John Updike Interview:
John Updike’s interview was very interesting to me. When reading, I always wonder about how the writer interprets their own story. After watching this interview I realized that the reader’s interpretation is not always the same as the writer’s. I was surprised to find out that Updike thought of Sammy as a hero. Updike described Sammy’s resignation as a “noble surrender of his position”. However, I do not think this was a noble act. Sammy quit his job to impress a girl. When Sammy quit, he made a stupid decision . If making a stupid decision to impress a girl is heroic, there are a lot of heroes in the world.

Sharon Olds:
After reading the two poems by Sharon Olds, I think Olds and Updike have two different ideas of heroism. Updike considered it heroic for Sammy to quit his job to impress the girls. Olds portrays her children as heroes because they did something for the common good of other people. I agree with Olds’ idea of heroism. Her son spoke up for “ the sake of the group”. Therefore, he is more heroic than Sammy because there was no personal gain. He did not want to impress anyone. He spoke up to keep peace between his friends.

P.6

1. The North wind has a demanding personality. The Sun has a persuasive personality.
2. The North Wind's attempt was ineffective because the traveler held on to his cloak to protect himself from the wind.
3. The Sun was successful because he used heat to persuade the traveler to remove his cloak.
4. The humans purpose in this story was to settle the dispute between the Sun and North Wind.
5. The closing moral basically means that force is not the answer.

P. 8

1. The first sentence is the exposition of the story. Chuang Tzu uses two sentences to set up the dramatic situation .
2. Chuang Tzu is indirect at first so the officials better understand the logic of his decision.
3. This story tells us that that Chuang Tzu has an easy-going personality.

P.19

1. The explanation of the aisles stand out the most. He explains them by telling the reader what is in the aisle. Close attention to detail helps the reader form a mental picture.
2. Yes, i think he is less of a hero for wanting the to notice his resignation.
3. The exposition of the story is in the first paragraph.
4. No, i do not detect a change in Sammy's feelings.
5. The dramatic conflict becomes apparent when the manager walks to Sammy's register.
6. Sammy quits his job to impress the girls.
7. Sammy's encounter with the elderly woman seems a foreshadowing.
8. Sammy's comment means he regrets his decision and the world is tough.
9. Updike comments on supermarket society by saying" checking the sheep through".