I read a story called, The Wife. It was about a man who marries a woman who grew up as a rich girl. The man had a great job and they were living like rich people. When the man lost his job, he didn't tell his wife, he went into deppression. He was afraid that if he told her that she wouldn't love him anymore. He went to Irving and told him the story. Irving suggested that he tell her the truth, the man told his wife. She was happy that he told her. They moved out of their big house and into a small cottage. The wife still loved him and she seemed happier than before. I think that this story was supposed to teach a lesson, the lesson was that love will not change nomatter the economic situation.
The second story I read was called Rip Van Winkle, it was about a man who did favors for everyone and none for himself or his family. One day he ventured off into the forest with his dog to hunt squirrells. He met a man there who led him to a house. At the house the man had brought a keg full of liquor. He told the men there not to drink it. Rip Van Winkle drank it anyway. 20 years later Rip woke up on a stump near to where he met the man. He walked into town and no one recognized him and alot of things there were new. He asked the people there about his friends and they were all dead. He told them who he was. One old lady recognized him and she approved that it was Rip. He told them the story then lived the rest of his life there with his son. I liked this one alot. I think I'm understanding the english alot better than I did before. It seems that in every Irving story there is a lesson to be learned.
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Hi, Dwarves, this is your teacher.
ReplyDeleteIrving collected folk tales from around the Catskill Mountains area in New York, and these tales are from there. You're absolutely right--you have to settle into the rhythm of his speech (and sometimes use a dictionary!) before the language makes sense. I'm glad you're settling in.
You've led off with a classic, and for your next book, you may want to choose something that is fast and easy for you to read--I have suggestions! You're a bit behind in your posts--only 2/4 here, and not yet going on your next set (6 due by 2/17).
To answer a common question about what to do--begin each new book's post with title, author, publication year information. Begin each post by stating which book you're reading and give a 2-3 sentence summary of what's happened so far. The bulk of your post should be your thoughts about the book.