Short Stories

For my three short stories of my choice, I read "The Sniper," "The Return", and "Hills like White Elephants". I truly did not like "The Return". I just found it kind of boring and depressing. "Hills like White Elephants" was alright, but it was extremely confusing. I felt like the author wrote the whole story and then cut it in half to create an ending. That leaves us with "The Sniper". I liked this story a lot, so I'll use this for my thesis.

I thesis statement could be, "The man was an experienced soldier and was well prepared for the attack". He could shoot precisely from far away and still remain in secrecy. Also, when he got shot in the arm, he knew exactly how to care for and clean the wound. This could be argued against because he did make one crucial mistake: the man he shot was his brother. I think this would be a good topic for my thesis. 

Literary ElementsI

I think that the story with the strongest characterization traits is definitely "Waltz of a Fat Man." The way the author describes Noe is so realistic! I feel like I can see his fat stature and the way he looks into the mirror in denial thinking things like, " On his best days, Noe could make that weight look like muscles." The author does a great job of describing Noe.
Not only are there vivid descriptions, but so many things can be understood through Noe's actions. For example, "When he shook the hands of women, he did so vigorously, hoping to see movement on their bodies, some small adventure to take his breath, some nodding yes, some quite dance of the upper body. The first adventure of a man." Seriously? I would just like to say how pathetic that is, but anyway, the author says nothing about how desperate and kind of creepy Noe is. Through this action though, we can assume so many things. The author provides perfect examples of showing, not telling.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

So.... I would say this is probably the class I participate in the most. I pay attention in my other classes, but I don't really engage myself into class discussions. In English, I do participate a lot and will definitely put my say into the conversations. I guess it's easy to talk about because I understand it, and there's so many possibilities to discuss. In science and math, there's almost nothing to discuss. You either know it or you don't. There's hardly any variations, which I hate, so that's basically why I choose to participate in English.

I would say, if there's something to work on it's making sure I'm on time with all of my supplies. I'm usually either late or don't have time to go to my locker to get my binder. I manage without it usually, just writing all of my notes on a sheet of scrap paper, but it would be easier just to have all of my stuff together before I walk into the classroom. Overall, I personally think I am really good about participating in class on a regular basis.