Taylor Thomas

8p

Story of an Hour
In the story of an hour, Mrs. Mallard is a married woman with heart disease who learns her husband has
passed at the beginning of the story. She seems to be sad when she first learns of her husbands death,
until she realizes that she is free. When her husband unexpectedly returns home she dies from heart
disease of the joy that kills.
In this short story, Mrs. Mallards heart disease is a metaphorical illness according to How to Read
Literature like a Professor. The story is most likely held in the mid-1800s where women did not have the
same rights as men. During this time period women could not vote, own property, or have a job.
Women were sort of considered their husbands property once they married. Therefore Mrs. Mallard
lived a lonely life where her duties supposedly included cleaning the house and raising her family. Mrs.
Mallards heart disease is symbolic of bad love, loneliness and the pain and suffering in her life according
to HTRLLAP. HTRLLAP also states that If we see that characters have difficulties of the heart we wont
be too surprised when emotional trouble becomes the physical ailment and the cardiac episode
appears. In chapter 26 of HTRLLAP, the author explains how the story is ironic. For example, when Mrs.
Mallard looks out her window to see patches of blue sky showing here and there during spring time
which symbolized new beginnings. This sign carries with it a customary meaning, but that doesnt
guarantee it will deliver that received meaning.














Taylor Thomas
8p

Young Goodman Brown
Young Goodman Brown is a short story about a young man who leaves his wife, Faith, for the night on a
journey with evil intentions in mind. Goodman Brown meets with the devil in the forest and they are
headed to a ceremony of some sort that deals with once-believers stepping over to the dark side. It
seems as if everyone in town is at this evil ceremony including preachers. Once Goodman Brown finds
out that his wife has also taken a step toward the dark side, he exclaims that he has lost his Faith.
Goodman Brown wakes up alone in the Forest and when he returns home he seems to see everyone as
evil. Toward the end, he is bitter toward everyone including his wife Faith who he depended on to stay
pure.
Young Goodman Brown contains several allusions. This short story can be easily connected to characters
and objects in the Bible. HTRLLAP explains that the unnamed stranger in the story is always death. This is
proven to be true because a character in the story explicitly calls the stranger death. The story mainly
has several biblical allusions closely related to the book of genesis in the bible. Deaths staff represents
the serpent the forest represented the garden and the evil ceremony represented the forbidden fruit.
HTRLLAP suggests that Every story about the loss of innocence is really about someones private
reenactment of the fall from grace, since we experience it not collectively but individually and
subjectively. In chapter 9 of HTRLLAP, the author explains that metonymy is the rhetorical device in
which a part is made to stand for the whole. In this situation Faiths pink ribbon stands for her loss of
innocence and the loss of Goodman Browns faith meaning both is wife and his literal faith.



Taylor Thomas
8p

The Yellow Wallpaper
The Yellow Wallpaper most likely takes place in the 19
th
century, and is about a woman that is mentally
ill. The womans husband/ doctor keeps her in a single room in the house with yellow wallpaper that she
absolutely hates at first and when she asks her husband if she could change rooms or change the
wallpaper, he dismisses her. The woman begins to write a journal, which her husband discourages, so
she hides it. The woman begins to have an increasing interest towards the wallpaper and John believes
her illness may be disappearing. In reality the womans illness has gotten worse behind closed doors.
She discovers that she is trapped and has to creep in order to be free.
HTRLLAP states that objects can represent sexuality. One Example of this is the window that the main
character Jane constantly mentions. This very window represents her sexuality as a woman. There are
several other objects in the story that represent her sexuality. Janes illness was a simply metaphor
according to chapter 24 of HTRLLAP. Jane was confined in one room and all of her actions were
monitored and controlled by her husband, not including the actions she hid from him. Her illness was
solely connected to her role in society, she was always controlled and could not take part in certain
things independently. She mentions the other women creeping or secretly being independent, and
realizes that even if she were not trapped in her room she would still be trapped when venturing out
into the world and be as the other women. Jane takes this into literal terms. The wall she is trapped in
represents her position in the room. And when she breaks out of the wall she still creeps, or secretly
hides the things she does independently.

Taylor Thomas
8p

Araby
Araby is a short story about a young boy who often plays through the streets with his friends. The boy
seems to take liking to one of his friends sisters named Mangan. The boy always thinks about Mangan
and sometimes even watches her from his room. "Her image accompanied [him] even in places the most
hostile to romance." Mangan finally talks to the boy and he seems to be in shock from the conversation.
She asks the boy if he is going to Araby and explains to him that she cannot go. The boy reassures her
that he will bring her something back. The boy tells his Uncle that he would like to go but his uncle
seemingly forgets, for he does not return home until 9pm and the Araby closed at 10pm. The boy arrives
when the Bazaar is just about to close and he ends up leaving the Bazaar weeping and empty handed.
This short story is about the loss of innocence, and a quest. The boy who is the quester and his
destination is the Bazaar. At first he believed he was to buy a present for the girl of his dreams in hopes
that she would like him back. The boy faces challenges including being late to the Araby and he
discovers that his infatuation with the girl is as silly as the woman in the Bazaars relationship with the
man she was flirting with. The boy playing in the streets represents his childhood, while the many light
that are mentioned represents that hopes and thoughts of the boys infatuation with her. The lights
going out at the end of the hall symbolize the loss of hope for the boys relationship with Mangan.
HTRLLAP mentions that everything is a symbol.

