Hyunyong's Blog

  This really perplexed you. You are the naïve high schooler senior who is curious about being an adult. Because you are living in a dormitory for 2 years, you don’t know well how to interact with other people when you go out into society. By the way, you receive an opportunity to try an internship program for two weeks. You are excited but worried because your superiors might treat you badly, so you prepare to seem polite in your workplace: make sure the clothes are ironed, check your materials, and set the alarm to wake up early. In the morning, you wake up very early to get in time. You feel excited when you leave home, but you confront an unexpected tragedy. Since you lived in a dormitory for more than two years, you haven’t experienced the transportation system in Seoul. You have to go to Yeouido; the transfer at the express bus terminal was absolutely pandemonium. The row to ride the subway is from every single entrance to the wall, and it isn’t certain that you can ride ...

  Cat Person, by Kristen Roupenian   The book cover of the story was disgusting, and I couldn’t find any relationship with the “cat,” so the first impression wasn’t really good. However, after reading the story, I liked it because the story was so realistic. I empathize with both characters, Margot and Robert. From Margot’s perspective, she can stop her relationship with Robert because he was below her expectation. So far, it is reasonable, but I couldn’t understand her when she ghosted Robert. I think she should’ve explained to him sincerely so that he can accept her emotion; hence I can understand why he sent the message “whore” to her finally. We don’t know if Robert had bad intentions for Margot, he is reasonable to be upset because he never knows why she doesn’t reply to him. I’ve seen some incidents like them; girls don’t reply and boys wait for replies. I kind of like the story because it was a chance to know that in what points girls can hate dating boys. Rating - ...

    Afternoon in Linen, by Shirley Jackson   Children’s talents, hobbies, or interests can always be their parents’ source of pride. Like in “Afternoon in Linen,” I also experienced what Harriet and Howard had done, so I really sympathized with Harriet. I’d also thought about making my hobbies look more specialized by exaggerating, which I didn’t because I was timid.   It was shocking that Harriet just exposed that she copied the poem from the book. I simply thought she really copied it, but after hearing our class discussion, I started wondering if perhaps she truly wrote it by herself but she was shy. It was reasonable to infer she lied because she doesn’t want to perform in front of Mrs. Kator and Mrs. Lennon: “I don’t know any,” which is what she responded when her grandmother asked her to perform music. I liked the story because it made me conjecture the writer’s intention.   Rating – 8/10

 Gooseberries, By Anton Chekhov (1898) Alyohin finally made his dream house with gooseberry bushes. By the way, to accomplish his dream, he was so selfish and greedy. He knew he needed lots of money to make his dream come true. It made me frown because I don't like this indifferent attitude. Anyhow, he accomplished his dream house.  Fortunately, he realizes his greed in the past. He admits it. I liked the part that Ivan expressed gooseberries were bitter. The flavor of gooseberry did not depend only on its inherent nature, but the bitterness came from money with inappropriate way. He finally achieved his dream, but I think the flavor of gooseberry conveys that it couldn't be justified, even if he regrets.  However, I liked this short story because I think its realistic and it reveals frankly reveals the selfishness of humanity.  8/10 

 The Lady with the Dog, by Anton Chekhov (1899) Rating: 7.5/10 By reading Anton Chekhov's well-known short story "The Lady with the Dog," I was able to realize that love can change a person totally. The protagonist Gurov was married and had offspring, but he was discontented that he wandered Yalta, where can meet lonely men and women. Until he encountered the lady with the dog(Anna Sergeyevna), he was never serious about his meetings. However, he was fascinated by her, even though she also had a husband. So their secret love affair. He loved Sergeyevna so much that he visited her residence recklessly. Gurov never showed that much passion to women.  "so he had unintentionally deceived her..." Chekhov described Gurov deceived Sergeyevna because Gurov acted very different from his ordinary behaviors, the Gurov image she had was not his past reflections. I know this because I've seen my friends act unfamiliar with hanging their girlfriends. They just like their ...

 The Student, by Anton Chekhov (1894) Rating : 6.5/10 I think there are no <Call to Adventure>, the 2nd stage of hero's journey, in "The Student." First, I don't think Ivan Velikopolsky is a hero. Maybe, while returning home, encountering two widows might be the <Call to Adventure> because that's the beginning of his contemplation about bible. However, since Ivan is a devout man who skip meals in the Good Friday, I think he meditated on Jesus often, so it is not really a start of adventure. Also, I don't think the muse in "The Student" is really a adventure.  To say frankly, the story was so hard for me to empathize. I don't believe in Jesus, and I'm not familiar with bible either, so it was hard for me to assimilate Ivan's profound muse. Though, I like Chekhov's expressions of emotion. Despite the fact that I couldn't understand every religious reference, Chekhov's expressions like " life seemed to him enchan...