Reaction: Midsummer -- Manuel Arguilla

        This short piece talks of the meeting of these two characters referred to in the story as Ading and Manong. Manong, a tall and strong man travelling with his bull and cart, came across Ading, a small slender young woman, while she was on her way to getting water from a well.

    Both of them went to the well, not acknowledging each other. However, this did not mean that they were not keenly observing one another.  The story went on with Manong offering his meal to Ading, Ading refusing then accidentally drenching the food manong had offered, then Ading leading Manong to her home so that he and his bull could hide from the heat the sun was giving off that afternoon.

     I actually found this piece very enjoyable to read.  For one thing, the author was very descriptive in his writing.  This really helped me get a sense of the environment and what the characters looked like.  Another reason I enjoyed reading this piece is that the author truly made the story seem to unfold in front of your eyes.  Though it was a very short and simple story, I coulnd't help feeling a certain degree of suspense while reading it. In the five pages of the story, I could already feel a connection with the characters.  So in conclusion, I believe that what made the story interesting was the exemplary writing skills of the author, who was able to make a simple encounter of two strangers so full of meaning and emotion.  

Reaction: The Woman-Warrior

        In this piece, the speaker, who is also the author, is a Chinese girl who resided in the US. The author talks of how she was mistreated by her family and by her bosses.

        She talked about how her family seemed to put little value to her because she was a girl and this was the view of the Chinese towards daughters. Growing up, she believed that being a naughty child, or a bad girl, made her more of a boy.  She refused to act the way the Chinese believed a girl should act-- obedient and not tough at all.  She was also a victim of racism at times at work.  Towards her bosses, she would rather lose her job than follow orders that would make her go against her better judgment. What Kingston, the speaker, would do was compare herself to the strong, non-stereotypical woman, the woman-warrior.  Kingston wanted to be seen as a strong and independent woman.

        I would agree that every woman wants to be seen as strong and independent, so I understand where Kingston is coming from. The difference is that Kingston's case is much more extreme than mine because of the Chinese culture. She did, however, mention that the Chinese do also think that girls are necessary.  Of course they would think this, after all, you cannot have sons without mothers, right? But when I read this part of the piece, I felt like I saw that Kingston, though she was making it seem like she did not care that her family, or even her country, treated her so unjustly, did want to feel accepted. Therefore, even though she seemed to be fighting with a "me-against-the-world" attitude, because she was a woman and Chinese, she always knew that she was still loved by her family and honored by her country, though they would never admit this.

Reaction: Shooting an Elephant -- George Orwell

          This short story is basically about a British police officer killing an elephant in Burma.  This elephant had gone wild in the city and killed a civilian, so the British police man's duty was to kill the elephant to prevent further accidents.  Other than it being his duty, the killing of the elephant was also an act done by this officer because of the pressure he felt from the onlooking Burmese citizens.  The officer felt that not killing the elephant would make him look cowardly in front of the Burmese people, who already despised him based on the fact that he was British.  So, in the end, even though he did not truly want to, the officer killed the elephant and was rewarded with not being ridiculed.

        I believe that Orwell, the author, wanted to show the other side to imperialism with this story.  Imperialism is about domination and subordination.  In the story, the officer, being a representation of British authority in that Burmese town, is supposed to be the dominant force.  But the way the story goes, it seems like his own better judgment was overpowered by the supposedly subordinate Burmese people, so as to keep his own pride.  Therefore it is almost as if to maintain dominance he had to subordinate to the inferior.  This is extremely ironic, and this irony is probably what Orwell aimed to expose in this story.  This is his way of saying that, in imperialism, no one wins, and all become inferior to the system.