while he was in the shower. She found hunting stuff from
the trunk, but bloody t-shirt made it impossible to keep
questions inside her. She couldn’t sleep for couple of nights.
One night she went to son’s room, but answer was furious.
Son blamed her on stalking etc. and next day he left the
apartment.
Rest of the letter tells how mother didn’t see her son ever
again. She just heard how he had continued his life, became

marine, got married and also got into politics. She became
scared of him which made her change her name, move, get
unknown phone number. Mother never got to know what
she did wrong and what made son hate her so much. She just
keeps wondering; ”Why, honey, why?”

Written by Robert

A Shocking Accident

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A Shocking Accident
Short story “A Shocking Accident” by Graham Greene tells about Jerome whose going through a tragedy (his father was killed by a falling pig). Jerome get engaged with Sally and she will chance Jerome’s world. Jerome becomes a different, happier person in the end of the story.
In the beginning Jerome was quite young when housemaster, Mr Wordsworth tells to Jerome that his father is died in accident. Mr Wordsworth tells him the incident of his father with the pig falling on him. Why Mr Wordsworth went to the window and turned his back on Jerome? maybe because he started laughing and he didn’t want show it to Jerome.
When Jerome was a child he believed that his father either “ran guns” or was a member of the British Secret Service. He thought his father is a kind of hero, as many of children are thinking about their parents. When he grew up he understood his dad was a common man who wrote books.
Soon, Jerome realized that this incident was a comedy to other people. Jerome rehearsed the method of recounting his father’s death because he wanted to reduce the comic. He was scared how people would relate. He had two possible methods. The first method led gently up to the accident, so it was described the listener was so well prepared that the death came really as an anti-climax. This method was good because people didn’t usually laugh him and they believed the story was true. The other method had virtue of brevity. In this way the main thing came up immediately so the listener was surprised and he didn’t understood story so he didn’t laugh. Jerome scared that his fiancée, Sally, would laugh when she will hear the story of his father’s death. He can’t tell that her himself. He knew that his aunt will inevitably tell how Jerome’s father dead for his fiancée, and that’s why he was very anxious about Sally meeting his aunt. Jerome’s aunt come to visit week before wedding and tell the story quickly and briefly to Sally. She was surprised but she didn’t laugh. Jerome was amazed because Sally didn’t laugh and that’s why Jerome feels his heart sang with joy and that his had appeased for ever!
Jerome and Mr Wordsworth’s dialogue tells little bit about them: Mr Wordsworth didn’t really know how to tell about death, he just shilly-shally. Finally he told it to Jerome and Jerome wasn’t so sure what to feel then. Maybe Wordsworth scared how would Jerome react. I think Mr Wordsworth is careful man, maybe little base (he almost laugh when said “a pig fell on him”. In dialogue Jerome was a silent, typical little boy who was just surprised by father’s death.
Sally’s final comment was very important for Jerome. The comment means that she understood how painful and dramatic father’s death was. She didn’t laugh, she was horrified. And that comment had appeased Jerome’s fear for ever. Sally’s great personality changes his life!
But what happened to pig? I think that pig is alive but he had hurt himself when he fell on Jerome’s father. Maybe the pig has now his own family and his living a life full of joy…… or maybe somebody have ate him. Who knows?

Written by Emma

Why, Honey?

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”Why, Honey?” is a short story written by Raymond Carver. It tells about mother and her son who is acting odd towards her.

Their cat dissapeared on the Fourth of July and it was found next day in their neighbours backyard. Someone had stuffed firecrackers into Trudy’s ears and you know where. The neighbout said to the mother that one of the boys was her son but the mother could not believe it.

Son was working as a stockyboy at Hartley’s. The night that he was given his first check he came home and lied about the wage that he got, he said that he was paid 80 dollars but it was really 28 dollars. There is no particular reason why he would lie about his wage.

If mother asked from her son that where was he last night and he answered ”to the show”. But mother found out that he was lying. She did not know why he lied to her instead of telling the truth.

One day son was supposed to go to a field trip and mother asked what did he saw during the field trip and he looked mother into the eyes and lied that he saw land formations ash and so on. The next day mother got a note from the schoold saying they need permission for the field trip.

