blog 5

The main point of "Alive" by Laurie Lynn Drummond is no matter what the main character does she will always be vulnerable or feel vulnerable. She can be alert, smart, and act quick but even that may not be enough to save herself sometimes. She spent the entire story panicking because there was a man she though was following her or evil, it was an irrational feeling and she even knew it earlier but could not help it. If she was in the same position two years earlier she herself said she wouldn't be afraid at all, the difference now is that she is no longer a police officer but a mere civilian. I think the story shows how her confidence has deteriorating and effected her actions and feelings in a negative way.

"Westbury place" by Edwidge Danticat is a story about a women reflecting back to the time she left her apartment. The girl was watching soap operas on television when a fire broke out the next apartment, forcing the building to evacuate. The fire was started by a young boy whos mother left him and his young brother alone. While alone one of the boys started playing with matches and started the fire in the building. The point of this story is much like the first one, to constantly be aware, smart, and take the proper precautions to keep yourself safe. The author in the story mentioned the her mother always warned her about playing with matches, if those two boys had been told the same than maybe the fire would not have started and they would still be alive.

I think these two stories are very similar as it deals with peoples fears and reactions to traumatic events. Each handled their situation in the correct manner and came away from these events physically unscathed. I think these two stories are more guidelines of what to do in an event than anything, even though both were entertaining. These stories seem like something your parents would tell you to scare you away from playing with matches or going to creppy towns.