By Any Other Nerd

Title: George Thurston Author: Ambrose Bierce Summary    George Thurston is a first lieutenant and aide to federal Colonel Brough, a man only briefly in command of the group that the narrator, a topographer, is part of.  Others express a dislike of him that the narrator isn't entirely sure he shares.  On one occasion, Thurston asks to go with the narrator while he scouts the territory.  As a spectator, he is without arms as they move through the woods.  Inevitably, a skirmish ensues and Thurston stands up against the attackers with arms folded, refusing to retreat.  He survives and some time later, he is wounded during another skirmish and must be at a hospital for some time.  However, the narrator learns that the incident happened as a result of Thurston being surrounded and folding his arms in the face of numerous bayonets.  Upon hearing this, another person explains to the narrator that this is Thurston's means of overcom...

Title: The Mocking Bird Author: Ambrose Bierce Summary    Private Grayrock is on look out for the Federal army.  He sits still waiting to see if anyone of the Confederacy comes his way.  But in the dark of night, he circles around the tree he was leaning against to get some perspective but loses track of which way he was originally facing.  Unfortunately, this is a problem because in one direction is his men and in the other are the enemy.  If he can't remember where he should be facing, he may accidentally shoot one of his own.  At one point, he does shoot at someone in the dark and this sets off a shooting match before the Federal and Confederate armies.  In the wake of the battle, Grayrock searches for the man he shot at and knows he hit but cannot find any sign.  The missing person haunts Grayrock and he keeps trying to discover the body.  While searching, he thinks about his twin brother and how they used...

Title: Jupiter Doke, Brigadier-General Author: Ambrose Bierce Summary    This story is a series of letters going from different characters within the story.  It starts with a letter from the Secretary of War to Jupiter Doke of Illinois.  It informs Jupiter that he has been appointed to brigadier general and asks if he accepts.  Jupiter accepts and speaks of how proud he is to serve.  The Secretary of War writes to Major-General Blount Wardorg to inform him that he has assigned Jupiter and that he has a plan for dealing with some bushwackers.  Blount replies that Jupiter's name is unfamiliar but he is happy to have him.  He notes that he has abandoned the discussed territory to the enemy due to losses.  The Secretary then writes to Jupiter telling him that they need to move forward with his work even if his formal letter of his acceptance has been acknowledged.  He directs Jupiter to report to Blount in Kentuck...

Title:  Charlie  Author:  Kate Chopin Summary Charlie arrives later for her morning lessons, even though her other six sisters have made it on time.  The governess scolds her for being late and lets her know that she will be talking to her father for being late again.  She is ejected from the study with her sisters, so she goes outside to write. Charlie is rougher than her sisters and regularly does things that are unladylike.  However, she does have a skill for writing and is also well-adored by her father.  After some writing, she visits the black servant family, Charlie is greeted by her father who is curious about why she isn't where she is supposed to be.  He is upset by her answer, but she feels there's nothing she can do about the tension between her and the governess.  Later, she visits her neighbors to partake in some gossip and a walk in the woods.  The family she visited sends along a child to ...

Title:  Athénaïse  Author:  Kate Chopin Summary Athénaïse has married Cazeau though she was not in love with him and they both knew it.  Cazeau loves her but she does not reciprocate and he hopes they can have an amiable life.  Shortly after they are married, Athénaïse returns home for a night, then two and after the third night, Cazeau goes to the house to find her.  He meets with Monteclin her brother who has disliked him since he refused to lend him money.  While at the house, he discovers that Athénaïse does not want to return and Monteclin was trying to lie to keep her from returning.  He enters her room and demands her return to the house.  She acquiesces and returns but continues to be recalcitrant towards him. Shortly thereafter, Athénaïse and Miches come up with a plan and the next day, she has gone missing.  Monteclin won't say a word about where she has gone and her family d...

Title:  Regret  Author:  Kate Chopin Summary Mamzelle Aurile has lived a long life without marrying, being content and happy by herself.  She is described as manly and content.  One morning, her neighbor brings her four children over to the house and begs that she watches them because her mother was ill and her husband away.  Aurile agrees but is not entirely sure how to care for the children.  She finds it chaotic and confusing as she learns about the little quirks and idiosyncrasies of the children.  Over the two weeks, she establishes some means of caring for them properly.  They were contributing to the work around the house and getting what they needed.  However, their mother arrives and the children rush over to greet her and they eventually leave.  In their wake, Auzille takes a seat at the table and begins to cry with loud manly sobs, while her dog licks her hand. Reflection I initially like the ...

Title:  La Belle Zoraide Author:  Kate Chopin Summary Manna Loulou is a servant who must tell tales to Madame Delisle each night to help her to bed.  Delisle demands that they are true, so this night, Manna Loulou offers her the story of La belle Zoraide.  She was a slave to Madame Delariviere that everyone found beautiful, even though she was a mulatto.  Her mistress had trained her well and many look upon her admirably.  She even encourages Zoraide to consider marriage, though she insists that she marry Ambroise, a servant to Doctor Langle--who was also sweet on the mistress.  Zoraide has no interest in marrying him but soon develops a fondness and love for an African American slave named Mezor.  When she speaks to her mistress about marrying Mezor, her mistress is appalled by the idea.  Zoraide emphasizes that since she is a slave, the mistress could at least let her choose her husband.  The end result is that s...

Title:  A Lady of Bayou St. John Author:  Kate Chopin Summary Madame Delisle spends many nights alone because her husband is away at war.  She is quite young, in many ways a child, full of herself with regards to her beauty.  However, she is quite lonely.  One day, Sépincourt visits her and provides companionship to her.  She finds him agreeable and the two regularly meet, sharing stories, news, and thoughts.  As this continues, Sépincourt proposes at sunset one day that they run away.  She thinks he is jesting but then realizes he's not.  That night, she is stricken with the offense she has felt from Sépincourt and wishes to be left alone from the servant.  The next day, she does not receive him.  Later, he sends a letter that begs her forgiveness.  She agrees to see him again and when they meet, they embrace and kiss and she agrees to leave  the next day.  That night a message arrives announcing her husband'...

I've talked before about my work with the Changing Lives Through Literature program .  I connect quite well with the program's purpose and goal . So I've wrote the following post to contribute to their blog.  It's published in part here with a link to the full post.  Enjoy!  "I’m a newbie to Changing Lives Through Literature, so what I say here might seem old-hat to some or naive to others. I’m about two-thirds through my second group and there are two moments in the program that I find most rewarding. I choose a mixture of challenging and strange texts. There’s a method to my madness in terms of the range and type, as well as the alignment, but I often get raised eyebrows from the participants and even the parole officers. The texts are evocative, usually leading the participants to come in with clear opinions. These opinions are usually a mixture of confusion, frustration, and dislike because the readings don’t always have clear endings and are sometimes out...

Title:  Madame Celestin's Divorce Author:  Kate Chopin Summary Madame Celestin regularly encounters the Lawyer Paxton as she cleans her small front yard.  They usually have an amiable conversation, though the conversation is often about the absent husband who continues to leave her in dire straights.  Celestin contemplates divorce but her friends and family condemn the idea.  By contrast, Paxton encourages her to pursue this path as the husband has been absent for six months and hasn't provided any means of support and when he is around, he is known to abuse her.  Their conversations continue over a brief period of time and Celestin seems on the brink of going for the divorce.  During this time, the lawyer also becomes increasingly fond of Celestin and hopes to marry her after the divorce.  Paxton visits again and inquires about the potential divorce.  Celestin admits that she has decided not to pursue it as her husband has returned ...