5 thoughts on “Historic Fiction: Finding Hope and More”
I love the way Otto begins his story. He starts off by telling his readers about the narrator’s son, Aiden. He sets the tone for the setting by describing the strikes going on in his son’s school. The reader gets to learn about the narrator and his struggles trying to raise his family in America as an Irish immigrant. Otto does a good job of evoking sympathy for his characters in his story. The use of the year in the plot is effective as it helped me understand the time period he was writing about and the events going on at the time. The way he introduces the Great Depression is also effective. He doesn’t just jump right into it; he has developing paragraphs that talk about how slowly people the protagonist knew were out of jobs. The ending was so surprising with the miracle of gold that the main character finds. Overall, I thought Otto’s story was original and it had an interesting twist and turn of events in the end.
I liked the way you walked us through your story and how you didn’t make it immediately obvious that this was a historical fiction story. Based on the first few paragraphs your story could have been happening at any time, in any place, to anyone. I really liked this choice because it helped me relate to it more and actually put myself in your character’s shoes. But later on in the story you revel that this short story is taking place in teh Great Depression and I felt like that was perfect timing because too much generalization and the story becomes boring and you included it after you drew the reader in and her or she was invested in your story. Overall great job.
I thought Otto did a great job with the story. Showing the progression of how the narrator felt hopeless and then hopeful again was a great way to incorporate the Great Depression. I loved the idea and the personalization of the characters because the audience was able to picture the little boy giving hugs and then the narrator getting angry on the thought of what the teacher said. I think the idea of incorporating the flashback was a great transition into what the Great Depression was like and how it felt to be a father with a starving family at home when you were out of work. I really gained insight as to how hard and stressful it was to not be able to provide for a family. Overall, I loved the story and wanted to keep reading more.
I think that Otto did a great job developing the plot of his story through decisions that his characters are forced to make. Clearly, the family has been hit hard by the Great Depression, as they resort to stealing gold to put food on the dinner table. This was a direct effect of the economic hardships that families faced in the 1930s. Since many people could not find work, they turned to criminal ways of getting money for their families. In addition, telling the story through a first person lens made it seem more realistic, because readers could see from the perspective of the father in the family, who was responsible for providing for his wife and son.
Right off the bat, I was drawn into the story by the in medias res the author used. The simple language makes the story a pleasure to read, and the way in which Otto incorporates pathos throughout his writing is really enjoyable to see. The story highlights the immigrant struggle, and especially the struggle in 1934. I feel that one of the strongest parts of the story was when the teacher, told the father that Aiden’s stomach has been loudly growling in class for a couple of weeks. That’s truly a gripping part of the short story because it so elegantly portrays such a powerful and unfortunate part of the lives of struggling immigrants.
I love the way Otto begins his story. He starts off by telling his readers about the narrator’s son, Aiden. He sets the tone for the setting by describing the strikes going on in his son’s school. The reader gets to learn about the narrator and his struggles trying to raise his family in America as an Irish immigrant. Otto does a good job of evoking sympathy for his characters in his story. The use of the year in the plot is effective as it helped me understand the time period he was writing about and the events going on at the time. The way he introduces the Great Depression is also effective. He doesn’t just jump right into it; he has developing paragraphs that talk about how slowly people the protagonist knew were out of jobs. The ending was so surprising with the miracle of gold that the main character finds. Overall, I thought Otto’s story was original and it had an interesting twist and turn of events in the end.
I liked the way you walked us through your story and how you didn’t make it immediately obvious that this was a historical fiction story. Based on the first few paragraphs your story could have been happening at any time, in any place, to anyone. I really liked this choice because it helped me relate to it more and actually put myself in your character’s shoes. But later on in the story you revel that this short story is taking place in teh Great Depression and I felt like that was perfect timing because too much generalization and the story becomes boring and you included it after you drew the reader in and her or she was invested in your story. Overall great job.
I thought Otto did a great job with the story. Showing the progression of how the narrator felt hopeless and then hopeful again was a great way to incorporate the Great Depression. I loved the idea and the personalization of the characters because the audience was able to picture the little boy giving hugs and then the narrator getting angry on the thought of what the teacher said. I think the idea of incorporating the flashback was a great transition into what the Great Depression was like and how it felt to be a father with a starving family at home when you were out of work. I really gained insight as to how hard and stressful it was to not be able to provide for a family. Overall, I loved the story and wanted to keep reading more.
I think that Otto did a great job developing the plot of his story through decisions that his characters are forced to make. Clearly, the family has been hit hard by the Great Depression, as they resort to stealing gold to put food on the dinner table. This was a direct effect of the economic hardships that families faced in the 1930s. Since many people could not find work, they turned to criminal ways of getting money for their families. In addition, telling the story through a first person lens made it seem more realistic, because readers could see from the perspective of the father in the family, who was responsible for providing for his wife and son.
Right off the bat, I was drawn into the story by the in medias res the author used. The simple language makes the story a pleasure to read, and the way in which Otto incorporates pathos throughout his writing is really enjoyable to see. The story highlights the immigrant struggle, and especially the struggle in 1934. I feel that one of the strongest parts of the story was when the teacher, told the father that Aiden’s stomach has been loudly growling in class for a couple of weeks. That’s truly a gripping part of the short story because it so elegantly portrays such a powerful and unfortunate part of the lives of struggling immigrants.