The lesson

Summary and analysis

“The Lesson” is a complex, layered story of a girl’s awakening to the unfair
circumstances she was born into under the guise of a simple story about a group of
children and a neighborhood woman taking a trip to a toy store. The theme of “The
Lesson”, by Toni Cade Bambara, is analyzing the intense effects of socioeconomic class
differences in America, and the hidden way a woman who rose above the prevailing
racism and unjust economic differences of the time passes her message to children who
desperately needed it. The underlying meaning of Bambara’s lesson is created using the
rich culture and heritage of the stories’ setting, diction, and the complex and layered
characterization provided by “The Lesson.”

Good Country People text

Besides the neutral expression that she wore when she was alone, Mrs. Freeman had two others, forward and reverse, that she used for all her human dealings. Her forward expression was steady and driving like the advance of a heavy truck. Her eyes never swerved to left or right but turned as the story turned as if they followed a yellow line down the center of it. She seldom used the other expression because it was not often necessary for her to retract a statement, but when she did, her face came to a complete stop, there was an almost imperceptible movement of her black eyes, during which they seemed to be receding, and then the observer would see that Mrs. Freeman, though she might stand there as real as several grain sacks thrown on top of each other, was no longer there in spirit. As for getting anything across to her when this was the case, Mrs. Hopewell had given it up. She might talk her head off. Mrs. Freeman could never be brought to admit herself wrong to any point. She would stand there and if she could be brought to say anything, it was something like, “Well, I wouldn’t of said it was and I wouldn’t of said it wasn’t” or letting her gaze range over the top kitchen shelf where there was an assortment of dusty bottles, she might remark, “I see you aint ate many of them figs you put up last summer.”

Read more about "Good Country People"

Hulga Hopewell of "Good Country People" is a unique character in O'Connor's fictional world. Although O'Connor uses the intellectual, or the pseudo-intellectual, in one of her novels and in seven of her short stories, Hulga is the only female in the bunch. Her gender, however, does not keep her from suffering the common fate of all the other O'Connor intellectuals. In every instance, the intellectual comes to realize that his belief in his ability to control his life totally, as well as control those things which influence it, is a faulty belief.

Good Country People character analysis

The short story, “Good Country People”, written by Flannery O’Connor, is a story that captivates one by usage of symbolism and theme.  The story centers on the meaning of being a good person, in the sense of leading a Christian, pious life, worthy of salvation.  O’Connor contrasts mindless chatter about “good country people” with questions about the true meaning of religious faith.  There is also a class hierarchy formed that includes stereotypes about “good country people” and literal and symbolic meanings of events, objects, and characters.  Through exclusive use of the third person narrator, O’Connor’s narrative style poises a tension between the realistic (characters in typical settings performing natural acts) and symbolic (where names, signs and other common objects represent larger issues).  She also employs the technique of the epiphany, where a single moment of illumination “awakens” the character and reveals the deeper meanings of the text.  O’Connor describes the story’s characters as distorted versions of humanity, and virtually none are sympathetic in the traditional nature of the hero or heroine with whom a reader might identify.

Good Country People"

Summary and analysis

The story begins with a description of Mrs. Freeman, specifically concerning her interactions with Mrs. Hopewell. She has been working for Mrs. Hopewell for four years, and the two women often converse over breakfast in the Hopewell’s kitchen. Mrs. Hopewell considers Mrs. Freeman to be extremely nosy, but she knew that before she hired her and has dealt with this problem by making sure that it is Mrs. Freeman’s job to know everything; she is in charge of the whole household.

Paul’s case text

1

It was Paul's afternoon to appear before the faculty of the Pittsburgh High School to account for his various misdemeanours. He had been suspended a week ago, and his father had called at the Principal's office and confessed his perplexity about his son. Paul entered the faculty room suave and smiling. His clothes were a trifle out-grown, and the tan velvet on the collar of his open overcoat was frayed and worn; but for all that there was something of the dandy about him, and he wore an opal pin in his neatly knotted black four-in-hand, and a red carnation in his button-hole. This latter adornment the faculty somehow felt was not properly significant of the contrite spirit befitting a boy under the ban of suspension.

Paul’s case

Summary, analysis and ……

plot

Paul has been suspended from his high school in Pittsburgh. As the story opens, he arrives at a meeting with the school’s faculty members and principal. He is dressed in clothes that are simultaneously shabby and debonair. The red carnation he wears in his buttonhole particularly offends the faculty members, who think the flower sums up Paul’s flippant attitude. Paul is tall and narrow-shouldered, with enlarged pupils that remind one of a drug addict’s eyes.

