... have little time for love: they're too busy trying to stay alive. The stories' settings are hospitals, rest homes, mental institutions, mortuaries. Nurses and doctors, rather than lovers, increasingly play the supporting roles. In one scene a dying professor discusses Turgenev from his bed in a cancer ward. In another story, a wife returns home from tennis to find her terminally ill husband has taken ... his life "she is unable to locate "undertakers" in the yellow pages and must look under "funeral directors." In each case, there's the mild shock that such tragedies are even possible. ...

• Word Count: 435
• Approx Pages: 2

... She was a very wealthy, high class girl who everyone adored. Caitlin asked me to spend the summer at Martha's Vineyard with her, her dad, and brother. My mom wasn't to happy about the idea, but my dad talked her into it. The two of us spent many summers together, making our relationship like no other. When I turned 14, ... graduated from Harvard. Almost a year later, Caitlin calls me to see if I'll be her Maid of Honor. She tells me she is going to marry Bru, my ex-boyfriend who I will probably never get over. The wedding turned out well, even though I was hoping Bru would confess his lo...

• Word Count: 481
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... have sex before marriage.The couples may think that they are mature enough and have responsibility. Live-in relationship is the good way to get to know each other.I think when people love each other,they have the idea of getting married but they will never know whether they are the perfect match ... or not.In order to get to know each other better,living together before marriage seems to be the good way.If they can not live together happily ... ,they can learn to adapt to each other or if it does not work,they might break up before ... live together, they might feel uncomfortable and wa...

• Word Count: 353
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

In Robert Louis Stevenson's short story "The Bottle Imp" he shows the power of love through his characterizations of Keawe and Kokua. Their conflict begins all because of a bottle. The imp which lives inside will grant any wish of its owner, but if he should die while still the owner of the bottle, he will burn in hell for eternity. The holder has the right to sell the bottle but it must always be sold for ... in earth or heaven."" (71). Kokua has such a profound love and devotion to Keawe that she risks her life to save her husband's. The third and final place in "The Bottle Imp" where the ...

• Word Count: 657
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... from them. She does not seem to be bothered that her husband ignores her, because she is too wrapped up in being an attentive and loving mother. At the end of the summer Robert decides to leave the island and go to Mexico to try to start a business. He also leaves because he can not bear to be with Edna anymore while she is married. Edna ... Reiz receives letters from Robert about Edna and this makes Edna realize just how much she loves Robert. Edna goes to visit her children at their grandparents house later in the story, and she is surprised at her feelings. She feels really happy to ...

• Word Count: 1005
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The Birthmark "The Birthmark" is a love story, concerned with the relation between men and women. Aylmer, the husband character, reveals a deep suspicion of mind and body theories current for the time. Aylmer the story's problematic "hero" is a scientist, artist, and a newlywed. Aylmer, an aesthetic scientist, directs his attention to processes and compounds that does not relate to an immediate spiritual end. Georgiana is able to inspire Aylmer to acquire the knowledge that ... he needs the embodiment of ... ...

• Word Count: 254
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... stem from his own guilt? Clarisse is flattered by the charming words he has written to her. At the same time, she feels a sense of relief of not having to return straight away to married life. In both of these marriages the truth is kept well hidden and everyone is seemingly content. In Shaw's story "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" the relationship between Michael and Frances reflects two people well ... aware of the truth, but not wanting to bring it ... out in the open. The fact that Michael has "not touched another woman" (p. 720) does not ... ...

• Word Count: 495
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... . [Fort Worth: Harcourt, 2002] 342) display examples of situational irony. However, the manner in which the reader understands the stories' expectations is quite different. In "Roman Fever-, the reader assumes what will happen doesn't really happen. In "The Drunkard-, the reader expects the husband will be the one the story is written about, and a twist in the story causes an unexpected ending. In "Roman Fever-, what the reader expects to happen is derived from ... returns home drunk. Although both of these stories display situational irony, they use different strategies to establish the...