Mother found a bloody shirt from son’s car trunk and thought that he had murdered someone but son said that his nose had been bleeding. It scared the mother.

One day son had made a supper for mother as an apologize. Mother told him about her feelings towards the sons lies and asked why he did that. Son kept staring at her but didn’t say anything. Then son moved alongside mother and said ”kneel is what I say, kneel down is what I say”. Mother ran into her room and locked the door. Son packed all his necessary thing and left that night for good.

One night mother went to sons room when he was bent over the dresser and slammed a drawer and shouted to mother to get out. Son said that he is sick of her spying on him.

Mother’s claims about her son are very unfortunate. Her evidence is very convincing. The mother writes about her son very distantly and does not mention his name in any turn. The final paragraph tells about the narrator that she has been holding this unfortunate story inside her and she has wanted to tell it to somebody. I consider that the narrator is very reliable, nobody could lie about this kind of story, expect his son. I think that the mother is writing to son’s wife.

 

 

 

 

The Last Spin

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The Last Spin is an English novel. Evan Hunter has written this short story. Story tells about two club members from rival clubs. Those two clubs decide to solve their quarrel with one guy from both clubs playing Russian roulette because they don’t want fight on the streets.

The story starts when story’s two main characters Tigo and Danny are sitting in the small basement room. First they were like normal rival club members, with little excitement in the air. In Russian roulette you must put one cartridge in the cylinder and twirl the cylinder and then put the gun against your head and pull the trigger. Odds for that you are going to die is one-in-six. Both survives the first stage and they but other cartridge in the cylinder. They are lucky and still survive. At same they have started to talk about their lives. They tell about their families and girlfriends. But they must keep playing. Odds in third stage are one-in-two. Both pull the trigger but only what they can hear is “click”. They keep speaking and notice that they don’t like their clubs other members very much. They understand each other and become friends. They still keep playing and put fourth cartridge in the cylinder. Tigo still make it. It is Danny’s turn. They agreed to go rowing on the lake at next Sunday if Danny survives. Danny pulls the trigger and like Evan Hunter writes: “The explosion rocked the small basement room, ripping away half of Danny’s head, shattering his face.”

I expected totally different ending to this short story. I thought everything will end happy and both survives and become good friends.

I think “The Last Spin” was pretty good but not a masterpiece. I think the story repeat itself little too much, nothing different didn’t happen for a long time. Story was still well written and interesting. The language in this novel was pretty easy to understand. There still was some hard words example some slang words and little bit guns special glossary.

Harrison Bergeron

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I read Kurt Vonnegut`s short story Harrison Bergeron. Work tell story about society which is reached completely equality. Hero in this story is Harrison Bergeron who is really handsome, clever and anyway gifted person than most other person. The story be placed on future more closely in year 2081. Equality is reached thus that all more gifted person have cutted at others person level. For examble the story hero get pack heavy weights, he had to kept plastic nose therefore that he wouldn`t seem handsome. Also his ears shutted by noice so that he can`t create anything rational thoughts.

All in all the story is really absurd but however interesting. Kurt Vonnegut`s short story show bare way and also generalizing that absolutely equility is not ever possible. The story is quite unhappy dystopia. Because the hero Harrison Bergeron finally died and his parents George and Hazel Bergeron leave grieve. Luckily it is only Kurt Vonnegut`s short story neither real life.

Why, Honey?

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The short story called ”Why, Honey?” written by Raymond Carver was interesting to read, though it took a while to understand every part of it as it should. The story made up many thoughts on my mind.

 

The mother is worried about her son who has disappeared and left his mother many years ago. The situation between the son and the mother is complicated, sad and even tragic.  As a comprehension part I´m going to discuss about what does the mother accuse the son of? And what evidence does she give to back up her claims? :

1.The mother hears something  terrifying from her neighbour.  Her son might  got involved  into their cat´s (Trudy) dead. The neighbour had seen two boys in the field putting firecrackers in Trudy´s ears and in her anus.  At the moment mother thinks that her son wouldn´t do a thing like that, but when the son tells to the mother not to take it too hard because Trudy was old already, she changes her mind and even believes the neighbours story.

