Olive's Short Story Blog

   “Black Eyed Women” by Viet Thanh Nguyen is a beautifully written short story that explores the idea of ghosts and ghost stories, and how they are more for the living than the dead. This idea is introduced by the character Victor Devoto. Our main character (who is nameless), works as a ghostwriter, basically pretending to be someone else writing about their own traumatic experiences. The main character is writing Victor's story, about how he and his family were in a plane accident, but he was the sole survivor while his wife and children died. Later on in the book, Victor describes what it feels like to be the only one left, “The dead move on” he said, coiled in his armchair, hands between his thighs. “But the living, we just stay here.” (Nguyen 11; 198). In this quote, Victor’s description makes him seem gaunt and weak, almost like he is not fully alive anymore. His quote perfectly describes the circumstances he lives in. For example, the main character suspects Victor hasn...

Q & A Is “First Person Shooter” a love story? (And what significance does the romantic plot have to the story?) A seemingly simple story at first, some might consider “First Person Shooter” to be a love story, while others might argue that there is a much more complex purpose behind it. “First Person Shooter” is a post-apocalyptic tale about the brief experience a department store employee has with a zombie. Although a substantial amount of the story surrounds the main character’s interactions with the zombie, both the beginning and the end of the story center around the main character's relationship with his co-worker, Janine. The main character seems to form a bond with the zombie-lady, presenting to readers themes of overcoming differences and disregarding stereotypes. Despite the zombie-centered part of the story having a disappointing resolution, the main character does still gain a happy ending where Janine is concerned. Even though most of the story is about the main c...

  “Already, we knew that there was one room in that region above stairs which no one had seen in forty years, and which would have to be forced. They waited until Miss Emily was decently in the ground before they opened it.” (5 Faulkner) The final section of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner can be a bit overwhelming. Because of the shock of these last few moments, many readers may miss the two sentences that fit into the middle of the page in a mysterious little paragraph. Whilst rereading this paragraph, I felt an overwhelming suggestion that the townspeople knew Emily was hiding something in that room, however this sensation is overshadowed by the following discovery of the room’s tomb-like contents. Upon second glance, however, there seem to be various oddities within this paragraph. For one, the word choice of already , hinting at the fact that they know Emily was hiding something there. Another peculiarity is the others choice to make these two sentences their own paragr...