ninasilverlee

 Rating: 8.5/10     I ncreasing preferences for individualism affected the concept of friendship. In the past, friendships were focused on the superficial aspect. For example, royalties befriended each other for the furtherance of a strong and royal lineage. However, these days, affection and goodwill are more prioritized in friendship rather than a materialistic or physical advantage. A toxic relationship, a friendship that lacks genuine feelings, is the first thing that should be eliminated from life. Tobias Wolff’s short story Hunters in the Snow shows why.     In the short story, three characters bond over a violent activity that kills innocence for fun: hunting. While three people hang out to hunt, they continue conversations that decrease their value rather than looking out for each other. In this sense, repetitive betrayal and selfish behaviors of characters show exactly how it feels to be in a toxic friend group. Notwithstanding the reality that they wer...

 Rating: 7.8/10      People today are exposed to society to ruin their innocence easily. Once the innocent being enters adulthood, capitalism, jealousy, and selfishness destroy that decency of years in seconds. Unfortunately, it is very challenging to maintain innocence outside of parents’ boundaries of protection. This way, people in some situations - like those in KMLA - lose the ability to pursue happiness even before they finish their teenage hood.       In “bullet in the brain,” Anders’ cynicism resorts himself to be shot by the bank robbers. During that milliseconds, the bullet punctures his brain; he remembers a single scene from his childhood in which he played baseball with his neighbors. The depiction of such a memory let me realize that Anders also was a person full of emotions, sympathy, and passion. Perhaps this story was Wolff’s attempt to remind people that innocence can still be regained even if it is too late to save one’s life co...

 Rating: 8.6/10      A surprisingly significant amount of people still find intoxication as a refugee from the painful reality. In fact, society is adding reasons for people to lose complete consciousness so they can’t perceive feelings of inferiority. In this short story, Neddy perhaps escaped into alcoholism from the painful facts, as Cheevers quoted, “Had his gift for concealing painful facts let him forget that … and that his friend had been ill?”      In this short story, I found it intriguing to read through the author’s delicate usage of symbolism. As Neddy decides to swim southwest from the pool he was with Lucinda, directions of south and west provide specific tones for this story. Whilst ‘south’ provided connotations of warmth, hospitality, and strength, ‘west’ added images of darker intimations as it is the location of the dead in many mythologies. Eventually, the darkness is confirmed as Neddy reaches his destination, only to find it locked...

Rating: 8.6/10      Male superiority has been the tradition of humanity for as long as civilization records. It would be a luxury to wish for complete gender equality without a significant paradigm shift in global leaders. In this short story, John Cheever depicts a man’s experience of facing the consequences of taking advantage of women, specifically those with low self-esteem. Still, the man rises from the ground as the same man without feeling an iota of remorse. This way, the static nature of men as predators, seeking women only to quench their sexual appetites, is criticized. The contrast between Ms. Dent’s life and Blake’s businessman-like life even maximizes the tragic circumstances Ms. Dent’s facing.      Contrary to Blake’s immorality, Ms. Dent does her best to lead Blake to redemption. Even with her mental illness, she tries not to eradicate Blake from the world but to change his soul. Restraining her from firing a pistol would’ve been challenging...