Ludjero Vasconcelos
Mr.Gormley
World Literature
2 December 2013
Personal Criteria Essay
“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” Can you actually sit there and gaze at a piece of literature like a book. Reading hundreds of letters, words, and sentences glued to your eyes can be strenuous. I know I personally can’t, I’m more of a movie guy. However, there are some books that catch your eye like a fastball and leave you reading more and more as if it had control over you. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, “May Day” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury left me wanting to keep reading. Jackson's short story "The Lottery” takes place in a small village where the people are close and tradition is paramount. A yearly event, called the lottery, is one in which one person in the town is randomly chosen, think by a drawing, to be violently stoned by friends and family. The drawing has been around over seventy-seven years and is practiced by every member of the town. Fitzgerald’s short story, “May Day” uses the May Day Riots of 1919 in its plot. During these events, as the lower-class citizens are fighting for certain causes, a group of privileged Yale alumni meet for a dance. In Bradbury’s short story, “The Pedestrian” the reader encounters Leonard Mead, a citizen of a television-centered world in the year A.D.2053. In the city, roads have fallen into decay and people only leave their homes during the day. It is revealed that Mead enjoys walking through the city during the night, something which no one else does. On one of his usual walks he encounters a robotic police car. The police car struggles to understand why Mr. Mead would be out walking for no reason and decides to take him to the psychiatric center. Significant themes that have morals and symbols, bold, descriptive dialogue, and rich imagery are all my personal criteria, which these stories featured.
Jackson’s theme of following...