Marigolds

"Marigolds" is about a girl who is turning 15 in a backwater town. She is on the brink of childhood and womanhood. Her family was poor, like everyone else was poor. The town was ugly, broken down and unkept. Elizabeth, the main character, does something she will regret for the rest of her life. She explodes in a fit of rage, destroying an old womans marigold garden. The woman wasn't mad. She understood why the child expressed such anger and misunderstanding. Elizabeth didn't understand why she exploded. She just did, and in doing so grew up a little.

Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?

"Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?" is about the Vietnam war. The main character is Private First Class Paul Berlin, a soldier who is new to the war. Paul faces a new kind of fear, one we don't encounter in everyday life.  The entire story is basically about how Paul reacts to the death of Billy Boy Watkins' death of heart attack. Billy Boy was "scared to death", literally. He had stepped on a land mine and his foot was blown off. Billy Boy thought he was going to die, and he did, but not because of his foot. Paul Berlin experiences a mental break down as he and his fellow soldiers trekked through the jungles of Vietnam. As they were waiting for cloud cover, Paul started thinking about how Bill died of fright. He broke out laughing, unable to control his fear. No one was able to stop his giggling until one of the soldiers pinned Paul down and shook him.

The Most Dangerous Game

"The Most Dangeous Game" is about a hunter who accidently falls off his ship while going to an island to hunt. He ends up having to swim to "Ship-Trap" island, the place sailors try to avoid. And for a good reason too. Rainsford, the main character, soon finds out why. A retired general lives there, and he likes to hunt. But he doesnt hunt animals. To Rainsford's dismay, the general was hunting humans. And he was next. Rainsford stands up to the "game", says he'll play. But only under certain cercumstances. If the geneal won, Rainsford died. But if rainsford won, then the general dies, ending his game of hunting ship recked sailors. Rainsford never slept in a better bed.

Does fighting in combat help build character?

Yes it does. Fighting in combat exposes you to situations a person can't face in everyday life. You face fear, you face courage and self doubt. It builds character because you don't face emotions on that level everyday. It tests your ability to keep calm in a tight spot. If you cant think straight in a life or death situation, then your done for. You don't get to feel things like that working in an office cubicle. Or at a fast food restaurant. You feel this stuff in the police department, or in the military. These people face that kind of stuff everyday.

The Monkey Garden

Esperanza tried to die. After what happened to her, I don't blame her. Her friends made her feel like a fool. She knew that what they where doing was wrong. They stole Sally's keys and wouldn't give them back until she kissed them. Esperanza knew it was wrong, but didn't know why. And when she tried helping Sally, they told her to go away, to leave them alone. She felt like crying. She felt betrayed. I don't blame her.