- For homework, write two possible thesis statements for your Short Story Review.
- These are “working thesis statements.” Don’t worry if they’re not perfect. You have time to make them better.
- These must be two different thesis statements. They can be two statements about the same story, or about two different stories.
- Your thesis statement must:
- Be about one of the stories in the anthology.
- Mention a theme and/or a literary element that you’d like to explore in your review.
- Refer to tasks one and seven from the classroom exercise “Moving On,” Sep 18 for examples of what I mean by a thesis statement.
- A good test for a thesis statement: ask yourself: “Is this interesting? Does this interest me? Can I write an interesting paper on this topic?” If the answer is no, keep developing it.
- Don’t necessarily settle on the first thing you come up with. The first idea is often the most obvious. The second is a little better. The third is usually even better.
- Please post your two thesis statements as a reply to this post (like you do for reading responses). Write your name in the reply. These are due by class on Oct. 2.
HW for Oct 2
Contemporary American Fiction 
1) Wild Turkey is on a loop, unable to differentiate reality from fantasy because he suffers from PTSD.
2) Pain influenced Wild Turkey’s perception of reality, therefore he chooses to live through reoccurring memories.
-Sindy Ann Fernando
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1) Diane Cook’s “Moving On” expresses the quest to gain control of your destiny in a society where a manual dictates how you should act and feel.
2) In “Moving On”, Diane Cook exemplifies the main character’s desire to be seen in a society where people have lost the rights to their feelings.
Charlotte Vezina-Dufresne
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1) The story ‘Happy Ending’ surrounds the 56 years old McHenry, a man who got lost, trying to get over death of his wife and seeking for the love of another woman as his true happy ending.
2) McHenry lived his life, wearing a cask to hide his true self when everyone is looking. This main character raises the question of: Is anybody ever their ‘true self’ when others are looking?
James Dinh
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Happy Endings, by Kevin Canty, makes the readers ask themselves if there is actually anything wrong with wanting to fulfill your own pleasures (whether they be sexual or of a different sort) through the use of character development.
Happy Endings, by Kevin Canty, shows how a person’s belief can change over a period of time once they go through several experiences .
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by Justin Aquino
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Moving On, by Diane Cook, explores how when the unexpected happens, as human beings we learn to cope and deal with reality.
In the short story “Moving On” by Diane Cook, the author emphasizes the oppression of women being able to be independent and live without the need of a man in their lives.
Morgan Kane
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“Kavitha and Mustafa,” by Shobha Rao explores what it is that creates strong relationships between people.
“The Fugue,” by Arna Bontemps Hemenway uses vivid imagery to develop the idea of how all humans are extremely fragile.
-Jeffrey Smith
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1.) Ben Fowlkes’ strong use of characterization in “You’ll Apologize If You Have To” helps tell the story of a man confronted with the realization that he must give up the competitive sport that defines him.
2.) Ben Fowlkes’ “You’ll Apologize If You Have To” describes Wallace’s struggle to accept that he has lived his career in its own separate reality, and must now make a permanent return to his real life.
Kaela-Rose LeBlanc
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In the Story moving on, Diane Cook creates a make-believe world to emphasize that we never actually have freedom in this world.
The short story Moving On, By Diane Cook, uses character image to express how people stop themselves from being free, by blaming society of doing so.
Nareh Sarkissian
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1) Diane Cook’s “Moving On” society deems people who have lost someone as criminals.
2)Diane Cook’s “Moving On” the narrator’s poor will power makes her easy manipulated by the placement team.
-Kyle Smith
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1) Diane Cook’s ‘Moving On’ explores the concept of freedom and how one might not be as ‘free’ as one thinks.
2) In her short story ‘Moving On’, Diane Cook demonstrates the inevitability of change and how powerless one can be when imposed with a new reality.
Andy Nhieu
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Diane Cook’s “Moving On” demonstrates how powerless one can be in society.
The short story, “Moving On”, by Diane Cook demonstrates how society forces you to move on even if you aren’t ready to.
Emilie Cohen
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In the story “The Fugue” by Arna Bontemps Hemenway, we as readers empathize and feel Wild Turkey’s post traumatic stress through the use of flashbacks..