2.After  the ill-fated death of the cat, the mother recognizers another problem, lying. The son was supposed to work as a stockboy at Harley´s.  The night came when he was to draw his first check, and the mother asks how much did he earn. The son answers:  “ 80 dollars.” The mother has to doubt it because it was way more than she thought.  When the mother did the laundry, she founds  the stub from Harley´s in his pocket where is number of the son´s real wage (28 dollars).

3.The mother surmises, that if she would ask her son to tell where did he go last night, the son would maybe answer “to the show” but actually he might went to the school dance or spent the evening riding around with somebody in a car. The reason why she believes that the son might lie again and again is that he has been dishonest very often.

4.Once the son was supposed to have gone on a field trip and the mother naturally asked him what did he see back there? The son starts to tell nonsense about a desert and its history assuming that the mother would believe him. The mother does believe but suddenly the next day she gets a note from the school saying they wanted a permission for a field trip which moment in time would be soon hereafter. Therefore again the son made up the story.

5.Near the end of the son´s senior year  the mother was concerned about his grades and worried also because she was not able to know enough about her son daily activities. The mother notices the bloody shirt, the shotgun and the knife but she wasn`t able to find any groceries though the son said he had been “an appetite hunting”. Furthermore the son was very nervous and lied that he just had a bloody nose and that’s why the shirt was totally wet and full of blood. The mother may have thought that the son had done something very horrible.

7. One night the mother surprises badly the son in his room while he was bent over by the dresser and quickly slammed the drawer  and turned to the mother and shout that he is sick of spying him all the time. The mother got very confused and cried herself to sleep. She claimed that the son broke her heart that night.

8. In my opinion almost every claims of the mother was fair enough and realistic, but considering each of the claims in turn, the evidences were sometimes more clearly convincing than other ones. The tragic dead of the Trudy cat was horrible and the neighbours story was reliable.  I do not think that lying to parents about everything is ever acceptable. The mother has rights to be angry and at least confused and sad when the son acts like he does with wages, show, field trip, bloody shirt, kneeling and “surveillance.”

9. She talks very vaguely and distantly about her son to show how little she had contact with him. She never mentions the sons name or any positive things about him. “Who I am afraid is him” “he was good boy expect for his outbursts and that he could not tell the truth.” “I can´t give you any reasons”  “I should be proud but I´m afraid”

10. The mother is hiding somewhere and she´s scared. She is probably alone because she doesn´t want anyone from the past life to know where she is. The narrator is writing because someone who needed to contact her has found out where she is and wrote a letter to her too.

11. Yes, I do believe that the narrator is reliable. She writes and tells the whole story systematically and clearly. “I am very ashamed” “I have been praying no one knew” “but you did. Why did you?”

12. I guess the mother is writing to an old friend or to the sons wife.

The last spin ENA 5.2

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COMPREHENSION

Danny and Tigo are members of street gangs, based in different clubs. Danny’s gang had been shooting at a store in Tigo’s turf the day before. They were to settle this privately, without anyone else getting hurt by taking a shot at Russian roulette.

Tigo goes first. He just wants it over with. Danny starts chatting. The first click. They both think that Russians are crazy. They talk more and find out they both have families. Neither of them really want to be in the gang. Danny knows Tigo’s girlfriend. They start to hesitate.

Both of them are immigrants. Likely from the south. They decide to add more rounds to make their inevitable, untimely deaths more likely. They discover that they’ve lived fairly far away from each other and don’t know each other. A friendship forms between them and they decide to go to a lake on Sunday. Danny pulls the trigger for the last time.

ANALYSIS

8. Either Tigo wasn’t going to be able to tell about it or he wouldn’t have any more worries.

9. At the beginning the text seems to tackle the case of gangs in the US. Soon the two men, however unlikely, develop a kind of friendship. The text talks more about the stupidity of people and their hate rather than gang wars.

10. There were a lot of words that were colloquial. E.g. the words like the excessively used ’piece’ or the humorous sounding ’diddlebop’.

11. They trusted one another. Even liked each other. Minutes earlier he’d seen him as an enemy, a threat to his personal safety.

INTERPRETATION

They’d joined their gangs because they thought they had no choice at the time. They found the thought of somebody looking after them appealing.