How Much Land Does a Man Need

In the short story “How Much Land does a Man need” Pahom gets lost in his own greed and meets a fate that he had feared his entire life. Pahom starts off as a hard working farmer, although poor, is able to feed his family and live a simple life. The conflict between rich and poor comes up at the very beginning when two sisters are having and argument, the one is rich and one is a poor farmers wife. This argument is very interesting because the advantages of being rich is clear but the younger sister makes the best of her situation and lists reasons why it is better to have fewer luxuries. Even though they are a poor family they will always have enough to eat and because they spend all their time working there is “no time any nonsense settle in our heads (222).” The point that the woman makes is that free time can lead to bad things and too much time to think can make people want more. Pahom is the husband of that woman and although he understands his wife he doesn’t heed her warning.
Pahom is an interesting character because he understands the danger in greed but every time he sees an opportunity to better his life he takes it. When he settles to a new place he believes that his life will get better until something new comes along. Pahom is never satisfied. Greed is a major theme in the story and it leads to Pahom’s death. The story of Pahom’s life follows the rule of three because it’s not until the third move that Pahom allows his greed to kill him. The theme of greed amongst men has been one of the most powerful determinants in history. Men like Hitler and Napoleon all lost their lives due to their greed . Even in today’s society the United States has a negative savings rate due to the excessive use of credit. The fact is people want what they cant have. The title is very fitting for the story because it asks the simple question how much do we really need

The Loons

Margret Laurence’s “The Loons” is a story of racism and the way society deals with social barriers. Vanessa, the narrator, explains the social structure in her town in Canada. Piquette is a French Canadian girl that Vanessa calles a “Half Breed”. This idea of race makes Piquette feel inferior toward Vanessa, which is one of the reasons they do not get along at the lake. Piquette also has tuberculosis which makes her feel even more frail. Although it seems like Vanessa is just trying to be nice to Piquette she does have her own agenda. She is convinced that Piquette knows a lot about the woods due to her heritage. This inability to communicate is the reality. On the other hand there is the dream of perfect communication, which is personified by the loons. Vanessa describes the loons “ they rose like phantom birds”(202). Vanessa sees the birds as beautiful but she never wonders what they are trying to say. She hears the beauty of the sound but doesn’t even try to understand the meaning. Vanessa invites Piquette to join the loon watch with her father but the offer is rejected with “who gives a goddamn”(202). This shows the scorn that Piquette feels toward Vanessa and everyone else who tries to help her.
The Loons not only represent communication they represent the extinction of native life. For example Vanessa’s father told her that the loons were around way before people moved to the lake, and that soon they will leave due to the development in the area. Piquette’s family were natives of Canada before settlers came and now she was labeled as a minority. Vanessa returns to the lake when she is older she realizes that loons are gone and that “ Piquette might have been the only one, after all who had heard the crying of the loons”

Sonny's Blues

Most people are forced to deal with their inner demons in order to find happiness but in James Baldwin’s Sonny Blues Sonny is trapped, physically and emotionally in his attempt for salvation and peace. Growing up in Harlem Sonny lived a tough life, surrounded by crime and drugs. Baldwin uses referrers to Harlem as a dark place and how difficult a child’s life can be there “Those who got out always left something of themselves behind” . The story is narrated by the voice of Sonny’s older brother who has never been able to understand Sonnies struggles with Heroin and his aspersion to be a jazz pianist. After reading that Sonny has been arrested he begins to reflect his relationship with his brother along with his mother. Sonny helps the narrator see that everyone suffers and there are different ways to deal with it.
The Narrator is 7 years older than Sunny, which he believes is the reason for their distance. Both men grew up together but Sunny got involved with drugs and with very little supervision due to the fact that his parents died before he graduated high school. The Narrators mother puts pressure on him to look after Sonny before she dies because she knows the darkness in Sonnies life. Even Sonnies father who was seen as a tough man had darkness in his hart and if not for their mother he would have broken down. This theme of darkness is reoccurring through out the story. The children in the story are never informed about their parents struggles because then they will know too soon the problems they will have to deal with in the future. Baldwin explains that there is no progress in Harlem and that the people are set up to fail. The narrator finally comes to terms with Sonny after they have a talk about inner struggles and how differently they have dealt with them. The narrator begins to understand why his brother took a different path than him. The real moment of clarity for the narrator was when he watched Sonny perform at the club. The Blues songs that Sonny played showed the sorrow path he had taken and his attempts to leave Harlem, and break free. This ending really brings growth to the narrator who previously been ashamed of his brother and what he had become.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

In An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Ambrose Bierce describes Payton Farquhar’s near death experience to give the reader a bitter sweet view of what Payton’s life could have looked like. Bierce vividly describes Payton’s emotions prior to his death. “ They hurt his ear like the thrust of a knife; he feared that he would shriek. What he heard was the ticking of his watch.” Time was slowing down in Payton’s mind because he had little left. Payton starts plotting an escape while looking over the river. Bierce uses misdirection in part 2 by describing Payton and how he came to be in the situation. This break distracts the reader and allows Bierce to take Payton on a survival adventure.

In Payton’s escape he notices things in life he took for granted, “Something in the awful disturbance of his organic system had so exalted and refined them that he made record of things never before perceived. He felt the ripples upon his face and heard their separate sounds as they struck.” Amidst the stress of surviving his escape Payton is able to appreciate the things in life he had always ignored. When he made it to land he described the gravel as “diamonds and rubies”. Reaching the beach Bierce wrote “ He had no wish to perfect his escape- was content to remain in that enchanting spot until retaken”. The use of all these adjectives leads the reader to believe that this near death experience will leave Payton with a new and improved outlook on life. Bierce goes back to the point of the misdirection and has Payton die because he does not want to glorify civilians being hung during the Civil War. Having Payton’s escape be described in such blissful detail only to learn that he indeed died is Bierce’s way to explain the horrors he witnessed as a soldier. It is clear in this piece that Bierce is pessimistic and experienced some hardships as a soldier.