Roman fever text

1

From the table at which they had been lunching two American ladies of ripe but well-cared-for middle age moved across the lofty terrace of the Roman restaurant and, leaning on its parapet, looked first at each other, and then down on the outspread glories of the Palatine and the Forum, with the same expression of vague but benevolent approval.

Roman fever

Summary and analysis

.......From the terrace of a Roman restaurant, two middle-aged women gaze down on the splendor of Rome and its ancient ruins. The narrator describes one of the women as small and pale and the other “fuller” and “higher in color.” On the stairway leading to a courtyard below, two young girls hasten off to an adventure. The women overhear one of them saying, “Well, come along, then, and let’s leave the young things to their knitting.”
.......The pale woman, Mrs. Horace (Grace) Ansley, recognizes the voice as that of her daughter, Barbara. The other woman, Mrs. Delphin (Alida) Slade, says, “That’s what our daughters think of us.”

The Scarlet Letter

Summary and analysis

The Scarlet Letter follows the public shaming and punishment of a young woman named Hester Prynne in mid-17th century Boston (a.k.a. the Massachusetts Bay Colony). When Hester becomes pregnant, everyone believes her to be guilty of adultery: she has been separated from her husband for two full years, and the baby cannot be his. The magistrates (local law enforcers) and ministers order her to wear a scarlet letter "A" on the bodice of her dress, so that everyone can know about her adultery.

ترجمه فارسی drunkard

وقتي آقاي دولي مرد ضربه ي سختي به پدر وارد شد. آقاي دولي يك بازارياب بود با دوتا پسر در دومينكنز[1] و ماشيني مال خودش ؛ پس از لحاظ اجتماعي به مراتب بالاتر از ما بود ، ولي اصلاً خودش را نمي گرفت. آقاي دولي يك روشنفكر بود و مثل همه روشنفكرها هيچ چيز بيش تر از حرف زدن خوشحالش نمي كرد. پدر هم براي خودش مرد بامطالعه اي بود و مي توانست حرف هاي يك آدم مطلع را بفهمد. آقاي دولي فوق العاده مطلع بود. با آن همه آشنا در تجارت و رفقاي كشيش، چيزي نبود كه درشهر اتفاق بيافتد و او از آن بي خبر باشد. غروب تا غروب از جاده مي گذشت و جلوي در حياطمان سبز می شد تا ته و توی خبرها را برای پدر درآورد. او صداي بم ستيزه جويانه اي و لبخندي با معنا داشت. پدر با تعجب به او گوش مي داد و گاه گداري هم حرف هايش را تاييد مي كرد. بعد فاتحانه گروپ گروپ قدم بر مي داشت و پيش مادر مي رفت و با صورتي گل انداخته از او مي پرسيد: " مي دوني آقاي دولي اومده بود چي بهم بگه"؟ از آن موقع تا حالا ، هر وقت كسي خبري سري را به من مي رساند نزديك است بپرسم: "اينو آقاي دولي بهت نگفته"؟

ترجمه فارسی drunkard

وقتي آقاي دولي مرد ضربه ي سختي به پدر وارد شد. آقاي دولي يك بازارياب بود با دوتا پسر در دومينكنز[1] و ماشيني مال خودش ؛ پس از لحاظ اجتماعي به مراتب بالاتر از ما بود ، ولي اصلاً خودش را نمي گرفت. آقاي دولي يك روشنفكر بود و مثل همه روشنفكرها هيچ چيز بيش تر از حرف زدن خوشحالش نمي كرد. پدر هم براي خودش مرد بامطالعه اي بود و مي توانست حرف هاي يك آدم مطلع را بفهمد. آقاي دولي فوق العاده مطلع بود. با آن همه آشنا در تجارت و رفقاي كشيش، چيزي نبود كه درشهر اتفاق بيافتد و او از آن بي خبر باشد. غروب تا غروب از جاده مي گذشت و جلوي در حياطمان سبز می شد تا ته و توی خبرها را برای پدر درآورد. او صداي بم ستيزه جويانه اي و لبخندي با معنا داشت. پدر با تعجب به او گوش مي داد و گاه گداري هم حرف هايش را تاييد مي كرد. بعد فاتحانه گروپ گروپ قدم بر مي داشت و پيش مادر مي رفت و با صورتي گل انداخته از او مي پرسيد: " مي دوني آقاي دولي اومده بود چي بهم بگه"؟ از آن موقع تا حالا ، هر وقت كسي خبري سري را به من مي رساند نزديك است بپرسم: "اينو آقاي دولي بهت نگفته"؟

I'M A FOOL

by Sherwood Anderson

It was a hard jolt for me, one of the most bitterest I ever had to face. And it all came about through my own foolishness too . Even yet sometimes, when I think of it, I want to cry or swear or kick myself Perhaps, even now, after all this time, there will be a kind of satisfaction in making myself look cheap by telling of it.

