Sure Thing

I thought this play was hilarious. It also said a lot about how people judge one another so quickly. The first impression is obviously very important. On the other hand the characters at times go way to far. There are just some things that you dont' tell people the first time you meet them. The question mark after one of the responses shows that the characters know that there is someone else that is controlling the conversations. Hopefully these two characters are a bunch of different people and examples of many conversations or else we have a married lesbien, and a bitter mama's boy with no penis that end up together. It shows alot about what is socially acceptable. For instance the woman is not pleased when the man has a grade point average of less than 4.0. I can understand you don't want an idiot, but whats the difference between 3.0 and 4.0 when your heart is involved? I think these characters, Bill and Betty, show how much all people care about other people's opinions. Love shouldn't depend on the amount of salary, or where a person went to school.

To His Coy Mistress

This poem is about a man who is trying to make a make a woman hurry up and love him. In the time it was writen, the 1600's, it would be the worst thing she could do. He is underhanded and is just telling her things she wants to hear so he can have his way with her. He tells her all these beautiful things that she would like to hear, and wonderfull things that they could do together if they only had the time. Why do they have so little time is? Is one of them going to die soon from a disease? Or is the use of the word mistress meaning that he already has a wife to spend all his time with. He goes on about how little time they have, then he turns darker and talks of death and vaults, and "worms shall try that long preserved virginity" - did he really need to go there? He seems like a slimeball to me.

Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter

The title reminds me of someone realizing that they have a over due bill and hurrying to get it dropped off. As I read it though it seems that they are mailing a letter to a secret love. There is a lot of lonliness and secrets. The persona welcomes an "abandonded" street. Why was the word abandoned chosen and not empty? Choosing to mail a letter late at night while it is freezing and snowing is a good time to not be asked any questions. The persona used the word love to describe a snowy night. I think the word choices are hints. I think that the mailer of the letter has been abandonded but refuses to give up hope on lost love. The late night is the ideal time to not be criticized or thought pitiful. The snowy weather could also be a sign for lonlieness. Hemingway used rain to show something bad was about to happen, maybe Bly was using a similar technique. Another hint to this theory is the last line " Driving around, I will waste more time" The letter being mailed is a waste of time and it is known.

Not Waving, but Drowning

The title alone, before reading the poem makes me think of a drowning person desperatly flailing and someone not recognizing it is a cry for help. As I read the poem i realize that the man is dying and they are already passing him as off as dead. They say he is " moaning" but call him dead. The last line:
"I was much too far out all my ife
And not waving but drowning"
That line , to me, means that he never got paid any attention. He was never noticed no matter how he acted or what he did. The remark about larking, or harmless pranks, shows that he was trying to get attention. This poem makes me think of a very lonely person with a sad life.
The line "I was much further out than you noticed" is saying that no one took the time to realize he needed help.

Harrison Burgeron

This is a good story. It shows what life would be like if people gave up individuality, and anything that makes you different. There wouldn't be pretty without ugly. There wouldn't be happy without sad. If everyone is exactly the same no smarter then there would be nothing to learn. The parents make me sick. Not even seeing their own sons death makes them snap out of their stupor. There is no love in this society, and there is no happiness. I like Harrison's character. He knows he is different and special. He decides to fight instead of falling in line with everyone else. He died in vain because not even his own parents remember what happened, but I would rather be dead than live in a society where you cannot be yourself.

A Drowning Incident

I think this was a morbid and depressing story.
The father was a monster. How could anyone do that to poor helpless animals? I would say only another animal itself.
The son was quite brave and quickly devised a plan. It would be very traumatic to see something so horrific, and the child handles it unusually well. The way he got back at his father was also a way to express the jealousy he felt about his sister. She is just an innocent in the story and she is the one that has to lay with the rotting corpse. The father is the one that should have to lay with it. The son is going to be in for it though when the dad gets home, because if he has no remorse after throwing little puppies into a creek then what kind of punishment is the son going to get?

"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman

I thought this story was great. It reminded me of Hyde from That 70's Show, he was always fighting the man. This was a perfect exageration, almost a wake up call. Why do people feel they need to fit in and be like everyone else? When poeple conform they lose their spirit. Henry David Thoreau's quote was a nice addition to the point of manufactured men. The idea of the ticktockman is horrific, someone who can just decide to turn you off. It is so extreme. Not to mention the fear it produces. Georgette Marshal was such a loving mother and wife that she would wish termination on her children and husband as long as it wasn't her. Would poeple really not stand up against something so monsterous and hipocritical? The Harlequin is the personification of joy, courage, laughter, and originality that everyone lacked in this story. He facing death would rather be himself than conform. That should be a quality seen in more people in real life. But like all authority figures they crushed the life out of him. Having time taken off your life for not following a strict schedule takes the spontinaetity out of life, everything fun and exciting is gone. There is no room for mistakes or accidents, no more adventures or getting lost. I would rather die than live in a world so scheduled and dull. And especially because of the authority, someone telling you what to do when and where to do it. It would be worse than prison.

Barn Burner

Where does the father get off? He seems so angry at everyone and it doesn't really explain what he is so angry about. And just because he is angry he has no right to destroy other peolpes things. The second burning occurs after HE destroys someones property because he refused to listen. Whenever faced repurcutions he ruined something else. Where does he get this sense of entitlement?
The young boy I feel sorry for. The way I see it family is family, and the way he turned in his and ended up getting his father killed was wrong. But it was a hard situation. His father was being stupid, if he was going to do it, he should of done it right.
I think it should of explained in more detail about the fathers past, and explained why he was ao angry.