"The Things They Carried"

As I skimmed through the first few lines of everyone's posts for this story, I was a little surprised. I wasn't expecting the positive responses that this story received. I enjoyed Tim O'Brien's writing style and his ability to express his feelings about the Vietnam War, but I became increasingly depressed as the story progressed.
Perhaps it is because O'Brien himself fought in Vietnam that I was so affected by this story. I am assuming that much of the tone of his piece reflects his own feelings toward his time as a soldier, although online it says that he maintains that this piece is truly a work of fiction. However, for me, the message of the certainty of death that is present in this story can only stem from O'Brien's own experiences in war. Emotions like the ones found in "The Things They Carried" cannot, in my opinion, be fabricated. I believe that O'Brien truly felt the hardships and depression that his characters do in his story, or that he at least witnessed them within his comrades first hand. Of course, I could be reading too much into the story, but I guess that's why this piece affected me so dramatically.
On a lighter note, I truly enjoyed the way in which the author lists the items that the men carry as a sort of narrative to which the sub-stories of the piece are linked. I found it comforting to know that, even as soldiers, each man in our military is an individual with sweethearts, families, items of comfort, and even vices of his own. I felt so much closer to these characters just from the descriptions used to describe their most prized possessions.
Lastly, I have to say that this short story did a great job of confirming my personal belief that although war is a necessary evil, it is a horrific experience for all involved and should be avoided at all costs. (The first part of that statement is simply my own belief and is nowhere stated in the story). I felt that O'Brien wanted to bring the horrors of his time in Vietnam home to the American people through literature, and I would say that he does an affective job. I will continue to support our troops simply for the reason that they are the only things protecting my freedom as an American, but stories like this will continue to remind me just how much our fighting men and women ultimately forsake on my behalf.

"A Good Man is Hard to Find"

Well, I really don't know how I should approach this posting. First of all, like the others in our class who have posted, I did not enjoy this story. I'm all for reading creepy and even morbid stories, as long as they touch or affect me in some way. This story only made me feel sick. I'm not sure what the author is trying to prove or convey, so I'll just post my reactions and see what happens in class today. Maybe it will all be explained...?
First of all, the grandmother annoyed me. When she first entered the story, I liked her a lot. She represented everything good and polite about how society "used" to be in her younger days. I hated the children and their blatant disrespect for adults and each other, so I liked it that the grandmother scolded them. Bailey seemed to have no personality, which is aggravating, and his wife was dull as well. Even the baby is said to have only smiled once. This entire family annoyed me, so I guess I tried telling myself that the grandmother was the redeeming character of the bunch.
I soon became angry at her as well, however, when the trip to Florida becomes all about her and her dream of seeing that plantation once more. The fact that she misremembers its location seems typical. And instead of scolding the children for throwing temper tantrums in the car, she encourages Bailey to succumb to their will and take them to the plantation.
Now we come to the car accident. It is the grandma's cat that causes it, meaning that if she hadn't brought the cat as a stow-away, they would have continued on their "merry" way to Florida. After the accident, why does no one blame the grandmother? It just seems to be the logical thing for this family to have done.
When the grandma is so stupid as to reveal to The Misfit that she knows him, I almost yelled at her via the book. In a way, she indirectly causes her family to be murdered, but she never acknowledges that she knows they are dying in the woods or that she cares for anyone but herself.
Some things I noticed: Does the mother really think she is going to join her husband alive in the woods? How can anyone coldly kill a couple and their children, a grandmother, and a baby? What does The Misfit mean in his final words after killing the grandma?
I guess I'm very confused and disturbed by this story, but I don't anticipate that the "reveal" in class will perk me up any. The family members are annoying and rude, their treatment of each other is shameful, the way they are killed is horrifying, and The Misfit still confuses me as a character in general. Not my favorite story.

"The Lottery"

What a story! I can't say that I felt a warm fuzzy feeling after reading "The Lottery," but I certainly felt something.
First of all, by the end of page 1, I predicted the ending. To clarify, I predicted that this "lottery" was a form of controlling the village's population, so I assumed that certain unlucky people were about to either be exiled from the village or killed. How did I predict this ending? I'm really not sure. I've never read this story before, but I guess I've read things like it or discussed the idea behind it before. I've also found that short story writers seem to have a habit of beginning a story quaintly but ending it with a shocking conclusion. Usually, the reader is meant to be deeply affected by the message this ending holds, and I would have to say that no one can really walk away from "The Lottery" without at least mixed emotions.
I am sure that further research would spell out the message of "The Lottery" as author Shirley Jackson intended it, but I'd like to remain bewildered at least until class, when I'm sure we will be given the answer. I guess I have a few theories: 1) Could this story be about cultures like the Chinese who control their populations, and how this is a barbaric and unholy practice? 2) Could Jackson be intending to send the message that although many traditions should be upheld, as a society, we must mature in our understanding of the world and cultures around us? Therefore, if a tradition begins to seem immoral or outdated, shouldn't we scrap it and create new traditions more fitting with the times? 3) Could this story simply symbolize the coldness and ability to kill that every human heart is capable of holding within it?
I'm not sure what exactly Shirley Jackson is trying to get across in her chilling piece, but I do know that the foreshadowing of the children playing with rocks before the lottery nauseated me when I realized that these were the very rocks they would soon use to stone their friend and mother to death with. I also find it ironic that Mrs. Hutchinson appears so calm about the lottery and only protests when her own life is in jeopardy. And of course, the fact that the entire town, along with her own husband and children, treat her stoning as a normal and acceptable ritual is the icing on the cake that made this story, for me, just as terrifying as "The Cask of Amontillado." I have to say that there is definitely a lot to be learned from "The Lottery," but I'm not sure I would ever voluntarily read it again.