What Was This Story About?

The Double was about a Councillor of the state who is considered lower nobility named Mr. Goliadkin.  Who one night on a crazy tirade over class issues sees his double.  His double later goes on to take his position at work and surpass all his relations with friends.  Mr. Goliadkin's crazy reasoning and thinking process pattern within this novel imply that he is crazy.  He barley if ever finishes his thoughts.  As well the thoughts that he has are derived from paranoia upon could be false pretenses.  If I were a doctor I would call it Bipolar Schizophrenia.  The author trivially portrays the inner workings of the mind and the point at which it becomes crazy.  The line between sanity becomes thin in this novel as you don't know the reality of the situation, given it is from his perspective.  The idealism of pacing or maniacally running due to thought processing and constant forgetfulness portrays the man as insane.  As well the end is a twist, as he receives more attention and respect from being crazy than it seems he did before.  Altogether everything in his life falls, due to his unspoken love for Olsufy Ivanovich in a sense, drives him mad because her class places her above him.    

My Initial Opinions About Mr. Goliadkin.

Honestly my initial opinion of Mr. Goliadkin is that he is a schizophrenic.  As his double seems to conform to himself so well.  His speech his long drawn out thought process leading to other ideas which subordinate his original purpose, all of it makes me think he is not sane.  As well the whole shopping escapade just to look rich in my opinion was ridiculous.  All in all I think we can derive a lot from the way this man acts though.  Because his actions directly connect class and status to undermining the inferior person.  He is always placed below others no matter how he tries to assert himself due mostly to his class and idealism of no boundries.  As well the division of classes really gives us an idea of the time period.  Additionally the idealism of his double working within the same place and his bosses not caring or noticing at all is quite trivial and twisted.  To me it seems that Mr. Goliadkin is out of his mind.  Yet he is always portrayed as a hero.  Reflecting on this makes me think that he could be a hero in trying to bridge a gap between classes for example the rich and the poor.  His actions to hide and not be seen by numerous on lookers as well throughout the beginning of the story portray him as a little unique within this story.    

What is The Connection Between Sleeping and Dying

In "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson he makes a bold statement.  The statement that he makes is that everyone has struggles rich, poor young or old.  That everyone has demons to deal with.  I think that this says a lot about hapiness in general.  As even the peasants struggling for bread were much more happy than Richard Cory.  I see a connection in his death and in others ignorace or sleeping.  As he knew so much more yet it meant nothing to him.  As well there is this deep connection that regardless of class or looks there is an internal sleeping struggle within every soul.  This struggle could be depression or a habit yet I believe this poem morbidly proves that its not always easier from someone else's perspective.  From this poem we can learn not to judge as we never know what someone has been through or had to experience in their life. 

Who won and who lost in this story?

There is real no winner in war.  Definitely the free thinking person with no chain of command was proven to be the most dangerous in this story.  I love the end when they take hostage the doctor and mayor hoping and almost expecting it to end something.  Essentially the occupying force lost on all fronts.  They couldn't deter an unseen unknown enemy without utterly destroying them as a people.  This book shows how much advantage the free thinkers have over the chain of command military society.  In terms of winning the war the occupying force in a way completed their objective in obtaining coal.  Yet they couldn’t control the people and thus the downfall of their men.  The analogy of flies caught on fly paper is so real for this situation.  Due to the regulations of their military there is no defense capable of stopping the unknown radical thinker.  This is an awesome display of the far reaching spectrum of war and combat.  I believe this war was mostly a mental battle.           

How I would respond as an resident in a invaded town

Within the Story The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck we learn much.  The most intriguing thing to start is the law, when the town is taken the law is subdued and thus the rights of the citizens lie within the hands of the opposing force.  One of the main character's Colonel Lanser uses civility in point to try to deter rebellion of the towns people.  He uses Mayor Orden to try to keep the town together and unified under this occupation.  In so doing he only helps them to discover what they are against and must act upon.  If I were in this situation and had sentimental ties to the land, I would retreat to the woods with a sniper rifle and blow up as many invaders I possibly could.  That might possibly ruin a lot of plot along with actual understanding of war and occupation.  If every man had fought tooth and nail from the hills, mines and trees would they have been occupied?  To me it seems that regaurdless of what the occupying force chooses they are taking away life, liberty and property from the residents.  No amount of civility, sophistication or manipulation could blind this from the public.  Colonel Lanser has every right to be afraid in this situation, who wouldn't rebel?   

Why Authors Write About their Life Struggles

The story of an hour, Mrs. Mallard has a pattern of unusual behavior.  This to me characterizes the relationship that she has with her husband.  The idea that she can be free to do and think as she wishes without her husband illustrates the controlling nature of her loved one.  The diction within the story allows us to see that she had been repressed, and found it thus hard to love her spouse.  I would say that fleeting joy killed her.  As well within the text there are many references to her tenderness.  What is the cause a weak heart, or fed-up emotional abuse?  The author Kate Chopin a Feminist during the 20^th century is showing the repressed nature of women during that time period.  Kate Chopin to me is writing about possibly her own as well as many other women’s struggles during this age.  Mrs. Mallard in this story is the martyr of women’s sentiment and strength.  I believe that this literary work proves a point and implies a solution quite clearly.  The solution is reform to cultural norms and values during the early 20^th century.  What a literary and rhetorical tool for reform! 

The Compilation of short stories that can only twist my perception of society.

   Within Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story: Young Goodman Brown, a discovery is made.  The main character’s choice’s lead the pinnacle of his belief to change, and leaves him in a way hopeless.  Was it all a dream?  It seems that in modern culture there are many figures that would like us to see things from their point of view much like the Deacon Gookin.  Yet within this short story almost every godly character turns antagonistic, even Young’s perception of himself.  An Aspect of this story is the value of blind faith.  Since every alternate motive lead him to nervousness or unhappiness in the end.  Sherman Alexie’s What You Pawn I Will Redeem has vivid character within.  His quest for his grandmother’s regalia and choices show his lack of position in the world.  Yet his dedication ultimately leads him to win the regalia back with his people skills.  The outcome of this is hilarious.  Sherman Alexie has a way of showing the good in the world despite the weaknesses of people.  In Plus Shipping by Bob Hicok he portrays the working world, with jaded apathy.  Leading him to compare past societies to ours.  As well it seems that William Wordsworth’s The world is too much with us illistrates a view of wasted time and space in the secular world.