"The Purloined Letter"

This story is very fascinating. There is the element of mystery, which intrigued me. The letter contains valuable, secret information that will expose a powerful individual. Dublin finds the letter, not exactly hidden, where the police failed to look (because it was along with other letters) and replaces it with a fake letter. He explains how he finds the letter after he is given the reward money, comparing it with a child playing evens or odds. He says that to find "hidden" letter, the person should think like the opponent. In this case, I feel that Dupin, though he stole the letter, has the same mind frame of the Minister. He believes that the Minister is smart enough to hide the letter in a place where no one would consider. 

Although the anecdote was long, it kept my attention. I wanted to know how he knew where the letter was hidden.

"The Use of Force": A Twisted Battle

This story was a little baffling. A doctor is making a house call because a little girl is not feeling well. Throughout the narrative, there is a struggle between the little girl and doctor and her girl's parents. He believes that she might have a diphtheria, a throat disease that usually affects children. The girl refuses to open her mouth and let the doctor check her throat despite the consistent requests.
The end was particularly odd. The doctor seemed to take pleasure in her shrieking and discomfort. He feels victorious when he finally discovers that her throat has been sore for days.
Williams does not use quotations within the dialogue, making it a bit annoying to figure out who is saying what. Also, he does not go into detail with the characters; there were no names mentioned. I feel that there might be a deeper meaning to the story itself. The struggle and annoyance that came along with trying to help the little girl may mirror situations he has been through as a doctor. He goes to the house with good intention, but his actions seem to be done with malicious thought. It is ironic because a doctor, especially a pediatrician, usually has compassion. Also, I think they would have more subtle techniques into having children open their mouth instead of prying their mouths open.

"Hills Like White Elephants": The Significance of Simplicity

At first I did not enjoy this short story. I felt that it was too simple; I barely knew the characters and the dialogue was long and repetitive. After the second reading, I realized Ernest Hemingway used specific words to give insight to the characters and their circumstances (specifically colors, objects, and animals). It takes place at a bar by a train station, which seems like an area used to kill time while waiting for the train. The American man and the woman have a long conversation over whether or not to do something over a few beers. The couple speaks vaguely about their situation, but the debate takes place during the forty minutes they are waiting for the express train to Barcelona. 

I really did not know how to interpret the story. I was actually thinking that plastic surgery (i.e. breast implants) can describe the situation because of its ambiguity. The issue at hand is whether or not the woman should have an abortion. It seems like the woman has made up her mind, but is still hesitant. The man makes it seem like an abortion is a "simple procedure" and encourages the woman to go through with it. He assures her that if she wants to keep the child, he will be there for support, which shows that he is not pressuring her.

The white elephants might represent the child inside of the woman. White usually means purity and innocence, which are the characteristics of a child. Elephants are giant animals and hardly go unnoticed, similar to a child; children are a huge responsibility. The hills can symbolize the ups and downs that they are facing right now. Hemingway mentions the beaded curtain several times in this short story, which must have some significance. I think that the beaded curtain that is used to keep the flies away may be compared to contraception. Although the beaded curtain is usually effective, sometimes flies slip through.

Hemingway uses uncomplicated words and phrases to depict the situation. The story itself is so obscure and leaves a lot of room for interpretation. For me, this technique was a little frustrating at first because I felt that I could not pin point what the characters were talking about. After skimming it over a couple of times, I realized that Hemingway purposely did not include information. He wants the readers to wonder and think into the words and their deeper meanings.

"The Yellow Wall-paper": When Hallucinations Convey A Message

This anecdote definitely puzzles me. The protagonist is writing in a journal format about her stay her temporary home.
The main character seems to suffer from schizophrenia and postpartum depression. Her husband and her brother are respected physicians and choose not to acknowledge her "sickness". John, the husband, decides to rent a house for a couple of months for his wife to get better, providing her with the rest cure. Mary, a babysitter, is taking care of her child while she is receiving treatment. Jane, John's sister, watches over her the central character while John is at work. Her husband and her brother believe that the thought and creativity that come along with writing will not help her with her condition. Despite her family's belief, in the day time she writes in secret. At first, she is disgusted by the yellow wallpaper; the pattern, color, and quality makes her question who would live in that room. She realizes that the room was once a nursery. Her husband chooses that particular room for her confinement because it is large and airy. The windows have bars to prevent children from climbing out. Each day she is more intrigued by the wallpaper; she is determined to figure it out. She begins to hallucinate and see women creeping around the room, specifically along the walls. Later, she believes she sees the women out in the garden, running away. Towards the end, she is fixed on catching a creeping woman, which leads her husband to faint.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman herself suffered from schizophrenia and postpartum depression. It seems that this narrative mirrors her life. The creeping women may symbolize women during that time. In the story, the women creep during the day and remain at a standstill at night. Similarly, the main character writes or "creeps" during the day time while her husband is away and behaves during the night time. The men in the short story seem to high standing, while the women are doing chores (i.e. taking care of the baby and watching over the protagonist).