Three short story reviews

"Hunters in the Snow" -Tobias Wolff
This story was semi-interesting. It was centered around three friends that head out on a hunting trip in the dead of winter. When they can't decide on where to go, they end up getting in an argument. A barking dog puts the men over the edge, and one of them end up shooting the dog right in the face. This results in yet another argument, and one friend shoots the other, right in the gut. The two men decide that it is necessary to take the wounded man to the hospital, and they embark on the travels of getting there. This story was good enough, that it is being used in my group's final presentation.

"Cat in the Rain"- Ernest Hemingway
This story is about an American couple who is spending an rainy day in their Italian hotel room. The woman spots a cat that is huddled under a same pile of trash, trying to keep itself from getting drenched in the down pour. The woman says to her husband that she wants the cat, and really wants to rescue it from the rain. When she finally makes her way outside to try and save that cat, it has run away and cannot be found. She heads back up to her hotel room, sad. I really liked this story, and I really liked how it was able to tell a complete story without dragging in on and making it very long. I thought Hemingway did an excellent job.

"The Swimmer" - John Cheever
This story is focused on a man from an affluent New-England neighborhood that ways to try and swim across the county to make it home. This story included lots of drama, and a fantasy that many would probably like to try. I think that Cheever is a good writer, and he is able to write his story in such a way that make them very comprehensible. I was able to use this story for my final paper, and realized that film adaptations do not always work in favor of a movie. I really liked the story a lot better.

Short Cuts- the movie

This movie was one of the most interesting movies that we watched in class. When we read the movies that were included in the movie, it was easy to follow. However, there were several stories that were included in the movie "Short Cuts" that we never read in class so that made in hard to follow in general. I did like the concept of incorporating a bunch of stories into one, there just needed to be a better way of connecting them all together so it had an easier flow to follow. Raymond Carver was a great writer, and definitely included many dark and more morbid ideas into his writings. Overall, I would recommend this movie to others, with a small warning that you will probably be a little confused.

Brokeback Mountain-Movie and story

For anyone who had not seen or read this story, I'm sure it was eye-opening. I personally like this story, because it forces the reader to expand their ideas while possibly stretching outside of their comfort zone. For the most part, I felt that both the movie and the story were pretty similar. Of course there are a few differences, and one major one lies in the story. I think the story seemed to skip through the life of Jack Twist and Ennis Delmar. The story was able to capture their love, and obviously capture how they expressed their love for each other. The movie, I felt, did a better job at explaining how the two progress through their lives. With the movie, the audience is really able to see the emotions that are present. Although some people might view this film as controversial, I believe that it is necesssary to see or read. It offers a different life style that others may forget even exsists.

The Sky is Grey

From the start, I thought this would be a difficult story to read simply because of the grammer that was used. All of the shortening of the words as well as the use of words I have never even heard of was very confusing. As I continued to read on, it became easier, and I even started to like the story. I felt bad that this family was so poor, the little boy refused to let his mother know just how much pain his tooth was really causing him. It was apparent that this story is set in the past, and probably down in the south somewhere. I also found it very brave of the little boy to walk out in the cold while it was sleeting, and he was in pain but yet he never complained. I felt that this really revealed how poor the family really was. For the most part, I really ended up liking this story.

Tomorrow-The Movie

After reading the story and then watching the movie, it is obvious that there are some major differences. The movie seemed to focus more on the personal life of Fentry as opposed to the court hearing in the story. The movie was really able to grasp the concept that Fentry is a very simple man, and his life was simple as well. The movie did a better job at portraying the relationship between Fentry, and his soon to be wife Sarah. When the time rolled around that Fentry had to give up his boy, I felt sad for him. I didn't think it was fair that those men could take his son away. This situation wasn't described as well in the story. As a whole, watching the movie helped me understand the story more. The story is written in such a way that it is hard for people nowadays to comprehend.

"Tomorrow"

It was clear from the start that this story was going to be about some sort of trial. Uncle Gavin is trying to solve the mystery of one of the towns-people, and what he was doing with a child. Because this story is written in a language that is more closely related to older times, it was much harder to get into and read. This is personally not one of my favorite stories, but I do believe that it is a great example of a great american writer.

Memento Mori-The Movie

After reading the story, and then watching the movie it is obvious that there are some differences. The story doesn't go into as much detail as the movie does. I personally enjoyed the movie more, because it helped me understand how Lenny became unable to remember anything that has to do with short term memory. I was able to comprehend the idea of the tattoos, and why he needed them to remember. I feel that in the movie, Lenny used more pictures with notes attached to them to help him remember. He was also not shown in a hospital setting as much as he was in the book. One thing I did not like about the movie was how open-ended it was left. The ending is left at a point that we, as watchers, don't know what will happen to Lenny.