It began at three o'clock one October afternoon as I sat in the grandstand at the fall trotting and pacing meet at Sandusky, Ohio.

To tell the truth, I felt a little foolish that I should be sitting in the grandstand at all. During the summer before I had left my home town with Harry Whitehead and, with a nigger named Burt, had taken a job as swipe with one of the two horses Harry was campaigning through the fall race meets that year. Mother cried and my sister Mildred, who wanted to get a job as a school teacher in our town that fall, stormed and scolded about the house all during the week before I left. They both thought it something disgraceful that one of our family should take a place as a swipe with race horses. I've an idea Mildred thought my taking the place would stand in the way of her getting the job she'd been working so long for

Sherwood Anderson 1876-1941

(Born Sherwood Berton Anderson) American short story writer, novelist, autobiographer, essayist, poet, journalism, and dramatist.
 
INTRODUCTION

Considered one of the most original early twentieth-century writers, Anderson was among the first American authors to explore the influence of the unconscious on human behavior. A writer of brooding, introspective works, his “hunger to see beneath the surface of lives” was best expressed in the bittersweet stories that form the classic Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life (1919). This, his most important book, exhibits the author's characteristically simple prose style and his personal vision, which combines a sense of wonder at the potential beauty of life with despair over its tragic aspects.

I'M A FOOL
by Sherwood Anderson

It was a hard jolt for me, one of the most bitterest I ever had to face. And it all came about through my own foolishness too . Even yet sometimes, when I think of it, I want to cry or swear or kick myself Perhaps, even now, after all this time, there will be a kind of satisfaction in making myself look cheap by telling of it.

It began at three o'clock one October afternoon as I sat in the grandstand at the fall trotting and pacing meet at Sandusky, Ohio.

يک روز انتظار

ارنست همينگوي

هنوز از تخت بيرون نيامده بوديم که به اتاق آمد تا پنجره‌ها را ببندد. احساس کردم

مريض حال است. مي‌لرزيد و رنگش پريده بود، و طوري قدم برمي‌داشت که انگار راه رفتن

برايش سخت است. 

- چيزي شده، بابا جون؟

- يک کمي سرم درد مي‌کنه.

- پس بهتره  بري و بخوابي.

- لازم نيست. حالم خوبه.

- گفتم برو بخواب. لباسهام رو که پوشيدم، مي‌آم مي‌بينمت."

ممنون، خانم

لنگستن هيوز

زن درشتي بود که توي کيف گنده‌اش همه چيز پيدا مي‌شد، از شير مرغ گرفته تا جان

آدميزاد، و آن را از بندِ درازش روي شانه مي‌انداخت. حدوداً ساعت يازده شب، تک و

تنها در تاريکي راهيِ خانه‌اش بود که پسرکي دوان دوان از پشتِ سرش سر رسيد و خواست

کيفش را بقاپد. ولي همين که بندش را گرفت و کشيد، بند پاره شد. وزن پسرک و سنگيني

کيف باعث شد پسرک تلوتلو بخورد و به جاي اينکه بتواند همانطور که سر رسيده بود،

فرار کند، به پشت روي پياده‌رو بيفتد و لِنگ‌هايش به هوا برود. زن بدون دست‌پاچگي

برگشت و لگد محکمي نثار نشمينگاه پسرک که شلوار جين پوشيده بود، کرد. بعد دولّا شد

و يقه لباسش را گرفت و آنقدر تکانش داد که دندان‌هايش داشت خُرد مي‌شد.

بعد گفت: "آي پسر، کيفمو بردار، بده دستم."

هنوز يقه‌اش را سفت چسبيده بود. ولي آنقدر خم شد که پسرک بتواند کيفش را از روي

زمين بردارد. بعد گفت: "از خودت خجالت نمي‌کشي؟"

پسرک که زن هنوز يقه‌اش را سفت چسبيده بود، گفت: "چرا، خانم."

زن گفت: "چرا اينکار رو کردي؟"

پسر گفت: "غلط کردم."

شروود اندرسن

مزرعه‌داراني که براي فروش محصولاتشان به شهرمان مي‌آيند، بخشي از زندگي شهري را

تشکيل مي‌دهند. شنبه‌ها روز شلوغي است. بيشتر وقت‌ها، بچه‌ها به دبيرستان شهر

مي‌آيند.

