Anthology Story Summary

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery OConnor tells of a selfsh self!
righteous grandmother "ho be#ause of her o"n desires leads her son
$ailey his "ife and #hildren on a %ourney of terror& Its an e'#iting ride as
you follo" her on the road to destru#tion& The grandmother tries to #on(in#e
her son $ailey and his "ife to ta)e the family to east Tennessee for (a#ation
instead of Florida& She *oints out an arti#le about the Misft an es#a*ed
#on(i#t serial )iller heading to"ard Florida and adds that the #hildren ha(e
already been there& On the day of the tri* the grandmother hides her #at in
a bas)et in the #ar& She "ears a dress and hat "ith +o"ers on it so that
*eo*le "ill )no" she is ,a lady if theres an a##ident&
The family sto*s at a restaurant #alled the To"er o"ned by -ed Sammy
$utts&& The grandmother as)s her if shes heard about the Misft and the
"oman "orries that hell rob them& -ed Sam says ,A good man is hard to
fnd& He and the grandmother lament the state of the "orld& $a#) in the #ar
the grandmother "a)es from a na* and reali.es that a *lantation she on#e
(isited is nearby& She lies that the house had a se#ret *anel to ma)e the
house seem more interesting& /'#ited the #hildren beg to go to the house
until $ailey angrily gi(es in& The grandmother *oints him to a dirt road& The
family dri(es dee* into the "oods& The grandmother suddenly remembers
that the house "as in Tennessee not in Georgia& Horrifed at her mista)e
she %er)s her feet her #at es#a*es from the bas)et and startles $ailey "ho
"re#)s the #ar& The #hildrens mother brea)s her shoulder but no one else is
hurt& The grandmother de#ides not to tell $ailey about her mista)e&
A *assing #ar sto*s and three men get out #arrying guns& The
grandmother thin)s she re#ogni.es one of them& One of the men "earing
glasses and no shirt des#ends into the dit#h& He tells the #hildrens mother
to ma)e the #hildren sit do"n be#ause they ma)e him ner(ous& ,The
grandmother suddenly s#reams be#ause she reali.es that hes the Misft
01234& ,5esm the man said but it "ould ha(e been better for all of you lady
if you hadnt of re#)erni.ed me 01234& ,There "as a *istol shot from the
"oods follo"ed #losely by another then silen#e 01264&

Sonnys $lues
,Sonnys $lues by 7ames $ald"in is a story #entered around the #on+i#t
bet"een t"o (ery di8erent brothers& One is a tea#her and the other a heroin
addi#t %a.. musi#ian& The story gi(es the readers an inside loo) into family
drug addi#tion and so#ioe#onomi# struggles in the $la#) #ommunity and the
language of 7a.. musi#& Its a story about an as*iring musi#ians life as it is
seen through his older brothers eyes& They ha(e e'tremely di8erent (ie"s
on musi# being a sour#e of in#ome& The #on+i#ts bet"een Sonny and his
brother are brought about due to Sonnys struggle "ith heroin and Sonny
"anting to ma)e a li(ing from *laying musi#& It sends them on a %ourney of
self!dis#o(ery as they learn things about ea#h other and themsel(es& The
brothers e'*erien#e death drugs self!hatred and many more emotions& As
one brother slo"ly )ills himself "ith drugs the other )ills himself "ith self!
righteousness& The self!righteous brother fnally goes to hear his brother
Sonny *lay his musi#&
The 5ello" 9all*a*er

In the ,5ello" 9all*a*er Gilman uses nightmarish hideous yello"
"all*a*er as a symbol of the domesti# life that entra*s so many "omen& This
story ta)es you on a %ourney of *sy#hologi#al fear as you "at#h a "oman
*lumage into shear madness& The author herself su8ered "ith de*ression
and unfortunately #ommitted sui#ide& This story "as a "ay to hel* other
"omen su8ering from de*ression& The narrator an unnamed "oman is
dri(en to ma)e sense of the yello" "all*a*er in her bedroom and inter*ret it&
She has re#ently had a #hild and is su8ering from *ost!*artum de*ression&
An ailment do#tors in the early :;<<s )ne" nothing about& =*on retreating
to a mansion her husband 7ohn a do#tor thin)s it best to #onfne her to an
u*stairs room for her mental "ell!being& He has told her that she should not
"rite anything "hi#h she lo(es to do& She disagrees and feels that
distra#tion "ould be best for her so she #ontinues to "rite hiding her
%ournal&
9ithout any intelle#tual stimulation besides her %ournal the narrator
begins a des#ent into *sy#hosis& She obsesses o(er the *attern of the yello"
"all*a*er the only (isually stimulating *resen#e "ithin the room of her
#onfnement& She fnds it ugly and a bit s#ary& She begins to *er#ei(e a
"oman behind bars is #ree*ing in the "all*a*er attem*ting to brea) free&
The narrator begins to tear do"n *ie#es of the "all*a*er to res#ue this
tra**ed "oman& On#e hating the room and see)ing freedom she no" lo#)s
herself "ithin as she tears the last of the "all*a*er o8 the "all& Her
obsession "ith the "oman in the *a*er *lagues her&
As she tries to free the "oman in the "all *a*er her de#ent into madness
gro"s& 7ohn tries to get into the room its lo#)ed& 7ohn franti# fnds the )ey
and unlo#)s the door and enters the room& Sho#)ed by "hat he sees& ,9hat
is the matter> He says ,For God sa)es "hat are you doing? 03:34& He
faints? Hes too late?
The Things They Carried

