"Ask Me" by William Stafford

I must admit "Ask Me" by William Stafford wasn't what I expected. My eyes and mind opened after reading, dissecting, and discussing the poem. Personally, I think it was a great idea to compare one's life to a river. Life is based off of time, obstacles, and experience (in my opinion). Time to a river is it's unstoppable flow. Two of the great obstacles that a river goes through are the weather and the ice that forms after cold temperatures. The overall experience comes from the obstacles that are hurdled, the places that a river flows through, and it's ending point when it collides to another river or lake.

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe

Prior to reading Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart short story, I didn't know what to expect.  The title lead me to think that it would be a love story.  Because I am not a fan of love stories, I didn't expect it to be as interesting as it turned out to be. Once I read the first few paragraphs, I became intrigued with Poe's descriptive writing style. In my opinion, the best part of the story was the descriptive narration.  I felt as though I could feel the anxiety the narrator was experience.  In addition, the Old Man's evil eye was a constant image in my mind.  Above all, my favorite part was the suspense.  I didn't know what to expect next!

What I disliked about the work is how psychotic the narrator was. His psychotic tendencies were confusing at times because he claimed to care and love the Old Man, yet still murdered him over a glass eye.  The psychotic nature of the narrator also sparked interest, though, because it made me read between the lines. I would recommend this work to a friend because Poe's portrayal of the narrator's feelings makes the reader feel as though he/she's feelings are in unison to his.