Joseph Conrad, a famous English novelist, said that his goal as a writer was “to make you hear, to make you feel, and above all, to make you see. That, and no more, is everything”. A good short story tries to give the reader a sense of the actual experience. Often it leaves a single sharp impression to be turned over and over in the mind. After finishing the story, the reader should have something to think about: the humor of life, its ironies (嘲笑), or the unpredictability of human behavior.

In order to read a short story with full understanding, the reader must approach the content on two levels. The first and most obvious level is conveyed through the plot. Plot refers to the sequence of events, to the actions of the characters and the situations in which they are involved. To explain the plot, then, is to tell what happened in the story and to whom. In some short stories, plot is the dominating element. In other short stories, plot plays a very minor role.

In Hemingway’s story, The Old Man and the Sea, however, we must approach the content on another level. The impact of the story comes from the insight it gives us into the needs and desires of youth and old age.

To understand and appreciate the story, the reader must be able to identify its general topic or theme. The next step is to identify the device by which the author comments on this theme. Finally, the reader should be able to explain the insights which the author has given into the theme.

Readers cannot appreciate a short story fully unless they react not only to what has been said but also to how it has been said. They must look for style and structure. Style grows out of the writer’s own personality and can be seen in the choice of words and phrases, the arrangement of sentences, the rhythm and tone. Structure refers to the architecture of the story, the way in which the details are selected and arranged to produce the desired effect.

Mouth open in wonder and horror, Laurent Pelletier stares at the bush cricket that has landed in front of him on the picnic table. “Can we eat it?” he asks his mum. “Can I take it as a travel companion?”

In early 2022, Laurent’s parents decided to quit their jobs. They took their four children, Mia, Léo, Colin, and Laurent, travelled over 52, 000 miles and visited 13 countries. Over the months, the world constantly unveiled (显露) itself. The kids played pat-a-cake with uniformed schoolchildren in Botswana, and while in Tanzania they tried African traditional dances with locals and stayed on a banana farm. In Thailand, they touched an elephant, calling out in surprise at how rough it felt. Rarely did they talk about why they were abroad in the first place, with one exception. While travelling along a dusty Mongolian highway last summer, Laurent, who had seemed unaware of what was to come, asked, “What does it mean to be blind? How will I cross the street? Will I be able to drive a car?”

“It’s like when you have your eyes closed,” his mother said. “It won’t happen overnight, but slowly, over years. ”Being blind, she continued, didn’t mean the end of the world. Rather, the world would be different. Nothing would prevent them from doing most things, including skiing, swimming or even becoming scientists who worked on cures for their disease. Laurent nodded, then went back to making up his own games to pass the time.

The four kids will become blind, likely in adulthood. They have a disease called retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a group of related eye disorders that cause progressive eyesight loss. By far, it has no effective treatment, and it will gradually take away their eyesight. However, their parents still want their kids to lead full lives, whether they’re blind or not. The trip has reinforced (增强) what they believe all these years-the kids will find their way.

Each day, their parents watch the kids change, physically and emotionally. Laurent grows taller and needs more independence. Both Léo and Colin become more confident and outgoing, unafraid to engage with strangers. “Today, my eyesight is good and I’m going to make the most of it, ”says Mia. “Tomorrow, we will rise to the challenge. ”

What do butterflies have in common with the human spirit? Meet Maggie, a middle-aged wife and mother who was about to find out.

Maggie wasn’t rich like a millionaire or poor in a manner of being homeless. She was living an average comfortable life. It was made even better when a baby girl came her way. She and her husband made sure their daughter had her needs met and they were still able to take a yearly vacation by the beach.

Maggie was a partner in her husband’s business. They both had a different set of duties and everything was in balance. One day a severe blow came to her husband’s business, and over a three-year period the business dropped out of sight. Her husband had to totally reinvent himself and was eager to start a new business. She was happy for him and supported him fully, but still the money was not coming in.

Maggie began to feel guilty that she wasn’t contributing with any kind of income. She began job-hunting and found filling out applications somewhat difficult, especially the part asking for job references. She was self-employed with her husband for almost 20 years, which seemed to mean nothing as she was never called for an interview.

When she was job-hunting her mom became more ill than she had been and ended up in the hospital for a week. Once Maggie’s mom returned home she became her mom’s helper one day a week. She did everything that her mother was not able to do any more. Of course her mom would pay her for her lime and labor but she still felt she needed to find another source of income.

One of the first applications she had filled out finally came through. She passed the interview and was told she was exactly what they were looking for. Although it was only part-time it was exactly what she wanted. It was important for her to be home when her daughter arrived home from school.

Within a few weeks, though, she received an e-mail saying that the company had changed the job into a full-time position so that she was not qualified. Maggie felt betrayed and felt she had been lied to. That evening she was alone at home. She welcomed the aloneness and wanted to put herself in the bathtub to kill the lonely time.

As she knew she would, Maggie began to cry, softly at first just from the sharp pain of being rejected. Three long years of struggle had finally overwhelmed her.

When she was able to cry no more, she became worn out and gave up. It was at that moment that a silent idea came to her: why not offer elderly people home care assistance? Using another talent for computers she printed off some flyers and cards and distributed them to her church, grocery stores and even placed a small ad in the newspaper. Within a week she had procured two new customers. Now, even though she’s not a CEO of a major company she feels happy and productive again.

Before a butterfly can come out of its chrysalis (茧) it has to go through a lot of struggling. Each time it pushes out to escape, acids are being removed from its wings. If someone were to come along and break the chrysalis open for it then the butterfly would die from those acids. Actually the struggle is necessary for the butterfly to survive. Then in the stillness, when the struggle is over, the butterfly can come out and share its beauty with the world.

We as humans are not any different.