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Bullet In The Brain, By Tobias Wolff (1995)

Bullet In The Brain, By Tobias Wolff (1995)

Rating: 9/10

I think I personally enjoy short stories that don't follow any chronological order or series of events. Just like The Swimmer, this story was unique in its own order of sorting out events. This story is really 'short', not complicated, direct, and clear. A bit weird as we see Anders just die saying "They is... They is", but I didn't find it uncomfortable. It's quite funny because I rated The Five-Forty-Eight with a very low score because I couldn't find any message from the ending. Well even though Bullet In The Brain ends doesn't like a normal ending, I recognized the build-ups before the conclusion. Anders starts off by getting shot and for that slight moment, when his whole life and events that he remembers pass by, Unlike other main characters from recent stories we've read, I found Anders quite humorous and even felt sad with the fact that he died. Overall, the story was very light but took its unique style of attracting the readers, so I rate it 9 out of 10.

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Snowman, By Seo Yu-mi

Snowman, By Seo Yu-mi Rating: 9.3/10 We have read magical realism in class before, and those stories always brought a feeling of enthusiasm. But out of all, I enjoyed <Snowman> the most, for its time background, and the use of snow as an ironic symbol. With winter being my favorite season, I know well that snow brings a warm and cozy mood with a fantasy-like image. And depicting the snow as the symbol of the dull and weary reality of a strict hierarchy society, really emphasized the effect of magical realism. The setting of time background as the modern era, which we can deeply relate to, also maximized the beauty of magical realism. But, one thing I would recommend is to show some emotional ups and downs of the main character. I am aware that it's hard to expect this from a short story, but even a small impulsive aspect of the main character would delight the readers more. For these reasons, I rate this story 9.3 out of 10.

Visitors that Come in the Night, By Jang Ryujin (2020)

Visitors that Come in the Night, By Jang Ryujin (2020) Rating: 7.5/10 Throughout the story, I could directly recognize the author's obvious intention to appeal to the concept of feminism. Just like Cat Person, it focused on describing how a woman's behavior is being manipulated by a man's unethical actions. I looked for more tools the author used to emphasize and decorate the message of feminism, but was unable to feel it. There are pros and cons of writing in a very straightforward and honest style. The readers will clearly recognize the main message after reading, but the problem is that it doesn't touch their hearts, intrigues them, or ables them to think further on their own. One might argue that the building of suspense, the meaning of home, and the horror-like mood are the tools the author used, but I felt that the awkward usage of onomatopoeia failed to develop the mood that Jang Ryujin intended, therefore I give 7.5 for the <Visitors that Come in the Night...

The Swimmer, By John Cheever (1964)

The Swimmer, By John Cheever (1964) Rating: 9.3/10 I personally think these kinds of stories are what short stories should be like. Very easy to understand, direct, and clear, but also a very unusual way of unfolding the plot compared to other stories. The main character was similar to Blake from The Five-Forty-Eight, they both represent American white men during the era. The devices like alcohol, pool, and season were implemented in a very enjoyable way so that readers can follow them like a clue and reach the conclusion. What I notice from recent stories we've read is that we don't whether the main character changes or not, it's always an open ending, however, we see their environment changing as a consequence of their prior actions. Overall very amusing and I wished I had the ability to write stories like this that can closely touch the readers.