An Appreciation for the Challenge These Authors Pose

For my post this week, I decided to continue the conversation about Megan's post in which she discussed how the recent short stories' endings we've read have functioned to enhance the story. I found myself in a similar position to Megan at the end of each short story we've read this past week, wondering why each had to be so pessimistic or morbid. There's a certain type of power connected to these untraditional endings, like Megan said, but I couldn't determine why it impacted me more so than an expected ending. My conclusion was human desire for comfort.


A traditional story, like Cinderella or Peter Pan, guarantees a "happy ending". Growing up in a society where the norm includes "happily ever after" cements the idea in our minds that that is the only satisfying conclusion to a story. When reading the short stories in the packet, we are challenged to step outside our comfort zone and appreciate the literature in another form besides the expected. I appreciate the challenge the authors impose in order to elicit a different kind of reaction from their readers, whether it be positive or negative. Appreciation of literature may not always mean that one actually enjoys the piece, but rather understands its intentions and credits its ability to engage the reader. Authors like Collette utilize this method as a means of helping the reader understand the characters' as well by forcing them to undergo similar experiences, such as stepping outside one's "comfort zone".