Reading Response

     The first story I read independently was "The Minister's Black Veil: A Parable." The literary element of character and setting stood out to me the most. I noticed that the author used direct characterization when describing the characters. Mr. Hooper, the protagonist of the story, is a dynamic character. He is in a state of change throughout the story. He is directly described as a gentlemanly bachelor about the age of thirty. He changes from a warm, "sunshine" of a man to a depressed, lonely man. Also the setting was important in this story. The physical setting is Milford village and the story starts on a Sabbath day. The temporal setting is over the course of a few days. In social setting it is important to notice the affect of his veil and the way people treat Mr. Hooper before vs after he wears the veil. The physical setting is sad, gloomy, and lonely.
     I annotated "Araby" for point of view. The story is told in first person. We might question the narrator's reliability because he is so deeply engrossed by the girl. He is positively biased in his opinion of her; he only speaks of good things about her. Also notice that the girl's name is never given. The narrator's purpose is to tell of an event in his life where he was so absorbed in a girl that he didn't realize exactly what he was doing. He was just trying to please her. The narrator isn't talking to anyone in particular. I also annotated for setting. Physical- North Richmond Street, cold, near stables, and the bazaar in Araby. Temporal- over a few weeks. Social- the relationship between the narrator and the girl is important, also it is important to notice the way the bazaar is described and how the uncle didn't want the narrator to go. Psychological- the mood changes from old and musty to adoring and in love and again to angry and disgust.
    "The Sniper" was annotated for point of view and setting. Physical setting was a long June night on O'Connell Street. The temporal setting was one night during the Civil War. In describing social setting it's important to notice the fight between Republicans and Free Staters. Also it is crucial to notice that the Civil War turned families against one another. The mood of this story changes multiple times throughout this story. It starts as being quiet, thoughtful, and cautious. It changes when the character takes a risk; it becomes anxious and nervous. When the character kills the other sniper the mood becomes joyous and curious and quiet again. The story is set in third person omniscient. The narrator is reliable and not biased. The narrator's purpose is to show that wars are dangerous and can turn families against one another.



Reading Log!
10/17- 40 minutes
10/22- 30 minutes
10/24- 10 minutes
10/25- 10 minutes
10/27- 30 minutes

I commented on 10/26  on Jamiee's blog about her reading response posted on 10/26.
I commented on 10/26 on Azzie's blog called reading log #9 posted on 10/ 21.