Response to THE OXFORD BOOK OF ENGLISH SHORT STORIES EDITED BY a.s.byatt
This is a marvelously written book. From this book, I get new insight in social values, in human nature, in moral standard and the progress of our society. The language of the stories written by different authors is worthy for me to explore. It is also stunning for me to notice that different authors have their own style to share their observation, feeling, and opinion to us through different writing techniques.
In ‘Solid Objects’ written by Virginia Woolf, it is interesting to note how Woolf describes the small objects in detail. Her writing style is also very intriguing. At first, she mentions a black spot moving upon the vast semicircle of the beach, then she narrows her description, she concentrates on the two characters John and Charles. Isn’t it fascinating? I also discover that Woolf is very clever in presenting her ideas through the character John who keeps on searching his favourite solid objects. Self-searching is a very difficult and time-consuming process. Like John, he has to sacrifice his political career in order to search for his goal in life. I admire John’s attitude, in this materialistic society, how many of us can act like John and search for the utopia without any hesitation? How many of us can work for the destination of our dream without fearing obstacle along the road? I am indeed impressed by John persistence in searching his ideal.
In ‘The Destructors’ written by Graham Greene, the author tries to imitate the boys’ language. Slang is used often in this story in order to show that the boys are not well educated. In the story, the gang destroy Thomas’ house painstakingly and cooperatively. I find that this is very sad as it reflects that the twentieth century is a period of confusion, and that destruction is planted in the boy’s head. Destruction brings instability, and the effect is often far-reaching. Trevor’s father has ‘come down in the world’. He is a former architect and now he becomes a clerk. Perhaps Trevor destroys Mr. Thomas’ house out of his own jealousy. Trevor thinks that it is unfair for his father to lose his job while Mr. Thomas lives in a beautiful house. Yes, unfairness is inevitable in this realistic world. Perhaps it is not difficult to explain all the terrorist attack these days. The terrorist attack shows that there are discontented voices in the world which cannot be ignored. There are people who want to pour out their frustration desperately. Why do children in the third world have to suffer hunger and pain but those in the western countries are warm and extravagant? Why do young men in the third world do not have a well-paid job while those in the western countries have a prosperous road lying ahead of them? The protest of the exploitee will be louder than ever if we do not try our best to eliminate inequality in the society. There will be more destruction if we turn deaf ears to the people’s discontentment.
