Jane Rule uses humor to develop the conflict in the story by the way she created Harry’s and Anna’s argument. She had it so that Harry was frustrated and strongly desired an ordinary life while Anna kept working and acted as if everything was no big deal and was going to okay. Rule switched the gender roles in the story, making Harry act as if a woman would, wanting to settle down, this is an example of situational irony. Harry also struggled and did anything that he could to buy the new house and ends up not liking it, this is also situational irony. At first, Harry and his family lived in a small, unconventional apartment, which resulted in Harry making huge changes to live a middle class, middle aged life. These changes included selling his boat and trading in his car for a different one. As the story progressed, Harry began to second guess himself and his actions, especially after he sells their boat. By the end of the story, Harry starts to have acceptance with the house as well as the fact that not everyone is meant to be “ordinary”. These all happened during the introduction, rising action and conclusion.

       In the story, “Choices” by Susan Kerslake, The main character is shown the harsh affects based on poor and/or uncertain choices you make, as well as nothing is ever known for sure. The protagonist, Peggy, is conflicted with a choice between going on a road trip with her close friend Ken, or staying home: “With variations, she could do the same thing in her small apartment.” (p.117). After she chooses to go with Ken, she is faced with a major accident leaving her permanently paralyzed and Ken with a bumped head. Throughout the story there were many factors leading up to the incident and who is mostly to blame. In my opinion, I feel Ken had most of the fault for the accident and his actions were the main cause for the crash. Ken’s car was very unstable and was very grimy “…it seemed an unlikely contraption: a tangle of shapes, a thick, stale smell. Some parts were clean and shiny. Most parts were caked with oil and dirt.” (p.118). He also left very little room for seeing his surroundings while he was driving. Only the passenger seat was empty, the rest of the car was filled with hampers, suitcases, buckets, baskets and filled bags. There was also a high possibility that he was driving under the influence of alcohol, due to Peggy asking him to stop at the liquor store on their way. Ken was driving recklessly as well, he was driving fast and wasn’t being cautious with how he was steering. “He seemed attached to the car at the small of his back. She supposed it was the pressure on the gas pedal. She stared at his lap, his leg loosely apart, one knee resting on the door, the other brushing the gear shift. One hand gripped the top of the wheel, the other, upside down letting the wheel slide back and forth through his fingers, was softly curved.” (p.119). Based on the quotes from the story, Ken is to blame for the tragic results of the accident, as he owned and used a car that was not fit for driving long distances, he was not driving cautiously and he left almost no room for the sights of what’s around him.

1. Roch Carrier grabs your attention in the introduction because it is very repetitive with using ‘skating rink’. I find the ending is cut short and doesn’t actually explain what happens with the sweater after he prays in the church. In my opinion, the mood created by the opening paragraph is excitement. 

2. In 3rd grade, my mom forced my sister and I to wear these outfits that we both hated. Mine was teal, sparkly jeans and t shirt. My sister’s was the same except in the color pink. They were both a felt fabric and were extremely uncomfortable and itchy. It related to Roch’s situation because we didn’t want to wear the outfits as much as Roch didn’t want to wear the hockey sweater.