• Word Count: 529
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... Irwin Shaw's short story, "The Girls in the Summer Dresses", the wife Frances is portrayed as the victim because she does not accept her husband's way of thinking. Michael is the abuser in the story, he is very one sided and thinks he is correct with whatever he does in his relationship. This story is taking place in New York City on 5th Ave. mainly in a bar. What was ... and convince himself that he is in a relationship worth staying in. Michael knows that he is not in the happiest time of his life right now, he is a little bored of his wife and he wants to be free. The protagonist in ...

• Word Count: 782
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... kill it then ran in fear. Which adds to the fact that Francis is not a very manly man, but toward the end he does showed more confidence in himself. Some of the irony comes from the conflict in the story. Most people would think that the conflict is between Margot and Francis in the beginning, or Macomber and Wilson toward the end, but the conflict comes from Francis and himself. There is a hidden ... . That sentence makes it sound like his wife does not agree with hunting, but in the paragraph before that it shows Margot begging to go with Francis and Wilson on the hunt. I don't underst...

• Word Count: 709
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... is ready to begin this new life on her own. Evidently, her husband who was not in the train after all comes home. Then Mrs. Mallard, known as Louise after her husband's dies from heart failure on the spot. I was kind of confused when I first read the story, but after reading it twice, it all came down to one conclusion, I like it. It takes a couple ... of twists and turns that makes the ending ironic and unobvious. The ending of the story where Louise's husband did not die is what ties the story up so well. This wonderful story was so well written and descriptive ... that we can be Mrs...

• Word Count: 289
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... female character has conflict with her husband, Manka disobeys her husband and he kicks her out, but they end up together which shows that the writer is using idealism. In Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard is very unhappy in her marriage to Brently Mallard and is not heartbroken when he might be dead. When she finds out that he is not ... happily ever after. I didn't think that they were going to be together in the end when the burgomaster kicks Manka out, so there was a little suspense, which everyone loves, and in the end the girl gets the guy, which everyone loves also. So this story i...

• Word Count: 491
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... from perfect. Love for one another was not their problem; it was the lack of respect for each other. Some clues indicating that this relationship was not a "good" one are, Mrs. Mallard stating the word free after hearing of her husbands death and Mrs. Mallard wishing for a long life when just the day before she was dreading a long life. A sign that indicates her love for her ... husband is the fact that she dies of a joy that kills after seeing he is still alive. Free is not a word ... will cry again when she sees his kind hands folded in the casket, "She knew that she would weep again...

• Word Count: 502
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... Henry is away, a salesman comes to call on Elisa. He realizes that she has a love for her flowers and shows great interest in them to gain her trust. He invents a story about a woman that lives down the road that would love to have some chrysanthemums and asks Elisa if he could take her some seeds. Elisa becomes very excited about ... to get ready for her outing with Henry. While Henry and Elisa are making their way into town, she discovers the flower seedlings dumped out on the side of the road. Elisa is devastated by the way the salesman has lied to her and used her the way he did. Sh...

• Word Count: 472
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

This is the story of a boy named Hajime, growing up in Japan, and trying to find meaning in his life. The book starts out with Hajime in grade school, and is a school outcast because he is an only child. In the 1950s, when he was growing up, only children were extremely rare in Japan and were frowned upon ... one night. He has never forgotten her, and instantly falls in love with her all over again. There is a mystery surrounding Shimamoto that neither Hajime, nor the readers ever fully discover. We know that she does not work, but wears expensive looking clothing. We also know that she had a ...

• Word Count: 569
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The short story "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" by Irwin Shaw, details a dispute between a married couple. Michael is fascinated by looks of other women and it drives Frances crazy. Shaws intention was not just to show a bickering couple, instead, he was trying to show that women and men have different expectations in a marriage. Even though this story was published in the late 1930s it was more ... about it." Fifth Avenue comes to represent visual pleasure for Michael. He is getting older, near middle age, so he is trying to preserve his youth by looking and fantasizing about a variety of...

• Word Count: 935
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... different elements of the setting that contributes to the story. The central symbol is the yellow wallpaper, I believe Gilman was trying to use the woman stuck in the wallpaper to symbolize the social position women played in society at the time. Gilman tries to show how women felt trapped and needed to "creep" when men were not looking. This also ran parallel to the narrator's life in the fact that the narrator felt ... relationship with her husband. And with both she cannot move or change either of them. She just wants to be free and in control of her own life not stuck in the same po...