In the story “Happy Endings” by Kevin Canty, we see that the biggest barrier to happiness and pleasure is ourselves through the use of character development.
Avishek Paul
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1) Through the use of symbolism, in the story “Moving On” by Diane Cook, we can see how real human emotions are oppressed by societies expectations.
2) In the story “Moving On” by Diane Cook the main character does not seem to have the freedom to make her own choices, she is trapped by societies rules and expectations.
Sahar Jaleel
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Shobha Rao’s “Kavitha and Mustafa”
When confronted with a situation of great intensity, one’s true nature and desires surface/are revealed.
The revelations made when confronted with a situation that requires you to step outside your comfort zone.
A prolonged period of confined loneliness can ultimately cause someone to act out in a way that may seem rash/impulsive to others.
Emily Sarid
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In the short story “Moving On”, Diane Cook examines the various hardships humans must endure following the death of a loved one and despite their sorrows, there is a new life that is waiting for them.
In the short story “Happy Endings”, Kevin Canty introduces us to a world where learning to lead one’s own life and having the power to be free can be he answer to one’s aspirations.
Chad Levett
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In the story, “The Fugue”, the author portrays how the human mind can lose the ability to distinct between real and false memories through time.
In the story, “The Fugue”, the character of Wild Turkey showed how the mind can distort certain memories after a traumatic experience.
Lenz Layug
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The story “Moving On” shows how society oppresses women and prevents them to express their feelings, through the use of characterization.
The imagery in the story “The Fugue” shows how a traumatic experience can lead us to lose sight of reality.
Miruna Mincic
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Through an analysis of “The Big Cat” by Louise Erdrich, we see that only when people make their own decisions they can be truly happy.
Through an analysis of “The Big Cat” by Louise Erdrich, we see that everyone you meet has an influence on you.
Jessica Rupnik
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In Kevin Canty’s short story “Happy Endings”, we see the thin line between happiness and satisfaction, and that people often limit themselves to the happiness that others allow them to have.
In the short story “Kavitha and Mustafa” by Shobha Rao, we see that we may only realize how we truly feel, once we are forced to make a decision between are desire’s and are needs.
Caterina Saletnig
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1) In the short story ” You’ll Apologize If You Have To ” by Crazyhouse shows us how hard it is to accept and face failure in our lives.
2) The short story “You’ll Apologize If You Have To ” by Crazyhouse shows us how strong a human being must be to come in touch with their feelings and admit their pain.
Pamela Rochefort
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1) In the story “Happy Endings” by Kevin Canty, the theme discovery plays a huge role throughout this story as the main character McHenry tries to escape being controlled and find his true self.
2) In the story “Moving on” by Diane Cook. the theme love has an appearance in the story in the way that love fades from time to time and the main character starts to think a lot about the past but also a bit about the present.
Brandon Marshall Daley
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1) Story: You’ll Apologize If You Have To by Ben Fowlkes
Knowing when to let go and move on versus holding on to something you know.
2) Story: You’ll Apologize If You Have to by Ben Fowlkes
Not knowing how to move on is the one thing that will keep you in the same place.
Maggie Sessenwein
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1. The state of being single is something that is looked down upon in society, and symbolism is the driving force behind that point in Diane Cook’s “Moving On”
2. in “Moving On” Diane Cook demonstrates the bleak reality of dealing with grief through the development of the main character”
Angelo Bergamin
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1) Diane Cook’s “Moving on” is about the importance of the grieving process and how an interrupted one renders someone psychologically very vulnerable to manipulation.
2) One of Diane Cook’s “Moving on” themes is the ease of manipulating people when you appear as a legitimate authority.
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In “Largesse of the Sea Maiden” from The New Yorker uses it’s characters to help you feel a sense of passing time. How people tend to deal with their past failures and regrets.
The short story “Largesse of the Sea Maiden” explores the character’s ideas that we all part of a “masquerade” hiding our real selves to society.
-Martika Vilar
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In the short story, ‘‘Moving On’’, written by Diane Cook, the idea of pretending is expressed through the way the main character acts and thinks about the loss of her husband.
