Do you have any final thoughts on the mini-unit of short stories by Southern writers? Any particular favorite? Any interesting overlap or similarities (characterization, theme, style, etc.)between or among the stories?
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I like the Southern writers unit because it is a side of America that is not seen too frequently. It's realistic fiction that really gives you a sense of the time period. The dialects are more enjoyable to read than most of the other stories that we read in school. A theme that I have noticed so far between Wright's, Faulkner's, and Welty's stories are not only race, but coming of age and proving yourself to be more mature. I liked Wright's story the best because it's the one that I researched in depth, so I got the most out of it. It's very relatable because every person at one point or another tries to break free from their parents, and is humiliated along the way.
Originally I didn't really like the idea of reading a southern short story. I wanted to read something more extraordinary and renowned (such as LotF and 1984 that we did last year), somehow i associate the south with hicks. I was pleasantly surprised though (at least with my story, "A Good Man Is Hard To Find." The other stories were interesting too, I enjoyed digging into their true meaning (especially the freakish idea of incest with "Why I live at the P.O.)" AGMIHTF is definitely the best though; i loved it. I loved how O'Connor scrambled humor and horror together. Stories like these (the kind that are unconventional and make the reader think) are the kinds that make me enjoy reading.
i loved "a good man is hard to find" and was glad i picked it to research. the whole jesus talk/theology thing in books usually gets very tedious and boring, but O'Connor did a great job incorporating religion into the story so people can view it ambiguously. all of the southern writers seem to discuss race a lot and, well that's not a surprise. it's just interesting to see the southern point of view on race issues.
Though I did "Barn Burning" for my project I really liked the ideas conveyed in "The Man Who Was Almost A Man" just as much. Both are about maturity and are controversial in terms of race. In "Barn Burning," a poor white family must come to terms with the southern aristocratic families as well as rising black population--both of which overpower them. In "TMWWAAM" it is not known nor important to the story whether the character, Dave, is black or white (when reading through the first time I thought he was white but on second time around realized he must have been black), but the boy is poor and must prove his worth by owning a gun. In "BB" the main character's family struggles with their inferior position by intimidating others and committing petty crimes against them. In the end of both stories, the boys are supposedly grown: Sarty in "BB" has 'betrayed' and become independent of his family for the sake of morality; Dave in "TMWWAAM" has realized that a gun is not the way to prove he can be a man by hopping a train. Or does he? It seems more likely that Dave continues his cycle of trying to discover what a "man" is while Sarty has broken free of his cycle of crime and immorality.
I liked the unit of southern writers because they were different than anything else we have read this year. I think my favorite one of the stories was "A Good Man is Hard To Find." the story for me was extremely interesting plot wise, and was more interesting than any of the others. the theme we all notice throughout the week of reading the stories was running away. almost all of the characters ran away at the end of the story. they ran away from thier lives as they knew it, and to new lives they could mold in anyway they wanted. I do think when you read these stories next year you should read them without the project so the kids can actually really enjoy the stories and not have to worry about the work invovled because they were really great stories
I loved our story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find." I thought it was a really good way to end the unit on Southern writers. The story itself was extremely shocking. But the writing style, more than even the actual story, was also really great. There was the conflict between the family, and the comedy vs. tragedy. And there was so much foreshadowing in the story. And obviously the faith vs. rationality theme was done to perfection.
Overall I liked the unit. I thought all of the stories actually taught me something (even though BArn Burning was VERY tedious to read). Short stories aren't necessarily supposed to be these huge classics -- but they can still be well-written and exciting to analyze.
I really wanted to go to school in the south, but my parents suck. I love Southern literature and really enjoyed the unit we did on Southern short stories. I think I liked the Southern Stories because of the sense of Southern morality. The southern sense of morality and way of life seems very adaptable. Moreover, Southern humor, although not funny to all, is always funny to me. The shock effect of "A Good Man is Hard to Find" was quite remarkable. I really admire how O'Connor and other Southern authors can write a comically-filled story with such a serious message and implications. If I were to become a writer, I would strive to be able to do that.
I think the Southern writers short stories are a good way to end the year. They are more enjoyable and relaxing to read than Hamlet and Crime and Punishment for example. They don't require so much work to analyze yet they are still interesting to read. My favorite story was the one I was assigned, "A Man Who Was Almost A Man". I liked it because I felt like we could all relate to the main character's struggle to be viewed as an adult, yet not exactly ready to take on adult responsibilities.
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" was definitely an interesting read, as I tend to enjoy the stories that have a bit more of a "What the heck just happened!?!?!" feel to them. I am with Paul about how I originally was not excited about reading southern literature, and I still am not that excited about ever reading it again, but between "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and "Barn Burning", another story I liked, I didn't mind having to read the stories.
Well at first I didn’t think I was going to like the short story I was assigned, Barn Burning, mainly because of the title. I thought that it would involve more of the actual burning of a barn, which would have been awful to read. However, as I began to read it, I ended up enjoying the assignment. It was a really interesting story, that actually had meaning to it. A lot of short stories I have found to be too quick paced to really portray a point, but Barn Burning thoroughly shows the difficult choice a young boy must make. I liked listening to the other presentations and reading the other stories, but I have to say that Barn Burning was my favorite; this may just be because it was my assigned story but I still like it the best.
the southern short stories were interesting to read. i liked how instead of the whole "black slavery" issue of the south that we learn about in every history class i've taken, the stories allow us to see into a whole different genre of problems/conflicts between people of the south. I really liked "the man who was almost a man" and "barn burning" best. especially with those stories, the reading went by faster and more clearly than i expected, and the endings of stories were definitely thought provoking (unexpected events, unseen futures, comical ironies)
The Southern short stories weren't bad. I basically liked them, and they were different from the novels that we always read. I actually don't think I've really ever done short stories before this year, so I'm glad I had the opportunity to. Personally, I like analyzing short stories way better than novels. The one thing I didn't like was how the issue of race was always present in the short stories. I don't mean as a conflict, but as a part of the background to the story. Ofcourse its Southern literature, and their culture is going to be in their stories, but I didn't like the race background that much.
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