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- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 200 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
- From the "Comment As" drop-down menu, choose Anonymous, then click "Publish."
- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
Initially, the essay “A Kind of Flying” by Ron Carlson, struck me as all over the place as the focus went from Brady to Linda. However, after reading the story a few more times I finally understood the beautiful meaning. One thing that stood out to me was that Linda bragged how she was able to travel because of her husband’s GI position. Going as far as to mention that all Brady would see was the inside of a carpet store. Towards the end it shifts to the husband’s point of view and he describes how he made the sacrifice of being a carpenter so she could pursue photography. This brings the essay all together and ties in the symbolism of the birds falling upon the wedding cake. A representation that marriage and even life is not always picture perfect. On the other hand, “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver, put me straight in the middle of a full-blown argument between a couple. Although it is unclear why he is packing his stuff, her rage says it all. Unfortunately, the baby had to be involved and physically and emotionally harmed by their shouts and pulls. Carver writes, “In this manner, the issue was decided” (156). Based on the fact that neither parent was giving up it is safe to assume that it was decided for them as the baby died from trauma. Lastly, “Reunion” by John Cheever, was a funny yet sad essay. Considering the fact that the boy had not seen his father in three years, and yet he spent all his time making a scene at multiple restaurants. He says, “I want to get a rise out of this chap” (Cheever 158). Rather than catch up with his son he focuses on picking fights with waiters and acting like a douche.
ReplyDelete-Natalia Martinez
In the beginning of “A Kind of Flying”, Glen sounds annoyed and sarcastic, thus implementing the tone of the story; in the first half of it, to be exact. Also, this shows a bit more of his character; for, the reader can see that he doesn’t like his sister in-law, Linda. We learn that Linda’s character is portrayed in a negative light, in the narrator’s eyes; this reveals how she meddles (or tries to) into his and his wife’s life or decisions and disapproves of their ways. In the end, I like how Carlson reveals the meaning of his title in the story. His “kind of flying” was the journey of marriage and life. On the other hand, “Popular Mechanics” was a whirlwind of a story. Unlike the previous story of a happy marriage, this story shows a negative event of a man leaving a woman. Right off the bat, I love how Carver incorporated the hidden analogy of the snow melting into dirty water. It represents the deterioration of the couple’s relationship; snow represents purity and innocence (positive), while the dirty water is the result of the ruined snow (negative). I’ve come up with a theory of what the story truly represents, but I’ll talk about it during my discussion. In Cheever’s “Reunion”, I didn’t really know how to interpret it, so I tried analyzing the characters. Charlie seems to have daddy issues, while his dad has a complete arrogant and rude attitude. Clearly, they both have problems. Overall, it was a very odd story, I didn’t know what to make of it.
ReplyDelete-Jasmine Hinojosa
A Kind of flying by Ron Carlson was kind of weird to read. I think the moral of this story was to give advice to an about to be newlywed. The advice given was that marriage is a kind of flying. To me that did not literally mean to fly but that marriage is a journey and you just find your path along the way. I liked reading Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver. It started off by a two people arguing and a man was leaving his wife and wanted to take their baby. They were fighting and tugging at the baby. I was not pleased with the way they were treating the baby they are adults and should be aware that they were only hurting the baby. I did not like the way this story ended I wanted more. I wanted to see a solution, who stayed with the baby? Did the couple make up? I wanted to know what happened instead of just saying “In this manner, the issues was decided.” Reunion was about a son and father seeing each other after many years. The son wants to have lunch with his father but was not able to because every restaurant they went to they had to leave due to the father’s rudeness. I did not like that.
ReplyDelete-Maria Ramos
All three stories had a sort of connection of family issues. In the first story, “A Kind of Flying,”
ReplyDeletethe plot structure was a bit over the place, but its message was clear. Unlike Linda who is married to an army GI, and benefits by having traveling and adventures guaranteed, he only works at a carpet store and he has a really strong bond with his wife. Carlson mentions how he laid carpet, so his wife can pursue a career in photography and he will retire to then coach baseball, their marriage seems to work both ways. Marriage isn’t always perfect as it is a journey that has its ups and downs. In the second story, “Popular Mechanics,” the emotional and physical trauma of the baby were due to a marriage not working. Not much details were mentioned what led to the man leaving his partner, but the fight over the baby and how no one actually ended up with it showed the results of a failed bond between two people. In the last story, “Reunion,” the son wanting to reconciliate with his dad after not seeing him in years because of his parent’s divorce only led to a bad experience. In the end, the dad ended up being a jerk and Charlie didn’t end up getting closure as his father may have internal issues within himself.
