1. In this blog posting I'd like you to consider how Michael Cunningham (the author) uses symbolism in the short story? For example, discuss how he uses angels, the clock, windows or glass, sight, planes, or the cemetary to enhance a purpose.
2. Another point I'd like you to address is how you think the climax functioned in the story. Did it shock you, disturb you, move you to tears?
3. And finally, I'd like you to talk about your personal reaction to the story. Did you like it? Did you think it was worth reading or simply a gory shock-value tale?
1.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really get the symbolism (then again i was really tired) his father made a clock, and then at the party it ticked in the hall......Ok great.
2.
The climax of the story didnt shock me at all. the story itself never really grabbed my attention so i wasnt really into it. I guess its kind of sad that he ran through a glass door and died, but his brother is kind of a "Richard" for thinking it would just be a laugh.
3.
I personally didn't think the story was worth reading. It couldn't really get my attention and it kind of bored me at times. It just seemed kinda pointless.
1. I think that the whole UFO thing was a great symbol for what Frisco is going through. Carlton is his abductor, lifting him out of his life in a beam of drugs and alcohol. The cemetery is also a pretty nice use of symbolism. The author is trying to say that they are killing themselves with the drugs.
ReplyDelete2. I thought it was very odd. I still don't get why we just run head on into a door, even if it was open, and I don't believe the thought the door might be closed would never cross his mind. Other than that, I thought it was extremely sudden, even thought the author announced twice Carlton was going to die.
3. I think it was pretty deep, well crafted tale. I enjoyed reading it, and although it wasn't filled to the brim with excitement, it kept me captivated. The author drags you into the plot and makes you stay there until the very end, which is difficult to do if the story isn't filled with adventure and excitement.
Kristian, Sorry you felt that the story was pointless. Even if you thought it was pointless, I'd like to see you think critically about it and respond with a little more thought. What do you think would have made the story more effective? What do you think the purpose or message of the story was? I'll be looking for a lot more from you next time.
ReplyDelete1. The author uses angels, the clock, the glass,the cemetery to somewhat foreshadow Carlton's death. An angel usually represents a doorway to heaven or something along those lines. The clock ticked time away. With each passing minute, Carlton's tragic death was nearing. Carlton's death was caused by glass. Once Carlton's life ended, he ended up in the cemetery which happened to be right by their house. These different subjects enhanced the story because it gave the reader something to think about rather than the author just explaining his death.
ReplyDelete2. The climax of the story was tragic and emotional. It wasn't completely shocking because the reader knew it was coming. The way the author described the character's emotions was interesting. He never exactly told the reader how the boy felt or how the parents felt. Its almost as if he just expected you to know the feelings involved.
3. I didn't exactly like the way the author ended the story. The climax was big and exciting, but the conclusion was boring and lame. Instead of easing out of the excitement, the author just seemed to give up and say "everyone was sad, the end." At least that's the feeling I received. It was worth reading because it gives you something to think about once you are finished. Such as, there must be soooo many regrets that the little boy has, and if not, why? It was definitely an interesting story though and I was wondering why the author wrote it in the first place.
1. the ufo uses symbolism, to show how they thought they were all headed somewhere, but it is a false future. They think that they can see it, but it isnt really there. The graveyard symbolized where the grop was heading. they were all druggies, and werre destined to end up there.
ReplyDelete2. i think the climax served its purpose brilliantly. Although i do sympathize for Carlton, i feel like loosing you older brother would completely devastate you.
3. i absolutely loved the story. Cunningham did a stupendous job of evoking emotion, as well as stimulating senses.
well, the story was overall a "dont do drugs" thing. so thats kind of boring to begin with, but i think the author could of done it more effectively. I cant quite explain how, but i know theres some authors that could have done it better.
ReplyDelete1 i think the bes use of symbolism was the cemetary. it was kind of a suttle way to use it because you think it is just their hangout spot but it was a fore shadow of where he was going to end up.
ReplyDelete2 i found the climax to be a shock. it wasnt a very expected thing at all it was just a sudden shock. when he hit the glass it was as if every thing stoped around them and time slowed as the life poured out of him.
3 i found this to be one of the best short stories i have ever read. I thought it was apealing to the reader. the end was deep and full of emotion that made you feel for the family. it was just a really well writen story that was defiently worth reading.
1. He uses symbolism when speaking about the clock because he describes it as a coffin. It's like while we know Carlton is going to die, his father is making a coffin to bury him in.
ReplyDelete2. The climax was more of a shock for me. It was like, that was the most random way for him to die. The whole time, I thought he'd die of an overdoes or some plane falling on them. I just didn't expect the glass to kill him.
3. I liked reading this story. It read so smoothly and was very well told. I liked how the author wasn't afraid to make it gory or too afraid to cuss or anything like that. All in all, it was a great read.
1. From the very beginning as we readers we knew that he would die, however we thought the entire time that he would have died while on acid or while under an influence at a signifigant degree.But the cemetary, the place behind his house was a profound part of the story because he spent countless hours there only to end up being burried in his backyard after a very ironich event
ReplyDelete2. It was progressing to the end. They were at this party for a long time and everything seemed to be going as planned, each character was having a joyous time, dancing, eating, talking all in all having a dandy ole time. Then he is suddenly dead because of a clear event and his beloved brother and girlfriend and friends and family were there to see it all. The most ironic thing was that the acid he used throughout the story was window pane, which made one think clearly see better. But when he died he was not high and hit the clear, glass window and died. just like that. I found it shocking but a good way to surprise the reader
3. I enjoyed this much more than the other short stories that i have read. It kept the reader enticed and curious to what would happen to their odd characters. It was surprising, had great description and was an all round wonderful short story.
