The Old Man at the Bridge by Ernest Hemingway -- Review

The idea of war as a total evil was described by Ernest Hemingway in the story “The Old Man at the Bridge”.

The civil war in Spain. Difficult days have come for the Spanish Republic. On the roads and crossings of Catalonia, Hemingway saw a stream of refugees. According to a fresh impression, E. Hemingway writes an essay “Old man at the bridge”. It shows the tragedy of the civilian population of Spain, driven out of their homes.

The plot of the story is simple: an old man left the place where he lived before the war. He sits at the bridge across the river. He is tired, nobody pays attention to him. Only the narrator, the military man who monitors the crossing, casually asks the old man about his life. 

Hemingway uses interesting techniques to attract the reader’s attention. At the beginning of the paragraph, it is noted that the old man had very dusty clothes and later it was described that the peasants plodded along in ankle-deep dust. This description created a black and white picture of the place and people who were tired.

This story didn’t follow the traditional structure for stories. The story ends as the military man leaves whereas the old man remains sitting at the bridge.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

http://rauschreading09.pbworks.com/f/The+Old+Man+at+the+Bridge+packet.pdf

A song "Tripping" by Robbie Williams -- Review

"Tripping" is a song recorded by British singer Robbie Williams in 2005. According to an urban dictionary, tripping means acting like a fool and thinking crazy thoughts.

The composition was opened with the famous statement  “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you and then you win.”.

This slogan was used in 2016 by Donald Trump who was a Republican presidential candidate. He said in his Instagram, that this is a quote of the Indian public figure Mahatma Gandhi. Some sources denied this fact.

Here are three paragraphs of the lyrics: 

First they ignore you

Then laugh at you and hate you

Then they fight you

Then you win

When the truth dies very bad things happen

They're being heartless again

I know it's coming and there's going to be violence

I've taken as much as I'm willing to take

Why do you think we should suffer in silence?

When a heart is broken there's nothing to break

You've been mixing with some very heavy faces

The boys have done a bit of bird

They don't kill their own

And they all love their mothers

But you're out of your depth son have a word

The main idea of the song may be the position of a person who is in a cruel society.  Feelings of loneliness were presented through the prism of a nightmare. The rhythm of music here is quite remarkable and memorable.  

This is a link to the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g52Uh9wmqZg

Young Arthur Medieval Legend by Robert D. San Souci - Review

The American writer, Robert D. San Souci, is famous for his books for children. His most important works were about The Legends of King Arthur.

The legends are probably based upon a real-life person who lived in Britain around A.D. 500. Despite the fact that the time of the knights was much later, thanks to many legends and novels, this epoch is now well known as the era of King Arthur And The Knights of Round Table.

The author described how vulnerable the dynasty was during that time. He wrote about the enemies of a king who wished to take over his kingdom. He also wrote about how his enemies might try to kill his son. The stories about King Arthur speaks of how the young king came into his royal power, with the help of a savior and magical events. Those events were described by the author as if they were true. Readers who like historical books would find this narration interesting and instructive.


Here is the link to the text of legend:
http://www.midwayisd.org/cms/lib/TX01000662/Centricity/Domain/856/u6_frm_youngarthur_se.pdf

At Arms with Morpheus by O-Henry -- Review

The short story "At Arms with Morpheus" by O-Henry told about a morphine overdose. This plot of overdosing drugs was used for laughs.

The narrator was trying to keep his wealthy friend awake after he took a lot of morphine. He gave him coffee and walked around with him. The amateur therapy didn't help before the narrator regaled a love story. Details of the story readers can find in the text, see a link below:

https://mythologystories.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/ohenry-17/

The Sisters by James Joyce -- Review

"The Sisters" is one of the most complicated short stories by James Joyce. The narration is given by the boy. 

His old friend, an old priest who has long retired, is dying of paralysis. The boy learns about this from the uncle and aunt with whom he lives. He and his aunt go to the house of the old man, where his sisters Nanny and Eliza stayed. The sisters spoke with the aunt about the old man who died. 

The story was full of hints, sighs, and omissions that make readers think about a second, and third meaning of what they say. The story gave a lot of options for interpretation.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

https://dailylit.com/read/91-dubliners

The Interlopers by Saki -- Review

The short story "The Interlopers" by Saki is about long-standing grudges between two neighboring families. The two main characters of the story hated each other but by the will of fortune (or unfortunate) they had to stay in one place for a few hours. 

After one of them made a step toward reconciliation, the other accepted it with pleasure. They imagined how surprised their neighbors would be seeing them together... This relationship did however not last long. 

What happened next? - readers can know after they reach the last line of the story. 

The intrigue will keep going up to the end.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

http://www.polytechpanthers.com/ourpages/auto/2015/8/27/49541039/The%20Interlopers__Full%20Text.pdf

The Three-Century Woman by Richard Peck -- Review

The narration in the short story "The Three-Century Woman" by Richard Peck is given by a teenage girl. Her Great-Grandmother is interviewed for TV because she has lived in three centuries. She was born in 1899, so in 2001 she can say that she has lived for three centuries. 

The old lady invents some of her memories when she becomes annoyed at the reporter. The most distinctive part of the story is the description of the characters' traits and motivations. The reasons behind the behavior of the old lady are good subjects for discussion.

 

Here is the link to the text of the story:

https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/cobblearning.net/dist/f/1260/files/2015/08/The_Three-Century_Woman__Charles-1o9wlzs.pdf