The Lady with the Dog, By Anton Chekhov (1899)

 The Lady with the Dog, By Anton Chekhov (1899)

Yuna Song

Rating: 6.5/10

The biggest concern of this book that I thought of was the contradiction of whether to accept late love as true love or just as an unethical desire. Moreover, "To be happy, reveal your true self" was the impressive message I could get from this book.

➤ 'The Lady with the Dog'

The scene where Dmitri explains why it snowed to her daughter was one of the impressive scenes seeming to denote symbolic meanings. Different temperatures, meaning a difference of Gurov’s life seen and not seen by others, snow, representing the unsatisfactory of life, and relationship with Anna that could melt away.

I also thought about the reason why the title was “The Lady with the Dog”. I could guess that Anna was not the only “lady with the dog” in Yalta. Thus, the reason why nevertheless Gurov called her “the lady with the dog” was maybe because Anna seemed already so special to Gurov that the common behavior also seemed to be characteristic.

Overall, I loved the message, symbolic meanings, and conclusion allowing readers to come up with many thoughts. However, not enough information about characters made me difficult to make a convincing valuation of rather to encourage their public or private life after all. (200 words)

The Student, By Anton Chekhov (1894)

The Student, By Anton Chekhov (1894)

Yuna Song

12th Hero's Journey: Return with Elixir

Rating: 7.5/10

"The past is linked with the present by an unbroken chain of events flowing one out of another." This is the 'elixir' Ivan acquired through his journey.

➤ 'The Student'

At the beginning of the story, Ivan feels isolated and pessimistic. He feels as if the lapse of a thousand years would make life no better and he also matches his family and home with the depressing image. 

However, after meeting two widows, he realized the common feelings that link everyone. The widow's reactions led Ivan to reinterpret his point of view regarding the overall life and it gave him the epiphany to somewhat perceive life as an 'enchanting, marvelous, and full of lofty meaning' subject. He started to view the past as a connection of all humanity through shared emotion, rather than in an impersonal way. 

Finally, at the end of the story, he recalls the values of truth and beauty which had guided human life, looking towards his village which is contrasting with his mindset toward his home and parents before his journey. In this way, Ivan, finishes the hero's journey, by returning to the ordinary world with an optimistic perspective and feelings of connection. (194 words)

A Sound of Thunder, By Ray Bradbury (1952)

 A Sound of Thunder, By Ray Bradbury (1952)

Yuna Song

Rating: 8/10

The story of 'A Sound of Thunder' was easy but entertaining. Before reading this story, the teacher told us that the theme might be a little cliche for now, but what I felt was different. The main material of the book was still fresh enough, and considering the time when this book was written, the author's idea felt even greater. 

➤ 'A Sound of Thunder'

In addition to the butterfly effect, I was impressed with the symbolic meaning contained in this book. It can be seen that Eckels represents an inconsiderate and irresponsible consumer, and Time Safari represents a socially irresponsible company that focuses only on making money. And I thought the tragic story that occurred due to their characteristic was also happening in reality. If companies that focus solely on making money without social responsibility produce products while destroying the environment, and indifferent consumers continue to consume them without knowing it, we will continue to create negative butterfly effects that cannot be handled in the future.

➤ 'The Butterfly Effect'

Even though this story explained the butterfly effect of the negative ending, it also seemed to suggest to us that a positive butterfly effect can also occur with a small good deed in my point of view. (199 words)