The Short Story; passionately interpreted by Henry D'Angelo

"The things they carried were largely determined by necessity," so claims the narrator behind the story of  "The Things They Carried."  But what does this sentence mean exactly ? It's tough to pin a definitive answer down, especially when you read on: Henry Dobbins, for example, carries "extra rations," that is, canned peaches in heavy syrup over pound cake. Dave Jensen carries dental floss. Meanwhile, Ted Lavender, before his death, even carried pounds of marijuana and tranquilizers. Clearly, "necessity" isn't to be taken literally.  Yet, if that's true, then what does the narrator mean by "necessity?" To me, this is indicative of how the human condition manifests itself within the harsh conditions created from the setting within the story. I think the story's most profound message is up the alley of "there's a difference of being alive and living." While some of these characters' items aren'

When reading "The Evolution of My Brother," I felt that while the title that certainly explains the narrative of the story succinctly, that is, how a brother evolves and changes over time, to me the title still didn't sound quite right. Is the brother's personality itself that important? To me, the more significant aspect of the story is that the narrator's perception of her brother is what is "evolving," more crucially than his personality itself. And while the original title somewhat captures this notion, I still advocate for a new, different title: "Bittersweet." Why? Basically, the conflict of the story comes largely from the narrator's uncertainty: she simply doesn't know how she feels about her little bro. Does she love him? Or does she hate him? She certainly resents him, but that's largely a function of the former question: essentially, she hates that she loves him. Further, a crucial element of the story is its depiction

To All Readers Of The Courier , Greetings to all readers, it's Joe here. Well, I guess it's actually "Mr. Summers" to you, but don't you see? That's the thing! You don't even know  the real me! Or my town, for that matter! Things have gotten so ridiculous; as the leader of Summers Coal Co., I should be one of the most respected and wealthiest men in the country! And I was! Until a couple of weeks ago, at least... But let me back up a bit. Basically, around 10 years ago, when my coal company had still only barely gotten off the ground, I was stuck in my hometown, a tiny village from the South. And, for those wondering, I was an exceptional citizen! I performed my civic duties 110% of the time! People respected me so much, I was even appointed as the master of the Lottery! Which, of course, is where this mess started... By now, I'm sure most of you know what a Lottery is. You've read all the stories and seen all the headlines: "MR. SUMMERS

"First Person Shooter," by Charles Yu, is easily one of the most interesting stories we've read in class all year, and that's saying a lot once you consider that we've already read about necrophilia, nuclear catastrophe, and even centipede-human porn, our favorite (or is that just me?). Relative to the other stories we've read, the story also is one with the simplest plot, the least characters, and the fewest pages. It's also set in "WorldMart," a parody of Walmart and one of the blandest settings physically possible. It shouldn't be an interesting story, and yet it is. Why? Why is, of course, often a subjective question, but I think everyone would agree that the story's charm comes almost completely from what is its most ambiguous character: the zombie woman, strolling through the store and looking for lipstick. And while there is no definitive answer, I look at two possible interpretations of just what the zombie could be a repr