-karen lamas
“A Kind of Flying” by Ron Carlson, I really enjoyed the lesson in the story. It was nice and romantic, despite the superstitions and constant input from his sister-in-law, Linda. It made sense why the story’s called ‘A Kind of Flying’ and I liked that it elaborated on that in the ending. Also, the tone of the story had a little of irony. “Butch and Linda have a all come north for a couple if weeks. Butch has done well; he’s a lieutenant colonel. He’s stationed at Fort Bliss and they all seem to like El Paso.” (page 154). Early in the story, it mentioned that Linda didn’t like the song “El Paso” and I just thought there was a paradox tone to it. In “Popular Mechanics” I could feel the couple’s emotions during their argument. It was the true reality of a broken marriage. This story hit a little close to home considering that children end up paying the price. In this case of the story, the baby suffered the consequence. So, it was a little unsettling to read. I really enjoyed reading “Reunion” by John Cheever because it was so descriptive. The father was an interesting and flawed character. There was tension between the two characters: Charlie and his father. I would have liked to learn more.
ReplyDelete-Bethzaida Ayala
The three excepts share a common interest of family and at that somebody getting hurt. Carlson’s “A Kind of Flying” begins with Linda constantly criticizing the relationship of her younger sister Brady. Linda believes Brady is in for an unamusing future for marring a man who cannot offer the luxury of traveling for pleasure and adventures. More so, Linda does not understand the wedding decisions her sister and fiance plan for their wedding. This leads to flipping roles twenty years later “Life lies before us like something new” (Starkey, 154) Linda’s oldest daughter is about to marry a military man like her mother (the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree), however her daughter and soon to be son in law are station in El Paso. The story ends with a summary of how the roles have changed, and how marriage can be “like a bird’s mouth, definitely a kind of flying”. (Starkey, 155)
ReplyDeleteCarver’s “Popular Mechanics” is a story of a couple who is going through a breakup, and with all the chaos happening, the parents of the child are fighting for custody of the baby. It can be shown as abusive imagery injuring the baby. Lastly, Cheever’s “Reunion” shows the compulsive, ignorant, father of Charlie who is trying to rekindle their father-son relationship. After many non-explainable encounters of foolishness Charlie leaves to catch his train realizing that it was farewell reunion.
-Antoinette Villanueva
In the story “A Kind of Flying” by Ron Carlson, it made me wonder what will go wrong or right at my wedding day. On page 153, Carlson says “and before Brady could run forward and prevent it, she saw the groom plucked from his footing, ankle deep in frosting”. When I read this, you could just picture the faces of the people there who saw it happen by the detail Carlson gives. If that was my wedding, I don’t know how I would react, but it wouldn’t be pretty. Overall, the story is pretty funny and it makes you think about the future. In “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver, the ending left me very confused. The story builds up, beginning with an argument that is forcing the man to leave, but they fight over who gets to take the baby. At the end, they are both pulling hard on the baby and then all of a sudden it says “in this manner, the issue was decided” and I have never felt so anxious to find out what happened in a story before. In “the reunion” by John Cheever, the story was a little bit more sensitive especially to kids who had to deal with divorce. Personally, I never had to deal with it, but I feel for the kids who have; they are the strongest types of people.
ReplyDelete-Gilbert Sanchez
When reading “A Kind of Flying” by Ron Carlson I thought the story was boring. I found myself to be confused because the story was all over the place and I didn’t understand what was going on. I did like the way that the author compared marriage felt like it pinches like a bird’s mouth to in the beginning where the two crows were eating the frosting and the toy groom. “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Cheever was a story about a couple who was separating and both parties fighting over custody of the baby who in the end we can already figure out that the baby might have died from all the pulling the caused it. “Reunion” by John Cheever was a story of a son who has never met his father and finally had the chance to, but the whole time the father was being rude to the waiters and even the guy from the newspaper stand. This was the first time they met each other and the whole time the dad decided to fight with everyone instead of getting to know his son considering he had a train to catch. Maybe he did it on purpose, so the son didn’t want to get to know him anymore? Overall the dad’s attitude was rude and obnoxious.
