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Hunters in the Snow, By Tobias Wolff (1981)

Hunters in the Snow, By Tobias Wolff (1981)

Rating: 8.5/10

    I enjoyed the dark irony and dark humor shown in this story. Each character seems foolish and silly, but when you find out who they are symbolizing, it's not as funny as before. Dirty realism reveals our inner flaws and enlightens us on how stupid we look from an omniscient perspective. And this is not a figure of particular minorities, but the big trend of selfishness or individualism that is rampant in recent society. What I found interesting was the cruelty of modern society as well. In the end, we see that both Tub and Frank are actually happy, or not upset at least. We know what they've done wrong, but we see how they are just moving on to the next path, laughing, and talking among the ones who lived. I think this story felt more refreshing since unlike typical men's problems happening in the 1980s (ex. swimmer or five-forty-eight), we can see individualism in our school, college admission, and within ourselves as well, this is why I give 8.5 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.
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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...
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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.
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