Tim O$riens ,The Things They Carried is a ri(eting story of First @ieutenant
7immy Cross and his #om*any of Ameri#an soldiers in the Aietnam 9ar&
O$rien des#ribes the soldiers in a "ay that #a*ti(ates your heart as you
e'*erien#e the emotional trails they endured in the "ar& O$rien himself "as
in the Aietnam 9ar and )no"s frst Bhand the horrors fears *ain and the
things one #arries in "ar& /'*osed to these horrors the mens notions of
right and "rong shift and bend& O$riens stories sho" that the %ungle blurs
boundaries bet"een right and "rong& The brutal )illing of inno#ents on both
sides #annot be e'*lained and in some moments of disbelief the men deal
"ith the *ain of their feelings&
The things the #hara#ters #arry are both literal and fgurati(e& 9hile they
all #arry hea(y *hysi#al loads they also all #arry hea(y emotional loads
#om*osed of grief terror lo(e and longing& /a#h mans *hysi#al burden
unders#ores his emotional burden& Henry Cobbins for e'am*le #arries his
girlfriends *antyhose and "ith them the longing for lo(e and #omfort
01<D4& Similarly ,Ted @a(endar "ho "as s#ared #arried tranEuili.ers until he
"as shot 01<F4& Fa#ed "ith the hea(y burden of fear the men also #arry the
"eight of their re*utations& Although e(ery member of the #om*any
e'*erien#es fear at some *oint sho"ing fear "ill only re(eal (ulnerability to
both the enemy and sometimes #ruel fello" soldiers&
Got only do the #arry tangible things but they #arry intangible li)e
memories *ain hurt fear and many more emotions& As the soldiers fght
mentally and *hysi#ally they more "ithstand the daily trials& Ceath is at
e(ery ste* e(ery se#ond& They see one of their #omrades shot in the head
and it fore(er #hanges "ho they are& This story ma)es you a**re#iate all of
our ser(i#e men and "omen "ho *ut their li(es in danger e(ery day for
Ameri#ans to be safe& They #arried diseases among them malaria and
dysentery&
The frst member of the Al*ha Com*any to die is Ted @a(ender a ,grunt
or lo"!ran)ing soldier "ho deals "ith his an'iety about the "ar by ta)ing
tranEuili.ers and smo)ing mari%uana& @a(ender is shot in the head on his "ay
ba#) from going to the bathroom and his su*erior @ieutenant 7immy Cross
blames himself for the tragedy& 9hen @a(ender is shot Cross is distra#ting
himself "ith thoughts of Martha a #ollege #rush& ,They #arried diseases
among them malaria and dysentery& They #arried li#e and ring"orm and
lee#hes and *addy algae and (arious rots and molds& They #arried the land
itselfHAietnam the *la#e the soilHa *o"dery orange!red dust that #o(ered
their boots and fatigues and fa#es& They #arried the s)y& The "hole
atmos*here they #arried it the humidity the monsoons the stin) of fungus
and de#ay all of it they #arried gra(ity 01:<4&
The Moths
,The Moths by Helena M& Airamontes is a story of a young His*ani# girl
#oming of age& She learns the #y#le of life through the death of her belo(ed
grandmother Abuelita& She is an out#ast and not #lose to her *arents and
siblings but absolutely adored her grandmother& She al"ays feels lonely
0e(en in #hur#h4 e'#e*t "ith her grandmother& Her grandmother is the only
one "ho ma)es her feel safe& The author e'*resses the theme by sho"ing
ho" the young teen feels the e'a#t o**osite "ith her grandma to the "ay
she feels around her family& The girl #onne#ts "ith her grandma and no one
else ma)es her feel that "ay& 9hen the girl says ,I al"ays felt her gray her
gray eye on me& It made me feel in a strange sort of "ay safe and guarded
and not so alone li)e God "as su**osed to ma)e you feel 0DD24&Airamontes
is im*lying that God doesnt gi(e her that safe #omfortable "el#oming
feeling& The author is trying to sho" the reader here that she fnds God
through her grandmother& God isnt found in %ust a #hur#h for e(eryone He
#an be found in other *la#es too& God #an be found "here(er one
e'*erien#es his #omfort&
The e'treme e(ent in the te't "as not only losing her grandmother but
also fnally feeling safe and reassured dire#tly from god after she "as gone&
One day she #omes home from the store and her grandmother has died& The
grandmaIs death re*resents great loss be#ause the grandma "as the only
*erson that ga(e her a sense of ho*e& The grandma must die so the girl #an
let go of her resentment and rebirth her ne" a##e*ting self& As she #ares for
her grandmothers de#eased body she e'*erien#es a s*iritual #hange that
#ould only #ome through her grandmothers death& The moths symboli.e a
rebirth in her and her grandmother& ,I "anted to rest my head on her on her
#hest "ith her stro)ing my hair telling me about the moths that lay "ithin
the soul and slo"ly eat the s*irit u*J I "anted to return to the "aters of the
"omb "ith her so that "e "ould ne(er be alone again 0DD64& The "ay the
young girl transformed from being immature to ha(ing to fa#e death and
being a mature #are!gi(er relates to the "ay her grandma transformed from
death&&&