ReplyDelete-Melissa Garcia
In "A Kind of Flying," the plot structure was somewhat over the spot, however its message was clear. Not at all like Linda who is hitched to a military GI, and advantages by having voyaging and undertakings ensured, he just works at a floor covering store and he has an extremely solid bond with his significant other. Carlson makes reference to how he laid floor covering, so his significant other can seek after a profession in photography and he will resign to then mentor baseball, their marriage appears to work the two different ways. Marriage isn't constantly immaculate as it is an excursion that has its good and bad times. Carver's "Well known Mechanics" is an account of a couple who is experiencing a separation, and with all the confusion occurring, the guardians of the kid are battling for care of the infant. It tends to be appeared as oppressive symbolism harming the child. In conclusion, Cheever's "Get-together" shows the habitual, oblivious, father of Charlie who is attempting to revive their dad child relationship. After numerous non-reasonable experiences of absurdity Charlie leaves to discover his train understanding that it was goodbye gathering.
ReplyDelete- Julian Marroquin
As we continue the theme of the short short story we read “A Kind Of Flying” “Popular Mechanics” and “Reunion.” Between the three stories I felt like I understood the relationship between the first two the most and they were also the ones I enjoyed the most. What I liked about “A Kind Of Flying” was that the narrator painted marriage in a simple and humble way. I have never been married but my parents have been married for over 20 years and just from watching them I can tell that it is not an easy thing to do. I like how he states “What would I know? I'm just her uncle and I've done what I could. For years I laid carpet so my wife could be a photographer, and now she'll be a photographer so I can retire and coach baseball. Life lies before us like something new.`` Although this is not super important I related to this line because one of the values I hold dear to my heart in not only intimate relationships but friendships and work relationships is pulling your weight. I feel that is key to being a good partner.
ReplyDeleteIn “Popular Mechanics” I liked it because it showed the opposite of what “A Kind Of Flying' ' was representing. In this story we are presented with a man and a woman who are splitting up. It shows you that not everyone has the luxury of a successful relationship. I also may be taking a shot in the dark here but It also shows how normalized it has been for people to split up even when they are bonded by the birth of their child. The title of the story implies that it has become normal to get divorced. I don't know the exact details of it but I know that at one point, getting divorced was taboo.
- Alex Rodriguez
Out of all the readings we have done this semester I usually like at least one story, but this is the first time I don’t like any of them. A Kind of flying by Ron Carlson was about a new couple that was about to get married and people are complaining about a song the bride chose. She also gets advice which I believe meant to get ready for the adventure you are about to go on. The second story was Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver. This story was kind of trippy. I believe a father is getting kicked out of the house and he wants to take his kid but the wife won’t let him. They get into an argument and each start to pull the kid by his arms. He began to feel the baby slipping so he pulled harder and as it states, “In this manner, the issue was decided”. So I don’t really know who stayed with the kid, but I think it was the mother. Then we have Reunion by John Cheever. This was a story about a son and father meeting and they decide to have lunch before catching the train. It ends up that the father is very rude to all of the waiters as they go from restaurant to restaurant. This was something that I could relate to because I have dealt with rude customers before and it can get pretty annoying.
ReplyDelete-Noe Ramos
For me, A Kind of Flying was a story about the simplicities of life and how if you make decisions that make you happy, rather than worrying over someone else’s opinions or omens, you truly can’t go wrong. The author uses some of the simplest reasonings for her characters decisions, such as “because I liked the song” (153) and “…maybe tomorrow a bullet may find me…” (153) when almost anyone else, when confronted with the idea of planning a wedding and getting married in general, would spend maybe months agonizing over every little detail and still end up with a similar or even worse result. Even the title seems to suggest a breeziness about the themes of the story, as if a plain old day to day life could feel like flying if its with the right person for the right reasons.
