A&P Female Criticism

Throughout the short story A&P, John Updike refers to women in a stereotypical men’s point of view. The three girls that walk into the store are characterized in a demeaning way. The way that Sammy refers to the girls is judgmental and sometimes even rude. For example, the first girl he sees, the one in the green two piece, he refers to her as “chunky”. He also goes on to describe girls in this way, “You never know for sure how girl’s minds work (do you really think it’s a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?)…” (Updike 599). We also see the typical pack of girls. There is the leader, and then her two followers. The leader is confident, walks with her own sort of persona that seems to show she thinks she is better than others. Her two followers on the other hand are complete opposites and they seem almost lost, and are very submissive. This is the stereotypical group of girls that are seen all over movies. We also see female criticism in the way that males talk to females, or the way they talk about them in their heads. First off, the way Sammy described the old lady as a stereotypical mean grouchy lady that will jump on anything you do wrong and raise hell over it. The way he describes her is very judgmental. Then finally when the girls get to the cash register and Lengel comes out he talks to the young girls very disrespectfully. He handles the situation in the wrong way by saying, “girls this isn’t a beach” (Updike 602). He could have simply let them buy their one item and maybe mention the store policies instead of saying it in a sarcastic snobby way. Also he goes on to say, “We want you decently dressed when you come in here” (Updike 602). This is not the way a middle aged male manager should talk to these girls, and when Sammy sticks up for them about Lengel embarrassing them, Lengel says, “It was they who were embarrassing us” (Updike 603).

            All of these examples show the ways that John Updike incorporates female criticism into his story. It is probably unintentional the way he writes about women, and could just reflect his personal thoughts on women, and the thoughts of women during this time period.

Yellow Wallpaper

September 1^st- Finally moved in to our brand new house! So excited and I love all the gardens and pathways.

September 3^rd- John insists we stay in the upstairs room, It is so ugly and the wallpaper is hideous! I’d much rather be downstairs with a patio.

September 4^th- Can’t stop thinking about how ugly this wallpaper is… need John to replace it immediately.

September 7^th- John is always gone working and I’m so lonely.

September 12^th- Been sleeping a lot lately, John says it will make me feel better.

September 13^th- I can’t sleep anymore and all I want to do is write. I wish John would let me, if only he would read this article he would understand! http://nofilmschool.com/2013/06/hardwired-for-story-what-are-the-effects-of-writing-on-the-brain/

September 16^th- The more I look at this wallpaper the more it grows on me. But it’s still so ugly.

September 17^th- John takes such great care of me; I just wish he would let me do what I want to do. He’s just worried it will not help my condition.

September 20^th- Its 2 in the morning and I can’t sleep, just staring at this wallpaper. It’s so transfixing.

September25th- Who is this lady I always seeing walking around the garden?

September 30^th- I keep following all the patterns of the wallpaper, it is fascinating.

October 3^rd- The lady is stuck and needs help.

October 5^th- We leave here soon, but I don’t want to leave the only thing on my mind is the wallpaper.

October 7^th- Just ripped off the wallpaper, the lady is out and so I am! I feel so free now!!!

A Good Man is Hard to Find

O’Connor’s work of literature is considered southern grotesque for a variety of reasons. The characters, setting, and overall plot of the story make this fit into the category of a grotesque story. Not only does it connect to all of these points, but it also pokes at the negatives of society of the South. One of these that really caught my attention was the racism shown by the grandmother on more than one occasion. Not only does she reference a black kid as the N word, she also goes on to tell a story about a young black boy and how he ate a left out watermelon with the initials E.A.T. on it. She says, “…but she never got the watermelon, she said, because a nigger boy ate it when he saw the initials, E.A.T.!” Just right here in the grandmother’s comments represent the South’s intense racial discrimination they once had, and even today somewhat still do.

As for the setting and plot, these also incorporate the grotesque style into them. The setting takes place in rural areas throughout the story. They travel through Georgia and Tennessee, where John Wesley states, “Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground.” This shows that they are driving through threw rural places. Also, when they are driving to the house they want to go see on the dirt road, the scenery is described as, “The dirt road was hilly and there were sudden washes in it and sharp curves on dangerous embankments. All at once they would be on a hill, looking down over the blue tops of trees for miles around, then the next minute, they would be in a red depression with the dust-coated trees looking down on them.”

The plot is very capable of being a real scenario, but is disturbing as well. The family is driving down a dangerous dirt road in the middle of nowhere, when they have an accident and their car tumbles down a hill. Soon after, the Misfit and his gang drive by. Later on the Misfit and his gang end up killing the entire family. This is a horrible and tragic plot, but at the same time it really could happen in real life. Things of this caliber or worse happen every week here in this country.

Finally we have the Misfit himself. He is a perfect representation of a flawed grotesque character. He possesses a personality trait, his lisp or bad grammar, which is common in these types of characters. Also, the Misfit has rejected Gods will and blamed him for throwing things off balance. He says, “He thrown everything off balance. If He did what He said, then it’s nothing for you to do but throw away everything and follow Him, and if He didn’t, then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the last few minutes you got left the best you can by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness.” This shows how he has rejected god and look to do nothing good, but see out others and inflict pain into anyone he wants.

UPS Orientation

            This is your truck and those are your packages. Here is your pen and here is your notepad. That over there is what your uniform looks like, you will get one later today. You must know how to drive a stick, do you? OK, good, if not that would be problematic. This is the main building where you will report to Bill everyday over there. If you are late, we will not be happy, if you are late again, you will not be happy. That’s Dan; he loads your tuck early every morning. Dan is grumpy in the mornings from his late nights at the bar every night, he’s a bit of a drinker.  This is Jesse; he’s going to be helping you the first couple weeks. He’s a nice guy, but stay out of his personal life unless you want to know his dark secrets, and you don’t. Over there is Buck. You will be riding with him tomorrow to get the gist of the job. He’s a gambling addict and lost his house, wife and kids. You must report here by 7:30 A.M. sharp, and work until you are done which is around 6. You can take a 30 minute lunch break between 12 and 1. You see Nancy over there, the lady with the big hair? She’s who you call if you are sick, or have any other emergencies we should know about, just talk to her. Don’t talk to her too long though, she’s a flirt and she’ll leach onto you and antagonize you the rest of the time you’re here. I’ll be over there if you need anything. Oh, and here’s your little gizmo, it tracks all your stops.

The Lottery

Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" concerns itself with the concept that it can be acceptable to require the individual to sacrifice for the greater good. In this story, everyone goes with what is happening. No one rebels against it. Even though this is a cruel, horrible act, they for all some reason are willing to do it. Is it a sacrifice for the greater good? For what reason must this happen every year? What could be the greater good in the killing of someone each summer? Although I don’t see a greater good in the story, it is possible there is one for this community, and all the ones participating in the lottery. In the world today there are many examples of sacrificing for the greater good. War is a great example of this. In war, individuals fight, defend, and die for their country’s safety. This small percentage of people sacrifice their lives for the greater good of their country. Also, in sports it is very common to sacrifice things for the greater good of a team. This is something constantly talked about on our basketball team. We must make sacrifices to accomplish the greater goals of the entire team.