Extra Credit Blog

The story of Sissy is a very strange and complicated my prescriptive thinking like no other story I have read this semester. I feel that since this story took place during the 19Th century many viewed Sissy as a strange individual. The character that Sissy can be compared too is Capitola from The Hidden Hand. But not just because both dressed in the opposite sexes clothes. But I compare them to one another because they both seemed to be ahead of their time. Capitola was cross dressing because she had to work. In today's society she would have been seen as a working girl and would have been praised for her work ethic, and not get in trouble like she did. While Sissy was would have been welcomed in today's society even though he is so in touch with his metro sexual identity. This is seen in the story with Sissy doing countless deeds for the boys and girls of the neighborhood and enjoying it in the process. I also feel that Sissy would be an excellent constant on Project Runway because of his skill with clothing.

Another character that I feel you can compare to Sissy is Ellen for The Wide, Wide World. Both are very emotional people that seem to cry every chance that they get. "Oh mother! he cried,kneeling on the floor and hiding his face on her knee, I can't bear it, my heart is breaking. I must see Margie! I must see her! Help me to find her." (Kellogg. 552) This shows the kind of emotional side that Sissy has that is only rivaled by Ellen.Even though Sissy was quite different I did not feel like it completely changed my prescriptive thinking, because we are seeing it more and more in today's society. It is becoming part of the social norm in today's world.

The Luck of Roaring Camp

So far with all the reading we have read this semester I have found "The Luck of Roaring Camp" to be my favorite and most surprising story this semester. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and felt that it really broke away from the norm of the past two American baby stories we have read. In the other stories the baby represented a bad omen and was portrayed in a negative light. But in "The Luck of Roaring Camp" it represented a change for the better and a sign of hope to those who lived in roaring camp. "And so the work of regeneration began in Roaring Camp. Almost imperceptibly a change came over the settlement." (Harte. P.535) What surprised me the most about the story was the drastic change that the men of the camp went through when Tommy Luck became a member of their settlement. All the men in Roaring Camp were rugged individuals, who weren't found of strangers and so though that one woman lived in their settlement. But as soon as Tommy was introduced into their lives we saw Kentucky, Oakhurst, and others display a side we never knew existed in them. "Yet such was the subtle influence of innovation, that he (Kentucky) thereafter appeared regularly every afternoon in a clean shirt, and face still shining from his ablutions." (Harte. P.536) I also liked how readers were able to see how life in the west coast was during this time. Showing people in the east coast that live can be vastly different from theirs, but that they face the same challenges when it come to achieving the American dream. But what I really liked about the story was the affection that so many men displayed for a baby which was not very common for that time, and to me suggested to male readers that it is ok to love and show some tenderness every once in a while.

Gilman and Chopin

When it comes to whole perspective of changing are reading habits for short stories vs. an excepted long novel. I feel that this aspect is very true and I can see why readers beginning in the 20Th century started to make the short novel popular. To me the short story does what people like and that is instant gratification in a quick manor. In a time where everything is becoming fast paced the long novel doesn't have the appeal that a short novel has. With a short novel you still get the characters, intriguing story line, and the detailed setting like a long novel but in a much smaller capacity. As we saw with the story "The Yellow Wallpaper," we got a complete story with a main character, secondary characters (John & Jennie), setting (room with yellow wall paper), and the plot of a women's mental health deterring. We get all this in ten pages and still get a complete story.

But as far as how I approach it I don't find my reading habits changing at all when I encounter a short story. I approach it the same way I do with all stories, and that is with an open mind and interest with the characters no matter the length. I do have to admit that while almost all of my reading habits do stay the same I do find myself reading with more details in short stories. In Desiree's Baby I found myself reading in more detail because so much happened in so little pages. We go from Desiree being found as a baby to having a baby, to her having a husband and a home to not having either, and finding out that Armand is the one who is part black. It was a lot of information in such a little story that I had to read in detail to make sure not to miss anything. But as much as I like short stories I will always prefer a good long novel because you seem to get more out of a long novel when you finish reading it.