ReplyDeleteConversely, I felt that Popular Mechanics could have been sending the opposite message that A Kind of Flying had portrayed. Sometimes marriages just don’t work out, no matter how hard the couple tries, or maybe one of the pair tried something for themselves that the other didn’t like, resulting in the split. Everything leading up to the separation is left out and thus left to the interpretation of the reader which I feel sort of reflects in the title “Popular Mechanics.” In most cases of separation that play out like this the popular cause is something the husband did and the popular result is the mother taking custody, so by leaving the reason for the separation and the result of the physical custody battle out of the story the author leaves the reader to fill in the blanks with what they may think is the “popular” idea.
At first I thought of Reunion as being the odd one out of our three readings but after reading through it a second time I made the connection, seeing it as a possible result of a situation similar to Popular Mechanics. Now with that being said I absolutely despised Charlie’s father. There’s nothing I hate more than an arrogant, self-centered person who treats those that they see as beneath them the way this character did to just about everyone he came across in this story, but I suppose it could be interpreted as a miscommunication of sorts. The son had all these built up expectations for this short visit with his father and the father had an image to uphold, so he decided to do so by acting like some kind of bigshot, though in the end the act fell flat with his son.
-Raven Quintanilla
The first essay, was very confusing at first because I couldn’t pinpoint who was writing this essay and then the second time reading I understood it fully. From what I can picture is a story told by the husband about their wedding day and a couple of years after they’ve made a life together. I find it so heartwarming the way he describes her and her accomplishments. It was a bit ironic when they had mentioned about the crow taking the groom cake topper in their beak being a message and then have him mention it again at the end. Popular mechanics was my least favorite essay because it is so sad and full of anger. I can assume it’s about a husband leaving their wife and trying to take the kid with him. What I don’t get is why he would want to do that, if we were provided with more information I could try to reason with him, but for now I truly cant bare reading it again. The last one is just giving off that the father did not want his son to ask to meet again, so that is why he acted like a jerk with everyone. I don’t think he would own a club as he says if he was always like that.
ReplyDelete- Yaretzi Diaz
After reading each essay, I learned that all three of them shared a personal experience from the author's point of view. In "A Kind of Flying", I really enjoyed how the experience was portrayed as beautiful and how marriage can definitely take a different turn when not having resources others may have, "she was two years older and had wisely married a serviceman, whose status as a GI in the army guaranteed them a life of travel and adventure. They were going to see the world. If Brady married me, Linda told everybody, she would see nothing but the inside of my carpet store." I definitely thought this story was something that maybe a lot of people may have gone through in some sort of experience. I really did like how they used the last sentence to describe how marriage can sometimes be difficult but worth when really in love. "It's a bird taking your head in his beak and you walk the sky... sometimes it pinches like a bird's mouth, but it's definitely flying, it's definitely a kind of flying." very nice way to end the story. As for "Popular Mechanics", this story made me feel like I was going through another bad break up and arguing over materialistic things instead of a baby. In this situation, it escalated really quickly when the ending stated, "In this matter, the issue was decided." this made me assume that by context, the baby might of been killed by the parents due to the abuse they were causing the child. It was very sad to read how in real life there are parents that go through situations like these and neglect or physically abuse their children due to the conflicts that both parents confront with one another. definitely not my favorite story. Lastly, in "Reunion", very heartbreaking in how he tried to reconnect with his father after not seeing him for so long and then being disappointed with the outcome. It reminded me a lot of how when I first went to go see my mother for the very first time, it was the complete opposite, very happy and emotional but in this essay, it is a sad one. I felt like in a way the father was neglecting Charlie, he was not really paying much attention to him to begin with and as he thought he was doing well by trying to spend time with his son, he failed to realize that his son may just have wanted to see him than to just see him be so pissed off a the world. -Ana Silvia Mears
ReplyDeleteToday I read “A Kind Of Flying” “Popular Machines” and “Reunion.” I have to admit at first “A Kind Of Flying” by Ron Carlson was a little boring and annoying to read, but as I went back to re-read the short-short story I realized that Carlson purposely made the decision to make the short-short story a little confusing and all over the place. The message and concept of the story is as clear as day but the rest was a little confusing. Since I began to take this course I realized that as a reader I need to think “why would the author do this?” “what’s the purpose of this?” It wasn’t the most interesting read but the way it was structured was different which is what caught my eye. Maybe because of the way it was structured it seemed a little messy and didn’t seem to make much sense at first. I could be wrong but I appreciate Carlson for stepping out of the box and trying something different because whether or not it worked for me I’m sure other readers enjoyed this strategy.
