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I found Margaret Atwood's "An Angel" so beautiful and unique. I liked reading about the different angels and the focusing on the angel of suicide and who she is. I liked reading about what made her different from the others and how out of the box she was with her actions. I want to understand this quote more. "That is why the angel of death is so smooth. She has no face to speak of. She has the face of a gray egg. Noncommittal; though the shine of the fall still lingers." It kind of confuses me. In Aimee Bender's "Loser" it goes through this boy's journey of having the special ability for finding lost things and it goes through with mainly how negative people found his ability as a hoax and called him a show off. All this led up to the moment that was important: finding a lost child. This intrigued me because he was using his ability for greater good. The ending made me really sad and hurt because you can see all he wants to do is use his ability to find his parents after the accident. I question whether or not this accident is what triggered for him to grow this ability even though he could do nothing to bring them back. In T. Coraghessan Boyle's "The Hit Man" was so interesting to read because we see his life flash based on titles of moments in his life whether they are big or small- and may seem unimportant at first glance, but are necessary in understanding why he is a hit man. I especially love the ending seeing how his son is next in line to be like his father. It's like I'm itching to know more.
ReplyDeleteFaith Ortiz
I liked how in “Loser” by Aimee she writes “Mrs. Allen described a blue shirt, and the young man focused in on the blue shirt; he turned off his distractions and the blue shirts like a connecting radio station..” (pg.148) rather than to give up the boy continued on trying. I was honestly heartbroken when I first read that he was practically abandon from his parents its scary you're all alone. Even though the town did look after him it's different rather than having your parents beside you through the worst and bad times.
ReplyDeleteIn “An Angel” I liked how atwood describes the angel of suicide she states “.. who is dense, heavy with antimatter, a dark star.” (pg.145) i'm not saying im for the dark angel I just like how Atwood described the angel as this scary figure very good source of imagery. we as people have our own mind of what we believe and how we say the good and bad things for me I do believe in angels so I feel that there are good angels and bad angels. What i was somewhat curious about was if and when you see the "Angel of suicide" is it because you're at worst of times and it is showing you who could take you when you're having those bad thoughts?
In “The Hit Man” I didn’t like how it was written I like to read stories with imagery so that I can picture the story as i'm reading it. I also didn’t like how he was raising the son the become the future hitman. I know these stories are meant as short stories, but i felt too short it is as if i only needed to read the very first paragraph of the story and the very last paragraph and I could've told you exactly how the story was to play out. I felt the story had to much detail that was not needed in the story.
Krystdamayne Guerrero
Margaret Atwood’s “An Angel” paints a vivid contrast between fallen and “other” angels, as she puts it (pg. 145). She focuses on this fallen one, of suicide, and the story is fiction without sounding like it is, because of her observations about angels. Her last sentence, I take to be alluding to the flying away that is so appealing to those who commit suicide. Very haunting.
ReplyDeleteAimee Bender’s “Loser” progresses through a blatantly unbelievable story, which becomes increasingly more absurd, as the young man finds lost objects by sniffing them out. By the time a lady in the neighborhood has a giant emerald, you know for certain the story is fiction. I was not expecting the ending, and I sat and reread it a few times, and revisited the beginning, and felt chills. I loved the way the story turned into something so much bigger, and real, which is that feeling of aloneness and ultimately, the void the man felt that his dead parents left inside him.
“The Hit Man” by T. Coraghessan Boyle is original with its use of subtitles denoting new scenes in the story. I was left wondering if the piece was about the character Death (represented by the golden scythe and Cerberus the three-headed dog, pg 152), or a man with a cloud over his head (shown in Early Years at school, pg 149), or how both of these figures look so much alike as to be interwoven.
Natalie Roeglin
Margaret Atwood’s “An Angel”, used symbolism in the entirety of her work describing the angel of suicide. She depicts this angel with having similarities to white angels, and shows how she perceives them as heavy creatures. I can only see this as her way of saying her depression or suicidal thoughts feel heavy. She also talks about wings as her way of making this voice in her head have sense or logic. Aimee Bender’s “Loser”, is about a young man who has a strange ability to find objects and finds Mrs. Allen’s son when he was kidnapped. He only finds it because he was able to locate his shirt. He thinks to himself that had the boy had no belongings on him, he would not have found him. As he lay in his bed naked, he realizes he has lost himself. T. Coraghessan Boyle’s “The Hit Man” takes you through the life of a man who kills. We see him kill his father, and how he was drawn to kill him, resenting him more and more over time. We see him get married, and have a child. We see him get old and die leaving the son to do what he did all his life. I liked that we watch this once menacing creature deteriorate slowly, seemingly having a normal life on the outside, only to create a son who will continue his legacy.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Campos
In the story "Angel" we are being told the story of multiple angels that have a pull on human beings. These angels are metaphors behind things that happen. For example, the angel of suicide was said to be found by the edge of a bridge which is where suicide is usually prominent. The angels themselves are not to blame for people's behavior instead I see them as a justification for our decisions. That humans need some verification as to why things happen, and that's why these angels exist. In the second story, "Loser" was a piece about a little boy that is an orphan. I feel that I may have missed the author's intentions with this story, but I still enjoyed it very much. I like how this boy became a young man with special abilities and I wonder why he has them. I am confused as to how he is able to feel the objects pull, but I also think it relates to the way that his parents died. The reason he could feel the pull is because his parents were being pulled away from him by the waves as they were drowning. Towards the end, the young man undressed and laid in bed and could no longer find himself. In the third story, "The Hit Man" I had a lot of difficulties trying to find out the main idea and the significance of it. I did think it was very unique that it was structured by key points in the hit man's life. I am left curious as to why the hit man always wore a black bag over his head since his early years in life. I did like that this character was humanized by getting married and having a son of his own that he loved.