هچ هاچينسن هم همينطور. هاچينسن مزرعة کوچکي در حدود ۳ مايلي شهر دارد، ولي همه

مي‌دانند که مزرعه‌اش از با سروسامان‌ترين و روبراه‌ترين مزرعه‌هاي آن حوالي است.

هچِ پير هيکل ريز و زمختي دارد و مزرعه‌اش در کنار جاده اسکرچ گريول است که

مزرعه‌هاي بي‌سروسامان زيادي در اطرافش وجود دارد.

مزرعة هَچ واقعاً تک است. خانة چوبي کوچکش را هميشه رنگ مي‌زند، تنة درختان باغش را

تا نيمه با آهک سفيد مي‌کند، اصطبل و انبارش را هميشه مرتب نگه مي‌دارد، و

زمين‌هايش هميشه وجين‌شده و تميز است.

“THE KITTEN” BY RICHARD WRIGHT

Plot Summary: This is a story of a boy who tries to get even with his father. The child resents his father’s authority for it is not based on a relationship of trust and communication. The father, a night porter, must sleep during the day, and therefore cannot spend much time with his son. The son feels impotent before his father’s (perceived) harsh discipline. The boy, therefore, devises a plan which will transfer impotence to the father. When told to “quiet” a kitten, the son takes his father’s words, “kill the damn thing!” literally. What follows is the impotence of the father with regard to this action, the mother’s take-over in the role of punisher/advisor, and the boy’s . resultant experience of guilt

 آخرین برگ

در بخش غربی میدان واشنگتن در شهر نیویورک و در ناحیه ای کوچک، خیابان ها شکلی نامنظم و درهم و برهم دارند. این خیابان ها چندین بار یکدیگر را قطع کرده اند و به همین خاطر باریکه هایی در بین شان پدید آمده که بدان ها "محله" میگویند.

این محله ها پیچ و خم های عجیب و غریبی دارند. اینجا یگ خیابان یگ یا دو بار خودش را قطع میکند و هنرمندی خوش ذوق امکان ارزشمندی را در آن یافته است. تصور کنید اگر یک مجموعه دار با صورتحساب رنگ ها، کاغذها و بوم های نقاشی‌اش از این راه عبور کند ممکن است همزمان خودش را در حال بازگشت و بدون آنکه پولی پرداخته باشد ببیند!

بيان شفاهي داستان( oral reproduction of stories)

Old man at the bridge

Ernest Hemingway

A soldier (who is also the narrator) sees an old man resting on the side of a road near a pontoon bridge. Other civilians are crossing this bridge, but the old man is too tired to proceed any further. The old man tells the soldier that he is a native of San Carlos where he worked as a caretaker of animals.The old man seems more concerned for the safety of his animals than for his own safety. He has some relief in knowing that the cat will be able to fend for itself, and that since he has unlocked the cage, the birds can fly away, but the fate of the other animals is uncertain and the man is distraught by this.The soldier tries to encourage the old man to move a little farther along, for he knows the bridge is likely to be bombed. The old man, however, is simply too exhausted to proceed. The soldier then reflects on the overcast sky, which might prevent the planes from bombing the bridge. In this sense, the soldier seems to be engaging in the same type of wishful thinking as the old man, who must convince himself that the cats can take care of themselves and the birds can fly away. Death is imminent however. Deep down, the soldier and the old man both know this.

بيان شفاهي داستان( oral reproduction of stories)

The Flying Machine

Ray Bradbury

A servant informs the Emperor Yuan about a man flying with wings. The Emperor goes to the place and sees that a man clothed in bright papers and reeds is flying. The Emperor asks the man to come down and talk to him. When he lands, he tells the Emperor that he has invented a unique apparatus by which he can fly. The Emperor in turn shows the man the machine he has invented: a tiny garden with tiny creatures. The Emperor admits that they are both beautiful, but the flying machine is dangerous since someone may abuse it in the future, so he has the executioner behead him

سلام! صبح بخير هموطنان آمريکايي! به برنامه جنگ يک روزه خوش آمديد. شبکه تلويزيوني

WCDW گزارش مستقيم اين روز بسيار مهمِ تاريخ آمريکا را به سمع و نظرتان خواهد

رساند. در دويستمين سالگرد جنگ داخلي، افتخار داريم که در پروژه پروفسور  برينارد

با نام جنگ يک روزه شرکت مي‌کنيم.

مطمئنم هيچ شهروندي نيست که چيزي در مورد اين پروژه نشنيده باشد. ماههاست که در

مورد اين برنامه بحث‌هاي زيادي مي‌شنويم. حالا آن روز مهم، يعني ۹ آوريل ۲۰۶۵، فرا

رسيده و همه ما به نوعي در اجراي اين برنامه سهيم هستيم.

