Seeing Jimmi Hendrix at Woodstock

I actually found "Because My Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play "The Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock", to be one of the best stories we have read besides the "The Sutton Pie Safe". I found this story to show a very good insight of Victor's life and had very interesting stories within it. Like the story about how the dad was in jail. Though the story was sad and upsetting, it was interesting. It told a lot about Victor's dad's history and gives you a better understanding of the racial discrimination. A lot of stories that we read in College Lit. make you dig and dig for the story. This story just told you flat out. I like that.

One question I still have however is how old is Victor exactly? The story sends mixed messages throughout the entire thing.

One more thing I have to add that I really liked about this story was the list in the middle. The list told of the daily routine Victor and his father performed. I feel that putting that list in the middle of the story made it seem more personal and almost easier to understand. It made the story easier to relate to. This is definitely one of the top stories we have read in College Lit.

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

I found this story to be rather odd. When reading it it definitely makes you think, OK what the heck? Here is this man named Mr. Shiftlet who just one day comes to this little farm house where a mother and daughter live. Both of whom are named Lucynell. So this man just walks right up to them and starts talking about rather disturbing subjects. Mr. Shiftlet came out of nowhere and starts talking about a doctor who took out a man's heart. Personally if a man randomly appeared on my front porch and this was one of the first things he said to me, I'd be a little creeped out. But not this lady! What does she do? She invites him to live with her! What the heck! First of all she hasn't even know the guy for more than ten minutes and he is a major creeper. He even said to her,



"I can tell you my name is Tom T. Shiftlet and I come from Tarwater, Tennessee, but you never have seen me before: how you know I ain't lying? How you know my name ain't Aaron Sparks, lady, and I come from Singleberry, Georgia, or how you know it's not George Speeds and I come from Lucy, Alabam, or how you know I ain't Thompson Bright from Toolafalls, Mississippi?"



If someone said something like this to me, he would be literally kicked off my property. This guy does not seem like he should be trusted. Then not only does Lucynell let Mr. Shiftlet live on her property, she practically forces him to marry her daughter. I admit he did do some stuff to help out around the house but I believe it was all a set up. He had his eye on the car from the very beginning. I don't know exactly how, but I do think this some how relates to the bible. There are many times in the story in which the author refers to the bible. Including, the fact that he was a carpenter like Jesus, how he taught Lucynell to talk even though she is deaf, how he said, "My mother was a angel of Gawd", and how when he leaves Lucynell at the diner, the name of the diner was The Hot Spot.

I don't know exactly what it was but some how I want to believe that this relates to characters and stories from the Bible.

The Sutton Pie Safe Mysteries

Already in our first week of College Literature, we have read two stories. At the time you are reading these, they seem to be just ordinary stories about families and a day in their life. However, if you take the time and analyze the messages that author has hidden beneath the text, new discoveries about the characters arise.

In the short story "The Sutton Pie Safe" by Pickney Benedict, many secrets are revealed as you ponder the many descriptive details hidden within the writing. The first time you read the words of the short story, it appears to be simply about a small town family. Father (Jake) and son (Cates) are just in the barn contemplateing the fact of whether or not to kill the giant black snake while the mother is talking with a local (Mrs. Hanson) about a pie safe Mrs. Hanson would like to buy. However, the more you listen to the details of the writing, and think about the tone in which each statement is being expressed, the hidden meanings of the story reveal themselves.


When Mrs. Hanson drives up, Jack has immediate reactions. When first reading it you may think that this is just a normal neighborly hello. However, if you look further into the details that the author is suddenly exposing, you will see that there is some sort of attraction to one another. I believe that Jack and Mrs. Hanson were in love when they were younger. Although, for some reason they weren't aloud to be together, possibly because of their social rankings, and they still love each other. Jack's wife knows that she was the second choice, and because of that her and her husband were never able to get along.

You would never pick this out when you first read, but that is what makes Pickney Benedict such an amazing writer. He lets you figure out the mystery and decide what really happened.