ReplyDeleteLianna Andrade
“The Angel” by Margaret Atwood, discusses angels of all sorts. Though she mentions other angels such as “the angel of blindness, the angel of seizures, and the destroying angel”, but she focuses of the angel of suicide the most. These angels were used at metaphors for the internal battles we are dealing with each day. “The Loser” by Aimee Bender, is about a young boy who could find missing objects even if they were not visible. He comes to an eye opening conflict, when is giving the task of finding a missing boy. He finds this very difficult, but after he is given further description of the boy, he was able to find him and bring him back to his mother. The “finding guy” ponders over what he would have done if the boy was not wearing anything, he would not have retrieved him. He has some sort of flashback of him not being able to find his parents while they were drowning at sea. He will never be able to find them of course, but it seems to be a traumatic event for him that he has yet to cope with. I found the format of “The Hit Man” by T. Coraghessan Boyle to be quite interesting. The author allows us to follow the story of a man who kills for a living. To me, the black hood/bag he wears stands for isolation, and protection of the outside world. The Hit Man is not full demonized; we see him get married and have a son. Though I enjoyed how unique the structure of this story was, I was unable to pinpoint the theme of the story.
ReplyDeleteValerie Jackson
In "An Angel" by Margaret Atwood, I thought about how we all have angels and how there are a lot of things that may haunt us. At one point or another, all of us might have thought of dark thoughts, whether it be suicide or destruction or mental illness. Things happen those are there for a reason like to help realize what is wrong or what can go wrong.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Loser" By Aimee Bender, a young boy has a supernatural power and uses it to find different objects. The hardest object he had to find was a boy who was kidnapped. He wanted to take the child for himself as it says that he takes the boy lovingly, which I found very bittersweet because it'd be weird if he kept him and he is all alone trying to accept his gift. It ended very sadly actually.
In "The Hit Man" by Coraghessan Boyle, the hit man is moody, unpredictable, and always wears black. The story goes from childhood to adulthood, with him getting married and having a son. It was quite a dark and depressing story to me because someone that feels like they need to kill to get vengeance or because of hatred and then for his son to continue his work. It is upsetting.
Sidney Carranco
In these three stories, the authors create unique and complex works which captivate the readers and guides them through a maze of seemingly unrelated themes and ideas. In An Angel, Margaret Atwood brings the reader's perspective of angels away from the typical being of celestial lights and guides them into the rebellious, dark and tempting hold of these turned angels. It also also interesting to note that many of the angels she describes are named with human actions, such as mushroom cloud, suicide, etc. Is there a connection between fallen angel and fallen man?
ReplyDeleteLoser by Aimee Bender is dressed in shades of sorrow, as well as confusion. Phrases such as "He had to lick it" (the green jewel) throw the reader off, and seems like a mental diversion from the story. It is interesting to note how the mother's loss seemed to be focused on the jewel at first, how her son was stolen for the jewel. However, as her son returned, the jewel was worth less than her son and offered to the rescuer. This makes a connection with the main character, who could find everything others cherished, yet could not find what he desperately wanted most; his parents. The Hit Man was an overall confusion to me. The author's description of the hit man made a connection to the Grim Reaper, with his cloak and scythe. The character, as well as the son, open up a floodgate of possible explanations or ideas.
- Jose Montoya
Even though the story “An Angel” was short compared to the other two, the details used for imagery were enough for the reader to get the vivid picture. I was able to imagine how dark of a place you must be to even think about committing suicide. My favorite one to read from the three was the story called “Loser” because it includes so many details about the main character and the events that he is involved in. From the first paragraph, I knew that it was a fictional story because the kid was able to find lost things by just using his sense of smell like a dog, and this is important because one of the main things that needs to be in the story is the fictional twist to it. At the end of the story, I got a feeling like sometimes the main character wants to be normal just like everybody else without the responsibility of finding things for others. The last story by T. Coraghessan Boyle called “The Hit Man” was a bit difficult to read for me. The organization of the story itself was not smooth and flowing, almost like the author had to stop and think about what he was going to write next. The structure seems like Boyle was trying to separate his ideas like chapters in a book. On the other hand, it did make it easy to understand since each chapter, or section, was short, simple and to the point.
