Writing About Stories consists of two short stories. A Visit for Charity tells about a Campfire Girl Marian. She came to the Old Ladies’ House with a potted flower to earn some extra points for a visit to the institution’s patients. The girl was down because of the house’s inner look and patients’ appearance. The nurse took her to a room with two old ladies; one of them was older and laid in the bed during the whole visit. This woman was called Addie; she criticized Marian’s flowers and her roommate’s behavior. The second woman was talkative and active by contrast. Both women frightened the girl; she did not want them to touch her and tried to run away as soon as possible. After the visit Marian took the apple that she hid in the bushes near the house and ran to meet the bus.
The Gift of Sweat is the second part of the rubric. The main character (sex or name is unknown) who is a caregiver came to visit the man named Rick. He lived with his friend Barry, but he died and now the man was all alone. This visit was slightly unusual, because Rick did not want his favorite cinnamon roll and coffee the caregiver always bought. The man promised some surprise for his visitor. However, he was ill when the character came. Rick already called Margaret for help, and the caregiver tried to warm and calm him with his (her) body until the woman arrived. Character’s T-shirt soaked with Rick’s sweat during the process. The caregiver set to work after Rick was taken to the hospital. He (she) also saw the man’s surprise – he bought coffee and cinnamon rolls by himself. The caregiver ate his (her) portion.
The Company of Wolves tells about werewolves. The small village suffers from wolves, that are not ordinary beasts. A hunter caught one predator that turned into a man after death. A witch turned the whole wedding into wolves. The story describes different theories of werewolves’ appearance. Its main part is a version of the Red Hood tale. Young girl in a red shawl went to visit her grandmother through the forest. She met a hunter who accompanied her. The man turned out to be a werewolf. He used the short pass, came to the grandmother’s house and ate her. However, he did not hurt the girl, who gave him her virginity and became werewolf’s bride.
The Lesson describes events from the narrator’s (Sylvia) past. The group of children from a poor block was taken by Miss Moore to the rich white district. She took them to a toy shop, and children were shocked by prices. The narrator understood they could not buy even the cheapest toy. And the toy boat for about $1,000 could feed family for months. Children came into the shop, but left quickly because the felt uncomfortable. After the excursion Miss Moore asked children what they learnt, and Sylvia’s friend Sugar said such shops show errors in the existed democracy. There is no equality when one person spends for toys the amount of money the other would use to feed the family for months. However, the narrator did not want to make any conclusions and wished to return to her ordinary activities.
Sonny’s Blues shows a schoolteacher whose younger brother Sonny started to take drugs and was sent to rehabilitation. Men wanted to move from Harlem, but used different ways to do it. Brother did not understand Sonny who wanted to be a jazz musician. He lived in teacher’s future wife’s home after their parents’ death, but left it soon. Men had difficult relations and did not speak for years. They started to communicate again after character’s youngest daughter died. Sonny came to his brother’s house and restored family connections. The story ends with the man’s performance in the nightclub. Here the character appraised Sonny’s efforts.
The White Torture shows an arrested Muslim woman who remembered her life between interrogations. She was married her father’s companion against her will; the man was cruel to the character. She got a son, but he was taken by husband’s family after the divorce. Woman’s younger sister Mitra was incarcerated for several years and committed suicide. Years after that the character saw a girl who looked like her sister and was killed during the demonstration. This event made woman to write antigovernment slogans on money she counted in the Ministry. That was a reason of her arrest. At the end the woman speaks with the young investigator as if he was her lost son.
The last story mentions different types of tortures: whipping, beating, hanging, sexual assaults, burning skin with cigarettes or humiliation, like when arrested people should soil themselves because they cannot go to a bathroom. U. S. institutions were accused in similar practices. The woman was blindfolded and it can be treated as partial sensory deprivation that was used in Guantanamo, according to the Tom Head’s article. Dripping faucet can be an intentional irritator. Guantanamo Bay used loud music to torture prisoners in a similar way (Swash). However, experts mentioned U. S. officials prefer psychological tortures that do not leave physical marks. This list includes threats and misinformation.
Works Cited
Head, Tom. “American Torture Techniques”. Civilliberty.about.com. 15 Dec. 2014. Web. 12 May 2016.
Swash, Rosie. “Musicians tell US to ban using songs as torture”. Theguardian.com. 10 Dec. 2008. Web 12 May 2016.