• Word Count: 337
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan The novel, The Kitchen God's Wife is a true-life story told in flashbacks, by a mother (Winnie) to her daughter (Pearl). She relates the incidents that had occurred in her life when she was in China. The story begins with the memories of a six-year old, about her mother who she loves intensely. At such a tender age she experiences the pangs of separation when her mother suddenly disappears from her life. Till her marriage to Wen Fu, Winnie lives in Tsungming Island where her treatment is no better than that of an orphan. Despite all the sufferings that Winnie ...

• Word Count: 136
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... plays Romeo And Juliet and West Side Story. The main male characters have many things in common. In fact, Toni and Romeo both miss the beginning fight at the beginning of the plays, they both fall in love and end up getting killed. The difference between the two is that Toni takes place in the 1950s'', while Romeo happens in Elizabethan times (the late 1500s). The two main female characters also have ... are accidental and cause the hero's ( Romeo and Toni) to kill the close relative of their lovers (Tybalta and Bernardo). Both stories conclude in the sad reconciliation of two fighting ...

• Word Count: 453
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... sometime in their life. It has obviously been around forever since it is written about in the bible, such as in the story of Abel and Cane. In this story, jealousy causes a brother to kill a brother. The commandment may be hard to follow, but it is a practical rule. Jealousy is the root of many problems in relationships, and often causes destruction in one's life. In Ernest Hemingway ... 's The Sun Also Rises, Robert Cohn's obsession with Brett Ashley causes him jealousy and mayhem. Before Cohn is under ... Brett's spell, he has high hopes and is under the ... ...

• Word Count: 641
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... a lasting relationship because it leads to understanding, which ultimately leads to cooperation. Our ability to work together will ensure another level of happiness in our relationship. It is important to me to develop a good friendship first before the relationship shifts to a more intimate level. I think that in successful marriages people recognize that they have married their best friend with ... whom they have established a bond of attraction that is both physical and emotional. An important point I have come to realize is that ... mate primarily because the romantic relationship ...

• Word Count: 643
• Approx Pages: 3

... , I would say a haunted home, and reach the height of romantic felicity - but that would be asking too much of fate!" begins the setting for this short story by Ms. Gilman. The story quickly turns from a romantic get-a-way for the summer to the underlying dominance of the well respected Physician of his wife. The downstairs bedroom offers plenty of amenities John (the physician) decides that the upstairs bedroom which covers nearly the whole floor would be better suited for ... her recovery from depression. Is one of the first of many examples of his determination to ... ...

• Word Count: 979
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... , she will not sacrifice herself for anyone, not even her children. This is unacceptable. When one chooses to have children, she should be prepared in advance to choose her children before anyone or anything else. Thirdly, as a devoted and loving woman to my husband, I do not agree with Edna's meaningless affair with Arobin, or her undying love for Robert. Because Edna ... from being an "owned" housewife. Another example is when Edna learned how to swim. She received instructions from men, women, and even children; she finally learned to swim at the end of the summer. The last example is...

• Word Count: 718
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... story, we see how greed is the route of all evil. The three men start off with a noble mission to kill death. Their friend has died and they want to get back at death to avenge their friend. But when they find the gold, the story begins to take a tailspin. They all make plans to kill each other so they can all be the richest men in town. The end ... result is all their deaths. However, this could have been easily avoided. After finding the gold, they could have split it up evenly, and they would have ... all lived rich and happy lives. We further see from this story that what could hav...

• Word Count: 835
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

The main themes in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" are the pursuit of love and luck. Both of the main characters in "The Rocking-Horse Winner," the mother and Paul, are in pursuit of love. First the mother marries for love, and the love fades. She gains children from her marriage, but she can not love them. Nowhere in her life can she find love. She rejects the closest thing to love, her young ... son Paul. Her feelings toward her children, especially Paul, are exemplified when her children are around. She feels the centre of her heart ... go hard. Everyone thought of her as a great mother who lo...

• Word Count: 260
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School