Stephen King: What is writing?
ReplyDeleteStephen King takes the characteristics of writing and explains them in such a unique way. He makes it clear that writing is a technique used to "teleport" your readers to where you are. For example, he explains that the words and descriptions on the page put you into the shoes of the characters and their experiences. This portable magic enables each reader to picture something different. King mentions that when describing an object, each person imagines it differently, hence the beauty of writing. The author could describe a school, and some readers could picture it brown, others white and modern, and etc. Each word, presents a different vivid image to the particular reader. King did a great job capturing the essence and beauty of writing.
1 the best use a symbolism was no doubt throughout the entire story, the cemetary. It was more than just thier hangout spot, it was who they were./ Everything they did together started here, this place was their childhood
ReplyDelete2 The climax did a good job of both sneaking up on you and protraying the emotions he felt as his brother died
3 I throughly enjoyed this short story because it wasnt boring
1. In this story, there is extreme symbolism with death. The imagery of the grandfather clock makes you think of a coffin and he also uses the image of a white angel before Carlton dies. The author often talks about the cemetery which forshadows and symoblizes where the story will ultimately end up. Overall, I think the author uses lots of death imagery and forshadowing as a symbol for Carlton's death.
ReplyDelete2. I think the climax was very intense. While Carlton is out doing all the things that should kill him, the simple crashing into a glass door does instead. I think it serves as a really grabbing climax. I wasn't moved to tears, rather shoked at how he died. All along, I'd expected his death to be realted to a substance, but instead he lost his life to a really common thing.
3. Personally, I enjoyed the story. I'm usually not someone to be attracted by drugs and alcohol, but this story grabbed me because it was different. I wanted to know what was going to happen and I though the author did a great job of alluring his reader. Even though you know that there will be death, you don't know how and I think that's what makes this story so interesting. I do wish the ending had more enthusiasm though. It seems like no in in Carlton's family really moved on or forward the way they were supposed to and I wish I would've had more closure, other than that I though it was very well written and grabbed the reader's attention.
1: He uses symbolism to foreshadow Carltons' death. For example, the clock was a symbol for a casket and the father wanted to leave it for his children.
ReplyDelete2: The climax of the story was tragic and disturbing to me. It was sad because Carlton died, but I was disturbed by all of the gore involved in the description of his death.
3: I didn't like the story, It was too disturbing for me to enjoy even though it was well written.
1.Michael Cunningham uses symbolism related to death many times in this story. The clock that the dad is making is described as a coffin. "-a long, raw wooden box on which he glues fancy moldings." Another symbol in the story related to death is the cemetery. The place where the boys would go to have some fun. Giving symbolism in the story helps the reader think more about how at the ending, everything came together.
ReplyDelete2. The climax of the story was told to the readers in the first page of the story, so when it actually happened, i did not feel shocked but it was more of an emotional feeling. The reader doesn't know how Carlton dies, so how he dies is what shocks or upsets the reader.
3. I did not have a huge reaction after reading this story. I thought this was a well written story and it made me think of other stories I have heard about that were similar and happened in real life. I thought the story ended very fast and the author could have written a little more, but it had a lot of detail.
1. I thought the author did a great job of using symbolism.In the beginning the author fold us(through foreshadowing) that Carlton was going to die. So when we discosvered that the father was making a grand-father clock in the basement it was a great example of symbolism because the description of him making it sounded like he was building a coffin.Another example of symbolism was with the cemetary. Carlton and Frisco used to spend a lot of time hanging out in the graveyard, it was there favorite spot. Its an example of symbolism because his favorite hangout space became his finally resting spot.
ReplyDelete2.I thought the climax was very shocking and a little bit unrealistic. We didnt quite know if Carlton was drunk at that time but I assume he was because normally someone would see a glass door especially if someone is standing there looking at their reflection. At the same time i thought it was very sad. I feel like Carlton was in a good place with his parents, girlfriend and his brother.Then a strange accident happens and he is just gone.
3. I thought White Angel was a fantastic story. I feel the author did a great job with descriptions and with the plot. The story really played with emotions and in the end it was a very heartfelt story.
I feel like most of the time it’s all just foreshadowing towards the death of Carrolton. In the beginning it pretty much straight off it tells us someone’s going to die, and most of the simple little things that popped up through the story was kind of directed towards his death. All in which Made it kind of climax and kept me on my toes. The clock somewhat coffin looking, the glass already telling us that something was going to happen with it, and the graveyard scene was pretty ironic, in the way he hung out there and ended up staying there.
ReplyDeleteIt was in someway shocking to me. I knew he was going to die but I didn’t expect him to pass away like that. I expected him to do something really stupid and dangerous, which he kind of did. I just hadn’t expected it to be like that, which was strange. The scene of his girlfriend holding him and parents trying to stop the blood was something that petrified my memory for a bit that hour I had read it. It was what played in my mind more than anything else had before.
And finally, I'd like you to talk about your personal reaction to the story. Did you like it? Did you think it was worth reading or simply a gory shock-value tale?
I actually liked this story a lot. I felt that most of us could somewhat connect with the experimenting bit. I liked the way he wrote this story. It’s very simple and to the point, it creates a lot of feelings within very quickly. I felt what the characters felt through out it.
1.I think that the symbolism is the grandfather clock that rings every hour, and i think its kinda symbolisming the count down in life. Also how they take drugs to realease them from life into amore realistic world
ReplyDelete2. I think the climax was a strange climax but it was foreshadowed so we knew itwould happen
3.I really liked the story