For this Discussion Board you have four stories from which to choose: "Marriage is a Private Affair," "The Yellow Wallpaper," "The Things They Carried," and "Everyday Use."

After writing a first response about each story in your Writer's Notebook or Log, write a Discussion Board post starting with the sentence, "My interpretation of the story (title) is...."

Do not summarize any part of the story. Assume that everyone who reads your post has read the story and wants to know what you think the story means--or why it is a good or bad story from an ethical or philosophical standpoint.

Do not evaluate the story's style; assume the writer has a good one. Also stay away from the question of is it a good or bad story.

Assume for this discussion that they are allgreatstories. (It's fine if you don't agree with this statement for one or more stories; the point is to help you write the best essay you can write in this unit.)

Pick the one story you like the best for your own post to write about.

When you finish your own post, read the posts ofevery student who wrote about the same story--and other stories if you are not yet sure which you want to write about. This group of students is your own interpretive community.

When you finish reading everyone's post, start writing responses. The more you write the better. Get other students intodialoguesabout your choice. By the time you get to the research and Peer Editing activities, you're going to be an expert on the story!

Note: If groups are small, they may be combined in next week's peer editing activities.

Other than that, follow the usual guidelines for the Discussion Board: 250 word minimum first post and 150 for the next two. (If you write to more students than two, just be sure you have at least 300 words of total response writing.)

I can't wait to read what you all write about these interesting stories!

For this assignment I want you to write the response of the students' assignment which I gave you.

1.My interpretation of the story "Marriage is a Private Affair" is, that Okeke had a hard time reconciling with his son and his son's wife not just because it was something foreign to marry someone outside of their tribe, but because he probably did not want his son to suffer. He did not know what kind of wife this woman would be, so he feared that his son would live an unhappy marriage. on the other hand Nnaemeka and Nene tried very little to actually prove his father wrong, more could have been done to show him that their marriage was serious and that Nene was a good person.

I think they both could've tried showing up at his father's house a few times, and possibly do things in effort to win him over. Okeke shows that although he resents his son, he does still care for him, otherwise he would not feel any emotion after finding out that he has grandchildren. I am not a parent, I do not know what it must be like to have a child, but I can imagine that Okeke always wanted what he thought was best for his son, and for someone like him was was very conservative with their culture and traditions it must have been heartbreaking for his son to go against his wishes.

Overall I thought this was a good story, it reminds us that being able to marry whoever you want is not a choice for everyone, for me at least, it makes me realize how overprotected and naive I am to think that everyone out there has the same rights, freedom, and equality as we Americans do. It is good to read about what other cultures believe in and must follow.

2.The short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker is about the long debated issue ofculturalidentity in theAfricanAmericancommunity. Walker's story written in 1973, has a strong message for all races and is still relevant even after 45 years. The first point Walker addresses is about African Americans that are secure in their identities in America. They do not look for anyone to tell them they are acceptable, they work hard and do the best they can to support and love their families. The second message Walker addresses is African Americans who are trying to find an identity in America. They are aware of how they are perceived in the world and no longer want to live up to the standards of the majority.

They also have seen other cultures that have a strong heritage and long to have that as well. In the passage you can see how many times Dee reinvented herself. They portray her as being strong, independent, and confident, but in reality she is only trying to find herself. The final message the author wants to convey is acceptance. The mother longed to be accepted and admired by the daughter seen as the golden child. In the end however, she realized that accepting herself was the only thing that matter and she was better off for it. She no longer needed the approval of someone else that "seemed" to have it all. Overall, in my opinion it was the best story out of the four assigned.

and I will give you the example of the response so I hope you to follow this example. I wish it is similar with this.

EX):I love your interpretation of the story "Everyday Use", although I did not choose this story it was definitely my second option. I think identity is a huge message in this story not only within the African American culture, but I think it can connect with other cultures as well.

It was huge issue then for African American and as you said and still is today, but more so for other cultures as well. Finding yourself and being okay with who you are in a world full of judgmental people can be difficult. In the story Dee, represent overcoming that. As it's explained in the story she shows that she has overcome being in the same place as her family and has moved forward, but at the same thing her name change is a little confusing.

It seems to me that she doesn't want to be reminded of what her and her family must go through or maybe she just thinks very highly of herself. Maggie and her mother show that they haven't overcome that, but at the end of the story decide its okay to be who they are if they are happy.

Citlalli Patlan