Caring For Plants, By Hye-young Pyun (2017)

Caring For Plants, By Hye-young Pyun (2017)

7/10


I found it interesting that not a single person in this whole story is likable. Oghi, pitiful and dismantled as he is, is a somewhat degenerate guy with pretty unlikable thoughts. The mother-in-law seems to be quite self-righteous with secret plans about everything. The caregiver possibly stole and drank during working, and secretly considered Oghi to be a cripple all along. The pastor seemed to be doing his job for the money. The only people we don’t really judge in this story are the therapist, who seems to be a decent guy, and Oghi’s wife, who is already dead.

I guess this is normal, a bit even like real life. Everyone has flaws that they tend to hide from others to pass as a good person. Getting to close to that person, and getting to know all these flaws, may make us quickly hate that person.

Does the mother-in-law actually plan to kill Oghi? I personally think she is pondering about it herself. She seemed to have mixed ideas about Oghi, yet she did get more and more hostile.

The tragedies of life tend to come at us suddenly, and combined. I rated this story seven out of ten. (199 words)

댓글

댓글 쓰기

이 블로그의 인기 게시물

"Araby" and stage 4 of the hero's journey

  In the stage four of the hero's journey, the hero of the story meets a mentor who provides the hero with wise advises and various forms of guidance. In this particular story of Araby, it is hard to specify a certain character as a mentor. The lesson is learned at the end of the story, and the hero stumbles into it without any guidance or help from other characters.   Still, the absence of a mentor is not a negative element. Instead, it maximizes the whole point of the story. The lamentable parts of life can be learnt only by experience. No mentor could teach it to us before we face it ourselves.
자세한 내용 보기

The Second Bakery Attack, By Haruki Murakami (1981)

 The Second Bakery Attack, By Haruki Murakami (1981) 9/10 Only after re-reading the story one more time to check whether there are any parts I might have missed, I realized that everything that happened in this story is unbelievably illogical. Waking up in the middle of the night in severe hunger is surely possible, but how in the world did that conclude into robbing a McDonalds and taking thirty bigmacs? It’s amazing how the author was able to make the situation seam logical and smooth. It was quite strange how what the couple did was a crime, but is still so humorous. Something about Haruki’s ways of explaining details such as the sleeping customers and paying for the drink makes even the most intense situations feel comical than serious. It gives the whole story a magical atmosphere. My favorite part of the story was how the narrator explains his feelings like floating on the ocean right above a volcano. It was very wholesome when the narrator decides to let the waves take h...
자세한 내용 보기

A Mother, By James Joyce (1914)

 A Mother, By James Joyce (1914) 7/10 It was interesting to see how Joyce tweaked what might have been a very cliché situation. In most situations where a mother protests about her daughter’s rightful. payment, she would seem brave and righteous. However, Mrs. Kearney seemed like the opposite of righteous. This may be because instead of protesting for her daughter, Mrs. Kearney is fighting for her pride. Unlike most good parents, Mrs. Kearney sees her children only as a tool to improve her social value and keep her pride. It was sad to see Kathleen not standing up to her mother, who might have just ruined her one chance of becoming a professional singer. Four guineas are not worth a lifelong job, let alone a dream coming true. This also reminded me about how big are the influence parents have on their children’s life. My favorite part of the story was how Mrs. Kearny blames Mr. Holohan and others. But the real reason she faced such humiliation was her own stubbornness. I rate...
자세한 내용 보기