بيان شفاهي داستان( oral reproduction of stories)

The story of an hour

This paper explains that "The Story of an Hour", written in 1894, by Kate Chopin could be the story of any married woman in the days when divorce was only possible if the woman could prove adultery and always attached a social stigma that made the woman "a grass widow". The author points out that Kate Chopin (1851-1904) didn't start writing until after her husband died; therefore, the story may express her own experience and feelings about the lack of freedom for married women. The paper concludes that the ending is ironic because the reader knows that the protagonist Louise Mallard didn't die of the "joy that kills" but rather she couldn't go back to being the woman she had been before her enlightenment.

ترجمه Lincoln’s Autobiography

من دوازده فوريه 1809 در كنتاكي شهرستان هاردين متولد شدم . پدر ومادرم در ويرجينيا متولد شده بودند از يك خانواده ناشناخته طبقه دوم ، شايد بهتر است كه بگويم مادرم كه از خانواده اي به نام هنكس بود زماني كه من ده ساله بودم مرد . از همان خانواده هايي كه اكنون در ناحيه هاي آدمز و مكن در الينويز ساكن هستند جد پدري من  آبرهام لينكلن در حدود سالهاي 1681 يا 1782 از ويرجينيا به كنتاكي مهاجرت كرد ،جايي كه او بوسيله يك سرخپوست يك يا دو سال بعد كشته شد ،نه  در يك نبرد بلكه زماني كه او تلاش مي كرد يك مزرعه در جنگل درست كند . پدرم هنگامي كه پدرش مرد 6 ساله بود او بدون هيچ آموزشي بزرگ شد . او از كنتاكي به ايندياناآمد موقعي كه من 7 ساله بودم . هنگامي كه ايالت متحد شد ما صاحب خانه خودمان شديم آنجا يك منطقه وحشي بود و هنوز خرس و حيوانات وحشي ديگر در جنگل وجود داشت من آنجا بزرگ شدم . آنجا چيزي شبيه مدرسه بود اما هيچ شايستگي و صلاحيتي براي معلم بودن وجود نداشت غير از خواندن ، نوشتن ، جمع كردن . اگر فرض كنيم غريبه اي لاتين را مي فهميد(مي دانست) در محله براي مدتي اقامت مي كرد . و به او مانند يك نابغه نگاه مي كردند مطلقا هيچ چيزي براي ايجاد انگيزه براي يادگيري وجود نداشت . البته موقعي كه من بالغ شده بودم چيز زيادي نمي دانستم . و اينكه چگونه  و به چه طريقي خواندن و نوشتن و حساب كردن را ياد گرفتم ،اما اين تمام چيزي بود كه من ميدانستم. اين پيشرفت كوچكي كه داشتم به خاطر همين ذخيره اطلاعات قبلي است . من تحت فشار و الزام پيشرفت كردم.

بيان شفاهي داستان( oral reproduction of stories)

The Open Window 

H. H. Munro (Saki)

Framton Nuttel has presented himself at the Sappleton house to pay a visit. He is in the country undergoing a rest cure for his nerves and is calling on Mrs. Sappleton at the request of his sister. Though she does not know Mrs. Sappleton well, she worries that her brother will suffer if he keeps himself in total seclusion, as he is likely to do.

Fifteen-year-old Vera keeps Nuttel company while they wait for her aunt. After a short silence, Vera asks if Nuttel knows many people in the area. Nuttel replies in the negative, admitting that of Mrs. Sappleton he only knows her name and address. Vera then informs him that her aunt’s “great tragedy” happened after his sister was acquainted with her. Vera indicates the large window that opened on to the lawn.

دو نوع آدم در دنيا وجود دارد اگرچه آنها داراي درجه سلامت ثروت و وسايل رفاهي در زندگي خود هستند،

 ولي عده‌اي خوشبخت مي‌شوند و عده‌اي ديگرتيره بخت و اين ناشي از نگرش  متفاوتي است كه نسبت به

 چيزها، آدمها، وقايع، و تاثير آنها بر ذهنشان است.

آدمها در هر موقعيتي که قرار بگيرند، ممکن است چيزي بيابند که مايه راحتي يا مايه

ناراحتي‌شان باشد. در هر مجلسي ممکن است آدمهايي ببينند يا صحبت‌هايي بشنوند که

دلنشين‌تر يا دل‌آزارتر باشد. بر سرِ هر سفره‌اي ممکن است نوشيدني يا غذايي بيابند

که طعم خوبتر يا بدتري دارد، و يا اينکه بهتر يا بدتر تهيه شده است. در هر جايي،