A&P and Fire

I enjoyed the short stories “A&P” and “To Build a Fire.” One reason I enjoyed “A&P,” was because I identified with Sammy. Although I have not rebelled in this way, I have felt the need to be more independent. I also identified with the phase where teenagers think adults are old fashioned, out of touch with times and don’t “get it.” Even though Sammy lived in the 1960's, teenagers are still going through the same struggles to become independent and grow up. “To Build a Fire,” brought out some anger in me. I was initially angry with the nameless man because he was arrogant and tried to kill the dog. After reading many of post on our discussion forum, I came to understand why the man tried to kill the dog. I also realized that although the man was arrogant, his greatest weakness was probably his naivety. I believe if we are faced with life and death situations we might do something we wouldn’t think we were capable of doing. I once saw a series on Discovery Channel on how people have survived in unbelievable situations. In one episode, a man stranded at sea for more than a month, ate the eyes of fish to survive because he knew he couldn’t drink the sea water. I thought how disgusting that was, but realized he was using his survival instincts. I suppose most of us faced with these kinds of situations would come to the point where we’d do the same thing.

Submitted by Kelsey Hynes