In ‘‘Moving On’’, the author gives the readers a glimpse of the main character’s mind as well as her repressed thoughts which allows them to have a better understanding of how hard it can be to start over without any landmark.
Marie-Claude Champoux
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1) Diane Cook’s “Moving On” uses subtle imagery to describe protruding emotion displayed by the main character.
2) “Moving On” by Diane Cook questions human nature, and shapes human emotion much like teaching a dog new tricks; after all, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
-Mathew de Marchie
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Through the use of imagery in the short story “Moving on” we see society’s expectations of women, such as marriage, in order for them to be happy.
The symbolism in “Moving On” shows us how the fear of loneliness can bring people together as much as it can tear them appart.
-Isabelle Bujold
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With the story “Moving On”, Diane Cook questions society and its expectations through symbolisms of grief and isolation.
Through the use of characterization, Diane Cook associates the importance of being desired as the vulnerability of humans.
Leaticia Hammadache
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Diane Cook’s story “Moving On” demonstrates the real feelings we tend to have, to be pressured by the the society we are surrounded.
In the story “Kavitha and Mustafa” by Shobha Ra, we can notice how we experience the truth and what we desire, when we are able to compare and contrast to something different, something out of our comfort zone.
Patryk Majewski
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The short story “Happy Endings” by Kevin Canty, shows us the personal growth throughout whole life, it is never too late to find another oneself.
Through using imagery, the story “Moving on” shows us how the society forced widowers to forget their ex-lovers, and start a new life.
Huikun Zhang
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“Moving On” relies on imagery to demonstrate the main character’s feelings of isolation as she is thrust into the new, unfamiliar environment of the shelter and its disconcerting social structure.
The short story “Moving On” addresses the theme of how personal wealth and freedom are inextricably linked in a society where those who do not possess any assets of their own can be acquired and disposed of like commodities.
-Anna Romanowski
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In Crazyhouse’s story, “You’ll Apologize If You Have To” the author shows how failure might affect you in the way you behave and think.
In Arna Bontemps Hemenway’s “The Fugue” the author shows how war impacts your perception of time by using Symbolism.
Amine Hadji
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“Moving On” strongly represents our current society as the main character has to find confort and support by isolating herself to not be influenced by the society’s point of view
Diane Cook’s story “Moving On” strongly shows the influence of society on an individual and the effects society has on them.
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“Moving On” strongly represents our current society as the main character has to find confort and support by isolating herself to not be influenced by the society’s point of view
Diane Cook’s story “Moving On” strongly shows the influence of society on an individual and the effects society has on them.
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1) In the story “Moving on”, the author uses imagery to show how lonely someone can be and how bad they are willing to follow with society’s expectation just so they won’t be/feel isolated.
2) The story “Moving on” demonstrates how forgetting the past can’t just be forced on someone; it takes time to grieve and accept that certain things has happened in life.
-Cassandra Dussault
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In the story ‘Happy Ending’ McHenry, teaches us how society can influence our way of living and the importance of keeping a good reputation. Through the literal element of symbolism, of ‘’ the eyes” we will see how this element helps to develop the theme of the story.
In the story ‘Happy Ending’ McHenry. We learn the pleasures of how one can enjoy life if we careless of what society may think of us. Through the literal element of symbolism or imagery, we will have a better understanding of the meaning behind of theme.
Tabiesha Thompson.
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In Shoba Rao’s “Kavitha and Mustafa”, characterization illustrates the protagonist’s identity crisis.
In Shoba Rao’s “Kavitha and Mustafa”, imagery represents the feeling of emptiness in her relationship and her will to escape.
Mireille Jauvin
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The Fugue by Arna Bontemps immerses the reader in the dark, grim world of post-military mental health disorders through Wild Turkey’s perspective: a non chronological haze of flashbacks and conflicting realities.
In The Fugue by Arna Bontemps, the reader bears witness to a mentally damaged veteran’s bleak quest for identity and belonging, and in turn comes to understand how fragile military personalities deal with life after coming back from war.
-Samuel Dion-Dundas
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