ReplyDeleteFrancisco Rosales
”I know what the angel of suicide looks like. I have seen her several times. She’s around”, Atwood states. I immediately thought how deep and sentimental this is explained even if it is made up. She focuses on the explanation of the suicide angel more than she is able to compare to “the others”. I overall enjoyed this short story because it’s extremely creative yet dark and there was interesting imagery on page 145 where she states how “she has the face of a gray egg”, imagery in this paragraph gives the reader a vivid dark imagery that could possibly show up in a nightmare, and I found how impactful this story was impressive. I hope to talk about the last two paragraphs on page 149 from the short story Loser by Bender. This has to be my favorite story of these three, its extremely quite interesting how someone can think of this story. We all have wishes and desires to find anything we’ve ever lost and wanted back. Personally, I’ve lost so many contact lenses that I wish I was able to feel my finger tug on my dresser or floor and just grab it back instantly. Image not having to live without something clueless of where its at. This guy found a whole human being! Overall, I enjoyed this story of the Loser, is that how he saw himself? Because they called him “the finding guy” not loser? The hitman isn’t that complex to understand if you just view it open minded that, that is one mans life who, in the end, is passed down to his son. What if he had a girl? Would the ending be the same? I enjoy who each and every chapter or situation that’s happening in the hitman’s life is separated, to possible signify importance? Overall, I found it creative to mention that he doesn’t take of his hood even at some talk show stated in page 150 where the make up artist works around the mask.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Ruiz
“Loser.” Aimee Bender. There is a vague conclusion to this story, one that implies the boy isn’t exactly appreciative of his power, as while he is able to find the objects and people other have lost, he is not able to find what he misses most - his parents. What is especially tragic is the sense that his parents are near, as he is able to, with uncertainty, to hear the sound of rushing waters of where his drowned; this gives the protagonist an even stronger lack of closure. At the same time, there comes the implication that the protagonist at some point, or perhaps for the whole story, has been deceased all along.
ReplyDeleteThere are these lines to consider: “He lay in bed that night with the trees from other places rustling and he could feel their confusion. No snow here. Not a lot of rain. Where am I? What is wrong with this dirt? Crossing his hands in front of himself, he held on to his shoulders. Concentrate hard, he thought. Where are you? Everything felt blank and quiet. He couldn’t feel a tug. He squeezed his eyes shut and let the question bubble up: Where did you go? Come find me. I’m over here. Come find me. If he listened hard enough, he thought he could hear the waves hitting.” (David Starkey. Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief (p. 157).) His manner of crossing his hands in front of himself, up to his shoulders, is akin to that of a deceased when positioned inside a coffin. And then comes the manner at which people first treated his ability - misplaced items in strange locations, similar to the activities associated with poltergeists. Even more so, there is some curious wording, like “skeptics” and “tiny room,” to consider. At this point, it is left inconclusive on what it is exactly that the protagonist lost most or if at all; I think this ending is especially fitting for the protagonist, for throughout the story he feels not only out of place but for the most part ignored by others except when needed - no one seems to think much of him until he is needed and brought up, which reminds me of a spirit summoned to a seance. Whether such wording within the narrative is to be taken literally or taken metaphorically is an undecided matter.
“The Angel.” Margaret Atwood. There is one line that strikes out to me: “From the friction of the air, her face melted off like the skin of a meteor. That is why the angel of suicide is so smooth. She has no face to speak of. She has the face of a gray egg. Noncommittal; though the shine of the fall still lingers.” (David Starkey. Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief (p. 153).) My interpretation of this line is that of crack being heated up on a metal spoon, hence the gray egg and the mentions of a face. The face is clouded from the heat and crack intermingling, yet a shine can still be made through the “fall” - the addiction to narcotics. I personally didn’t try reading too much into this piece, but I imagine it details the various struggles that prompt us to guide ourselves to commit suicide. The Angel is of course used metaphorically, but it may also be a hallucination as well; a hallucination guiding one’s inner desire to escape suffering permanently through death - that release, so to speak.
Gary Tolar
“The Hit Man.” T. Coraghessan Boyle. A fictitious narrative following the Hit Man through a series of moments, both significant or insignificant, as a means of characterization. The Hit Man is never referred to by name, perhaps because it is his disposition and occupation that are most important; he is both literally and figuratively the bringer of Death. Usage of bolded letters of a larger font is common throughout the story, perhaps to better highlight key words, similar to that of a newspaper highlight or an obituary. The Hit Man takes the life of the high school football captain - a commonly used story of an athlete with a promising career destroyed short. What is rather interesting is his murder sentence: “Five years, says the judge.” (David Starkey. Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief (p. 157).) In two months the Hit Man is back on the streets, giving the impression that Death is not only common, but society itself has become rather accommodated with its presence.
