"Popular Mechanics" by: Raymond Carver

When reading this story, I first concentrated on the parents literal fight over the baby. When looking more deeply, I saw that it was really about the destruction divorce has on the children in a family. This is the conflict of the story. Like the parents in the story are ripping the child apart and pulling the child back and forth, a divorce can affect a child like this emotionally as well. Custody battles and fights over a child's love can emotionally rip a child apart. I believe that this is essentially what this story is about. This story also satires the selfishness of parents who fight over their children. When the parents are saying "Don't... You're hurting the baby." and "I'm not hurting the baby the author shows the immaturity and selfishness of the parents. They are looking for what they want over the well-being and happiness of their own child. They would rather hurt their child rather than compromise with each other. The conflict is resolved by showing that eventually, the fighting will tear the family apart.

"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty

When reading this story about an old Grandma whom I thought had Alzheimer's, I found myself getting caught up in whether or not the grandson was alive or not. I first questioned whether or not he was alive when Phoenix forgot why she was going into town and forgot all about her grandson until the doctor reminded her why she had come. This seemed suspicious because it seemed that if Phoenix couldn't remember what she was doing, she might be blocking out hurtful or painful events such as her grandson's death. I also found it odd that the doctor asked if Phoenix's grandson was still alive. I thought that maybe the doctor was asking to detect if Phoenix had come to terms with the death yet or if she was still holding on. Question 6 talks about the author's response to the question of whether or not the grandson is alive. The author responds by saying "Phoenix is alive." I realized after reading this question that it is not the grandson whom the story is focused on but Phoenix. The fact as to the grandson being alive or dead does not matter. The way I look at it, either way the grandmother is still doing a loving and caring act even if her grandson is dead.

"Eveline" by James Joyce

Throughout this story, Eveline evaluates her situation and is talking about leaving Dublin to start a new life with Frank. It is not until she is about to board the ship that Eveline finally decides not to go with Frank and to go back to her father. I think that while her judgement of abandoning her family and the two young children she had been put in charge of played a role in her choosing not to go, she was also somewhat stuck in Dublin because of her being afraid of change. Her judgement was somewhat twisted in this story because her father was verbally abusive to her and physically abusive toward her brothers and he was an alcoholic but she still felt obligated to him. Personally, I find this odd because I would think she would feel obligated toward Frank because of all that he had done for her. I believe that she did not really make a conscious decision to not go with Frank until she was sitting at station. Her "decision" wasn't really so much of a decision as it was her being unable to make a decision because she was paralyzed with emotions. I think that in the end, it was this paralyzes that cause Eveline to refuse to go with Frank.

"Everyday Use" By: Alice Walker #2

While reading this story for the first times, I found Dee to be completely unsympathetic and I resented her for the way she treated her family like they were disposable trash. While re-evaluating the story, I did find some sympathy for Dee because I realized how sad and incomplete her life must be in the way she is leading it. She has no real family as she rarely sees her mother and sister. She also is trying very hard to be someone whom she is not and is trying to create a life that is not hers. In this way, I find sympathy for how sad and incomplete Dee's life is. I believe the mother's victory over Dee is a victory because it put Dee in her place and ended her control over Maggie and her mother. I believe that as shown on page 179 by Maggie's reaction to Dee asking for the old quilts, "I heard something fall in the kitchen, and a minute later the kitchen door slammed," Maggie would have been upset if the quilts had been given away. If the mother had not denied Dee, Maggie's confidence would have been smashed yet again. I saw emotional ambivalence in the final scene because although Maggie and the mother share an emotional moment, there is nothing said and it almost seems that everything goes back to normal when the narrator says "until it was time to go in the house and go to bed." It almost seems that the mother and Maggie put the whole event behind them, but I also believe that this event reshaped their relationship into one of strength and quality.