Taylor Thomas
8p

A Good Man is Hard to Find
A Grandmother warns the rest of her family about travelling to Florida in fear that they are in danger of
running into a misfit, but fails to convince them not to go. After a long ways the family, gets into a car
accident and the misfit, who the grandmother doesnt immediately recognize offers to help. As soon as
the grandmother mentions that she recognizes him, the misfit exclaims that she would have been better
off if she hadnt mentioned it. The Grandmother tries to convince the misfit not to harm anyone to save
herself and her family but the misfit still decides to kill them all in the end.
HTRLLAP suggests that the misfits actions point toward vampirism. I call myself The Misfit," he said,
"because I can't make what all I done wrong fit what all I gone through in punishment." This quote
shows that the misfit had outdated and corrupt values. The grandmother does everything she can to try
and convince the misfit to spare her life. She tries to convince him that he is a good man but the misfit
ended up killing her in the end. Selfishness, a characteristic of the vampire, is what led to this crime. The
misfit did not want anyone to point out his whereabouts so he killed all of those who recognized his
face. The misfit could have found it in himself to be a good man, but that would mean having to turn
himself in and his selfish ways would not allow that. According to HTRLLAP the geography foreshadows
the death of the characters. When the family sat down in the ditch it foreshadowed their deaths as
though they had already dug their own grave.














Taylor Thomas
8p

A Worn Path


Phoenix Jackson is an elderly woman who makes a long trip to a clinic of some sort to get medication for
her sick grandson. On this journey, Phoenix faces many obstacles. One of which she tries not to tear her
clothes and others where she is faced with much severe danger such as the man pointing the gun at her.
HTRLLAP suggests that Phoenixs journey is a quest. She is the quester and her destination is the
supposed clinic she arrives to. In the beginning her purpose is not explicitly stated but in the end it is
clear that she was on a journey to get medicine for her ill son. Throughout the story we learn that
Phoenix is blind. She states that [her] senses is gone. HTRLLAP suggests that her blindness is a
physical representation of a metaphorical blindness to circumstance. This turns out to be true because
Phoenix is blind to all the obstacles she has gone through she remains the path and doesnt turn back
because all she puts her grandsons health and wellbeing above all else.
















Taylor Thomas
8p

Battle Royal
Ralph Ellisons battle royal starts out as a young man who is told by his grandfather to kill the white man
with kindness. The narrator sees his grandfathers advice as a burden. Toward the middle of the story,
the narrator is offered to give his graduation speech in the ballroom of a hotel. The narrator ends up
finding himself humiliated, in pain, and covered in blood and sweat by the time he is allowed to give his
speech.
HTRLLAP suggests that violence is a personal, intimate act. The author believes that violence can be used
as a metaphor, which in this case it is. In the beginning of the story, the problem of racism is introduced
which is the personal act that is affecting the narrator in the battle royal. The violence that was depicted
by the narrator was an image of several clueless black men blindly fighting each other for the
entertainment of a crowd that seemed to be mostly white. I believe this type of violence was used to
depict how the narrator feels blacks are being viewed; as entertainment. The struggle to gain equality
and acceptance in a racist society is what is being portrayed in this violent scene. Chapter 13 in HTRLLAP
points out that this short story is a political writing that addresses human problems such as racism and
inequality which this short story strongly portrays.















Taylor Thomas
8p

A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings
This short story is about an unfortunate family who seem to carry on another burden of an angel
landing in their life. At first the family is okay with the angel staying with him by allowing him to rest in
the chicken coop until he is well. The family decides to make money off of the creature by charging
people to see it. Toward the end, the family makes enough money to fix the several problems they have
in their life and start to get tired of the angel. When the familys life seems at ease, the angel suddenly
gets better and flies away.
Chapter 14 of HTRLLAP led me to believe this short story pointed to the angel as a Christ figure. HTRLLAP
states a few archetypes that points out Christ figures: some of which includes agony, simple modes of
transportation, and outstretched arms. The angel endured agony by allowing those who came to see
him to bother him although he was not well. People threw stones at the angel to get him to move. This
is a symbol of the pain Jesus went through when he was on the cross. The angels wide wingspan was a
representation of the outstretched arms, welcoming all. The family did not deserve the blessing the
angel bestowed upon them just as we as sinners are undeserving of Gods grace. In this short story
flight symbolized the thriving spirit of Christ and the angel itself.