ReplyDelete-Daniela Rios
Something I got that all 3 stories had in common was marriage. I feel “A Kind of Flying '' was about a happy long marriage, “Popular Mechanics” about separation possibly literally or figuratively, and “reunion” briefly talks about a divorce. My favorite story was “Popular Mechanics,” because right away the suspense and tension is built and the story goes back and forth and then its over. Yet it was able to keep me on my toes and continue to want to read. The last sentence says “the issue was decided” the author left me wanting more as to what happened to the baby, or maybe the baby was just used to be symbolic and how the marriage was torn apart because the couple could never come to terms yet eventually one of them made the decision or maybe they really were fighting and arguing and pulling the baby back and forth until they realized what they were doing and both just retracted. In “reunion” the father is introduced and described as the bad guy, he has an assistant to schedule time with his son, and the narrator says he was “terribly happy” to see his father. He isn't so enthusiastic about it and we find out throughout the story why, they bounce from bar to bar and his father is rude to every person he encounters, we get no conversation between the son and the father until it's time for him to leave, and he closes with that was the last time he ever saw his dad. Yet in the beginning paragraph he says that when he’s grown he will be something like his father but now seeing him in action he realized he didn't want to be that way so he kept his distance.
ReplyDelete- Michelle Rodriguez
"A King of Flying" was interesting but overall not my cup of tea. A majority of the story is about the narrator and his wife, Brady, on their wedding day. If this was a typical wedding story I might find it enjoyable, but this was ruined by the sister-in law (?) Linda. She was too annoying, judgmental, and overall a horrible character. The ending was also basic based on how it felt too rushed or too cheesy. "Popular Mechanics" tells the story of a divorced couple fighting over their only child. This holds a very grim but true reality to so many relationships potentially wanting to have children. This story holds an even darker shadow to those who have experienced the plot of the story in their personal lives. Not every marriage turns out okay and the emotions felt through splitting up can become even greater if a family has already been established. With harsh reminders of what can be, stories like this may teach the audience a lesson on what to avoid in order to maintain a peaceful life. "Reunion" tells the story of a son meeting his father for the first time in many years. Once again, this story is about family members in a rocky relationship. The narrator wanted to know what their father was like and learn who they were. Throughout the entire story, the father is boisterous and rude to every single person they encounter on their trip to New York's restaurants. Finally, in just a few sentences we see the narrator does not want to spend anymore time with their father based on how eager they are to leave.
ReplyDelete- Raul Salazar
In this essay, A Kind of Flying by Ron Carlson, at first I was a bit confused on the focus of Linda and Bradley. However, towards the end of the story, I noticed that Linda would always brag about husband because he was a GI. It turns into the perspective of her husband and his emotions, which are like he says that he has been laying down the carpet until his wife finally met her goal, which was being part of photography. He laid down and sacrificed all his life for her, he made everything he could to help her reach her goal.
ReplyDeletePopular Mechanics by Raymond Carver, is about an argument of a married couple. The husband wants to leave the wife and they both argue about who will keep the baby. Although, it didn’t say who ended up keeping the baby, I really liked the way it ended with a mystery.
The short story, Reunion by John Cheever was about a kid who finally sees his dad after war & meet at a restaurant. The dad gets drunk and they both have to go from restaurant to restaurant because he kept being rude to the waiters. Charlie agreed to dine in to try to reconcile with his father but his father had some issues that would decline this reunion at the end Charlie ends up leaving his dad without saying goodbye which was pretty sad to me.
-Max Garcia
After reading these stories the similarities in these three stories was pre-effects and post effects of marriage. The good things and the bad things. The togetherness and the separations of a marriage. In the first story, "A Kind of Flying" it talks about the struggles a couple endures before their wedding. The pressures of having a traditional wedding and having the wedding you want. You can either please everybody or please your partner and yourself. In the second story," Popular Mechanics" you get a real first person look at the struggles of divorcing. The characters were fighting over who was keeping the child, and turns out in all the anger no one does. In the last story, "Reunion" it talks about years after a divorce and how the character's dad doesn't want anything to do with the son. He rather act a fool and like a jerk and avoid actually letting the son enter his life.
ReplyDelete-Miguel Garcia
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