Tuesday, August 31, 2010

So I Take It You Didn't Read the Story

Before class discussion last week, I asked my students to write for a few minutes about the stories they read. Mostly, I'm checking to see who read what while also letting them get warmed up for discussion.

My question: Which story did you like better, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" or "The Things They Carried"?

Student:

"I enjoyed 'A Good Man is Hard to Find.' It cut threw the fabric of what women want. It had true emotion and in my opinion, was very delightful. It's a great story describing the character of a person and what it takes to fall in love."


Uh, really? Which part was so very "delightful"? Was it when the grandmother gets shot in the head?

15 comments:

What Now? said...

How funny -- I was thinking just this morning about that story and how very, very disturbing it is and how over the years it has taken up permanent residence in my head. But, um, I missed that whole "falling in love" business!

TKW said...

It would behoove that student now to figure out the kind of writing that Flannery O'Connor is famous for. I'm laughing my ass off.

loveskidlit said...

I never type LOL. But that was LOL material!

English Adjunct said...

I was wondering if there was some other story with the same title that I wasn't aware of..

Bardiac said...

The same student wrote about the lovely family relationships in Titus, I bet!

Anonymous said...

"A good man is hard to find" wink wink nudge nudge sounds a bit like a pr0n mystery novel with Dick Tracy.
jc

Good Enough Woman said...

WN, It sticks with me, too.

TKW, No kidding.

LKL, I mean, really. That is some major BS. Why even bother?!

EA, I was kind of confused myself.

Bardiac, Ah, yum!

jc, Yes, that would be the story "A Hard Man is Good to Find." Maybe THAT'S the story the student read!

This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

I'm not sure where I laughed harder -- reading the initial post or your response in the comments to jc.

:)

courtney said...

hahahahahahahaha...that's all i can muster. the best thing i've read in awhile.

Fie upon this quiet life! said...

Oh my god. That's hilarious. I love it when the students try to pull this bullshit. They think we're all so dumb. hahaha.

Word verification: clutrin (which I'm translating into "clue train" -- this student needs to take a ride on the clue train. haha)

Ink said...

OMG, OMG! LMAO!!!!!! "Very delightful"!!!!!!!

I have to ask...what did you write on that particular submission? :D

The Thirty-Something Bride said...

I can only now just laugh at this.

And I am still reading and still hating O'Conner - I mean the Bible salesman STEALS HER LEG???????

WHAT. THE. FUCK?

Brian Kay said...

The sweetest and most tender part of the story, to me, is when the Misfit offers the kind and almost Hallmark sentiment, "She could have been a good woman if someone had been there to shoot her every day of her life."

Brian Kay said...

The sweetest and most tender part of the story, to me, is when the Misfit offers the kind and almost Hallmark sentiment, "She could have been a good woman if someone had been there to shoot her every day of her life."

Good Enough Woman said...

Ink, That may be the funniest part. It wasn't a graded assignment, and students could submit their responses anonymously, so I didn't return them. So, even though there wasn't a grade involved, the student took the time to fly this bogus response. Dare I think the student was cracking joke?

TSB, Well, yeah. Every body screws up in an O'Connor story. And I bet she thought that was really funny, too.

BK, Yes, the Misfit does seem to exhibit a tender sentiment there, does he not?