DeleteThe Hit Man’s life is celebrated in his adulthood, yet also prepared for, and even arranged for; he is gifted a gilded scythe as a retirement gift, similar to how the living prepare the dead for their spiritual journey on Día de Muerto, by prayer and even gifts. The Hit Man is also a neighborly presence that those living near wave and encounter daily; his occupation is not only normalized but is also an area of fascination for television talk shows. In adulthood, Death is a presence everyone has learned to live on with. In childhood, Death is a presence everyone is to confront before moving on. This story is obviously a tale of death and of a father passing on his legacy to his son, but it is also a tale of a man who built his legacy by cutting ties with both traditional values and his own blood.
Gary Tolar
Margaret Atwood “An Angel” was lovely to read it was dark yet beautiful when we think of angels we think of heaven and being saved (at least for me) this angel was dark she did not just stay on one angel but others yet she focuses with the angel of suicide it made me wonder if she was battling something and felt as if she could not win it was haunting in a way. Aimee Bender “The Loser” was a good read while it because of the imagery they give you can really create a character in you head when you read it. But I found it confusing why be so sad with a gift of finding something but in a way I could understand wanting to be normal. I did not like Boyles’ story “The Hit Man” it was hard to read and I found myself re-reading but still I did not understand what was truly going on.
ReplyDeleteAndi Rubalcava
All stories were different, but in my opinion, they were all interesting. The first story “An Angel” by Magaret Atwood started off as suspenseful. Once I read the first line, I was hooked. Maybe it was due to the story kind of starting off dark that had me hooked, I don’t know but I usually find dark things like this story to be interesting and possibly relatable. The “Loser” was probably my favorite story out of all of them because it was very detailed, I like how it gave the back story of the young man and he was portrayed as a kind of hero to a skeptic that didn’t believe in his special ability. The last story “The Hit Man” was also interesting, I like how this story (like “An Angel”) has a dark theme and starts off as mysterious. While reading the story I thought maybe the title is a hint for the person actually being a hit man, and kills people for a living. I feel like there’s probably a deeper meaning to it, though I’m not too sure. All these stories had a little darkness in them which made each one interesting to read. I have a few questions regarding to somethings that took place in the stories. For example, I would have liked to know if in “An Angel” the narrator maybe tried to commit suicide once? I usually like to know background information in a story, but I feel like the author does this on purpose to make the reader relate to it or think about it in a certain way.
ReplyDeleteIlene Guevara
Margaret Atwood’s “An Angel,” is one of the shortest stories I have ever come across and I find it to be extremely poetic. Atwood packs a punch in just under a page by using detail and imagery throughout which gives the reader so much to focus on in a such a short length. Its beauty distracts from its deeper meaning that revolves around suicide and I especially enjoy that because angels are the antithesis of sadness. This short-short story lives on two sides of a spectrum and not only is it a creative way to approach depression and sadness, but it is eye opening when you finish reading the last line and are left with a sense of heaviness, yet relief.
ReplyDeleteAs for T. Coraghessan Boyle’s story, “The Hit Man,” all I have to say is I really did not enjoy this story one bit. All of the sub-titles leading in to varying sizes of text left me confused because none of it was cohesive enough to make any type of sense. At least that’s how I felt. It felt choppy and kind of repetitive. Boyle’s style is definitely not something that I identify with.
In Aimee Bender’s story, “Loser,” I felt a great sense of understanding for the main character. Here is this young boy who loses both of his parents and he spends the rest of his life being questioned over this insane ability he has, and in the end he has still not found his happiness. I thought it was an interesting story in a roundabout way.
Kimberlee Salas
"An Angel" by Margaret Atwood, mainly wasn't what I was expecting when I read the title. It was about the angel of suicide (and others but the story focused around this angel). She uses a vast amount of imagery that makes the story into a beautiful yet dark story that pulled me in and really made me feel a sort of happiness in a sense.
ReplyDelete"Loser" was a very emotional story in my opinion, but also was a sort of think piece. A young boy loses his parents and is left with this special ability that everyone in the town cherishes, so then the town takes care of him, but I don't think it is the same as having that connection of your parents being able to take care of you and live with you. "The Hit Man" I think the style of the authors writing at least in this story was very odd (at least to me). He uses subtitles with the context that took me going through the story twice or three times more, but in the end very interesting, because it was more on the dark side. All of these stories shared the same fantasy mixed in with dark genre.
Caesar De Luna