"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"

"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Anne Porter is an old fashioned story about a grandmother on her death bed. As she lies surrounded by her family, she begins to ponder her life and get ready for death. She tells her family about the event that left the most impression on her life. Sixty years earlier, on her wedding day, her fiance never showed up to the alter. This event made a lasting impact on the grandmother. As her last wish, she wishes that George could see her with her family, letting him know that she did alright with out him. As she dies, she waits for God to give her a sign, so she can feel reassured. However, she gets no sign, and she realizes this is the second time she has been jilted. When no sign from God appears, she realizes George is the least of her worries.

This story makes me think about life, and how all things are relative. There is no reason to get mad about small things in life, when there are much more important things. I did not really like the story. The language did not appeal to me, and it was confusing with all of the flashbacks.

"An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge"

I enjoyed to short story "An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge." The story has an interesting feel to it, as it has three short sections. The timeline of the story skips around, and keeps the reader on edge as to what is actually happening. There is a major twist in the story at the end, when we find out that the main character, Peyton, has not escaped, but rather has seen his life flash before his eyes.

The way in which the story was written was very enticing. For instance finding out that Peyton's watch is the noise which he is hearing slow down as he waits on the bridge, and also finding out that the escape was actually just in his mind as he was hung to his death.

"The Cask of Amontillado"

Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" is another dark short story. Montresor plans revenge on Fortunado because of his insults. Montresor plans to have Fortunado over into his cellar to taste a new wine. When he gets him down there, he chains him to a rock and buries him within the wall. Fifty years later he admits the murder of Fortunado.

This story is extremely similar to "The Black Cat." In both stories, the protagonist acts to get revenge on someone who has wronged them. Both the main characters wife and Fortunado are murdered becuase what they did to the main character. His wife did not want him to kill the second cat in "Black Cat" and Fortunado insulted Montresor in "The Cask of Amontillado." Both events led to their eventual murder. It was interesting to see how similar the killings were in both Poe stories. Both the wife and Fortunado were put in a wall which was then sealed up with plaster.

The writing of the story is in a very old fashioned vernacular. It makes it difficult at times to follow the meaning of the story. The story was fast moving, and creepy which made it appealing and a good read.

"The Black Cat"

"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe is a dark tale of an insane man who turns from being a loving pet owner to eventually a murderer of one cat, attempted murderer of another cat, and the murderer of his own wife. The protagonist changes dramatically through the course of the story, and all of the changes are brought on by the actions of Pluto, his first cat, and his second cat.

It is amazing how the man can go from loving his cat so much to detesting it once he gets drunk. Poe definitely has a negative view towards alcohol as is seen through the story. The negative things that the narrator does mostly come after the man has been drinking.

The ending of the story was very ironic. Although I figured out where the cat was prior to Poe's explanation, it was still a shock to have him tell the readers that the cat too was inside the wall. It only seems appropriate that this is where the cat was after all the trouble the owner puts the cat through.

I enjoyed this story. Although it was written in the vernacular of the 19th century, it still relevant today, compared to some other stories written in that time period. I can easily picture a detective drama about this story made for television. The story was very fast moving and did not have the long lull's in action like "Sleepy Hollow."

"The Purloined Letter"

Edgar Allan Poe's "Purloined Letter" is a fast-paced detective story. Poe was really the first author to introduce the detective genre, and this story is one of three short stories he wrote of this kind.

The story is about an important letter that gets stolen, and the Parisian detective who works to recover it. The police know that Minister D has taken the letter, and now is able to blackmail the woman whose note it is.

The detective protagonist, Dupin, and his police force search Minister D's hotel room and are unable to find the letter anywhere. After a month without finding it, the Prefect of the police department increases the reward. After the Prefect writes a check for the amount, Dupin immediately hands over the letter. He explains that he knew the Minister was hiding it in plain sight. Dupin had researched the room and switched the letter for a fake.

Dupin relates the hiding of the letter to a word map, commonly known as a word search. He talks about how the easiest words to find are the smallest ones; the words trying hard to be concealed. However, he says the largest, most drawn out words tend to be the hardest to find. He uses this deduction to find the letter, which was on the mantle of Minister D's hotel room.