Eli's Lie
They were driving in the car to the Whitehill Preparatory school for boys. Eli was in the front seat next to Ben Barkly, the chuffer. Dr. and Mrs. Remenzel were in the back. Eli is the child of Dr. and Mrs. Remenzel; he is from the short story “The Lie” by Kurt Vonnegut. The lesson in this story is your name doesn’t entitle you to anything; you have to earn it yourself.
The characters in this story are Dr. and Mrs. Remenzel; they earned everything they got. Dr. Remenzel is a “massive, dignified man, a physician.” He is a very rich man and at the beginning of the story he is looking at plans for a 30 room extension, to Whitehill, that he is going to pay for. Mrs. Remenzel is “a simple-minded country girl at heart.” She is interested in a lot of things. She doesn’t get mad at Eli when they find out that he knew he didn’t make it in. Eli is a 13 year old boy who is supposed to be going to Whitehill but he fails the entry tests. If he handles all hard situations like he does this one, then he runs away to avoid them.
Eli is part of the mode too. I think the mode of “The Lie” is irony. The first part of the ironic mode of literature is normal everyday life, which would be the Remenzel’s driving to the school. Then the next part is mild conflict, this could be when they are in the car and Mrs. Remenzel is annoying Dr Remenzel with all her questions and comments. The next part is the conflict is fully realized by the main character, this would be when Eli runs because he thinks he’s going to get in trouble. The last part of irony is the story ends in loss; this would be when Dr. Remenzel doesn’t think they will be going to the school anymore.
Furthermore, Dr. Remenzel asking the board for something special for Eli is a symbol. It symbolizes irony because in the beginning of the story Dr. Remenzel is telling his wife and Eli that just because his last name is Remenzel he doesn’t get anything special. Mrs. Remenzel is a symbol too. She symbolizes sympathy. When Eli runs out of the inn and she finds him she’s not mad but sympathetic. Another symbol is Eli. He symbolizes fear because he doesn’t tell his parents he failed and he runs outside before they find out.
Finally, your name means nothing unless you earn it. Eli got a letter in the mail and ripped it up before his parents saw it and never told them he failed. There are two lessons in this story. One is lesson is don’t lie. The other lesson is if you’ve failed at something don’t try to hide it.
The Loyal Birds
Yoshi got in the boat after his Grandfather and two cousins. Across the river he could hear Kano getting in too. He thought this would just be a normal night of fishing with the cormorants, but it wasn’t going to be. Yoshi is from the short story “Magic and the Night River” by Eve Bunting. Respect for all, including animals, is the lesson in this story.
Grandfather respected his cormorants. He would pet each one of them before hooking them up and letting them fish. Grandfather is a nice and caring man; he doesn’t let other people intimidate him. Kano is the man who owns the boat Grandfather fishes from and takes half of the fish they get as pay. Kano isn’t the nicest person, for example he says to Yoshi “Why is it, Yoshi, that your Grandfather’s boat always brings home the fewest fish? Is it because your Grandfather is now too old? I should rent my boat to a better fisherman. There would be more fish then for me to share.” Yoshi is Grandfather’s grandson. He has respect for the cormorants just like Grandfather. He can sometimes get intimidated like after Kano said what he said Yoshi yelled “There is not anywhere a better master fisherman than Grandfather.” Take and Masa are Yoshi’s two cousins. Itchi-ban is Grandfathers “lead” bird. He’s their biggest and best bird.
Itchi-ban is also part of the mode, but he doesn’t come in till later. The mode of this story is romance. The first part of romance is mild conflict; this would be when Kano is saying that he should rent his boat to a better fisherman. Then the next part is mild conflict again; this is when all the birds get tangled and Yoshi and Grandfather have to let go of the birds. After that comes a new beginning; this is when the birds come back and fish for them without the strings.
Itchi-ban fishes for Grandfather and Yoshi even when they don’t have the strings attached to them. That’s a symbol of loyalty. There are also other symbols. One of them is Kano; he’s a symbol of the evil in the story. He just drops his birds in the boat without care and then makes fun of how Grandfather always brings back the fewest fish. Grandfather is a symbol of kindness. He is kind to all his birds and he never lets Kano get to him.
Finally, the lesson is to make sure you respect everyone and everything. Grandfather’s birds came back and fished for him even without strings because he respected them and cared for them. Kano let go of his strings too and his birds just flew away and never came back.
