Symbols in The Odyssey

Throughout the Odyssey, birds represent Athena and her power, she repeatedly turns into a bird. In Book XXII, after Athena makes the suitors and bad servants go crazy, Odysseus and his three men are described as vultures, symbolizing the ferocity and mercilessness of Odysseus and his men in battle. The mad men are said to be "flying low under the clouds" using birds to show the fear of the victims. Birds also symbolize good and bad omens, like the eagles that are sent by Zeus in Book II. 

Odysseus' wound symbolizes truth and identity. He uses over and over again to show people that he really is who he says he is, people know him by this mark.

Hades obviously symbolizes death, more the unpleasantness of death, after all, it is the underworld. It symbolizes a place of despair and emptiness. The souls there are just "flitting shadows".

Book XX

Characters - Odysseus, the maids, Athena, Penelope, Zeus, Telemachos, Eurycleia, Eumaios, Melanthios, Philoitios, Amphinomos, Antinoos, Ctesippos, Agelaos Damastorides, Theoclymenos, Eurymachos, the rest of the suitors.

Summary - Odysseus tries to sleep, but can't because his mind is full of vengeance. Athena blesses him with sleep. Penelops wakes up and prays to Artemis. Odysseus gets an omen of death for the suitors from Zeus. Everyone gets to work preparing the house for the suitors' arrival. Odysseus is again taunted by Melanthios. Another herder, Philoitios, is kind to Odysseus and tells him that he doesn't like the suitors. Odysseus tells him that Odysseus will return. The suitors try to plan to kill Telemachos again. They go eat. Odysseus is treated well by Telemachos and Telemachos is bold towards the suitors. They all feast for the holiday. One of the suitors, Ctesippos, throws a hoof at Odysseus, which he dodges. Telemachos warns them not to be violent. Agelaos Damastorides argues with Telemachos about his mother's marriage. Theoclymenos tells the suitors that woe will befall them, but they just laugh and insult him, so he goes away. The suitors tease Telemachos about his guests. 

Importance - This book sets the stage for the battle to come between Odysseus and Telemachos and the suitors.

Themes - Hospitality, the suitors and Melanthios are inhospitable towards the guests. Loyalty, Philoitios is still loyal to Odysseus.

Book XIX

Characters - Odysseus, Athena, Telemachos, Eurycleia, Penelope, Melantho, Eurynome, Autolycos.

Summary - Telemachos and Odysseus begin their plan. Telemachos and Odysseus get rid of all the weapons. Melantho is rude to Odysseus again. Penelope asks Odysseus about himself. Penelope tells Odysseus about her troubles and he tells her the story of the beggar. Penelope weeps and asks Odysseus about Odysseus to make sure he is telling the truth about meeting him. He answers her questions correctly. Odysseus claims that he will return. Eurycleia is about to wash Odysseus' feet but he remembers the story of an old scar of his. Eurycleia recognizes him. Eurycleia agrees not to tell anyone. Penelops asks Odysseus to interpret her dream. She tells him her plan to hold a contest for the suitors. Penelope goes to sleep.

Importance - It shows the deep relationship between Penelope and Odysseus and Eurycleia finds out about the true identity of the beggar.

Themes - Loyalty, the loyalty between Odyssesu and Penelope and Odysseus and Eurycleia. Hospitaity, Penelope treats the beggar as an honored guest.

Book XVIII

Characters - Arnaios/Iros, Odysseus, Antinoos, Telemachos, Athena, Amphinomos, Penelope, Eurynome, Penelope's maids, Telemachos, Eurymachos, Melantho, the rest of the suitors.

Summary - The town beggar tries to drive Odysseus away. Antinoos encourages the fighting. The two beggars fight and Odysseus wins. Athena drives Penelope to show herself before the suitors. The suitors give Penelope numerous gifts. One of Penelope's nurses, Melantho, is rude to Odysseus. Odysseus stands up to Eurymachos' bullying and Eurymachos gets mad. Eurymachos throws a stool at Odysseus, but misses. The suitors leave.

Importance - It shows the conflict between Odysseus and the suitors.

Themes - Hospitality, the suitors, Iros, and Melantho are very inhospitable to Odysseus.

Book XVII

Characters - Telemachos, Odysseus, Eumaios, Eurycleia, Penelope, Peiraios, Theoclymenos, Medon, Melanthios o' Dolios, Phemios, Argos, Athena, Melanthios, Antinoos, Eurynome, the rest of the suitors.

Summary - Telemachos goes home. Peiraios hands Theoclymenos back to Telemachos. Telemachos tells his mother of his travels. Theoclymenos makes a prediction about Odysseus. Odysseus and Eumaios go to town where they are taunted by a goatherder, Melanthios. Odysseus' dog, Argos, dies after seeing Odysseus return. Odysseus eats at his own house and then begs for bread from the suitors. Odysseus begs from Antinoos, but Antinoos is rude to him and punches him. Odysseus starts plotting his vengeance. Penelope asks to speak with the Odysseus. Eumaios goes back to his pigs.

Importance - Odysseus finally returns to his house. He also meets the suitors.

Themes - Hospitality, Eumaios feeds and helps out Odysseus and the suitors give Odysseus bread.

The Odyssey - Books V-VIII

Books 5 - 8 are about how Odysseus left Calypso's island and traveled many weary days and nights on sea, landing on Scheria, the island of the Phaiacians. They tell of his relaxing yet sorrowful time there, spent celebrating and playing the local games.

They tell Odysseus' story.

They back up the themes of hospitality and loyalty. Hospitality because they show the kindness of the Phaiacians to a complete stranger and loyalty because they show Odysseus' loyalty to his home and family and the loyalty of Athena to make sure he reaches his home safely.

These books are important because Odysseus finally leaves Calypso's island, beginning his journey home, and provide a setting for Odysseus to tell his story.

The Odyssey - Book III

Summary: Telemachos, Athena, and the crew reach the shore of Pylos. Athena tells Telemachos that he has to be the one to speak to Nestor regardless of how shy he is. They find Nestor and his sons preparing a feast. Mentor (Athena) and Telemachos are welcomed. they begin the feast with the proper ceremonies of praying to the gods. Athena prays to Poseidon for safe travel and thanks the Pylians and Nestor. They all eat. Nestor asks about his guests and Telemachos tells him his business. He asks Nestor to tell him all he knows about Odysseus. Nestor begins to tell Telemachos about the Trojan war and how many men were slain. He says that Odysseus was a grand man and was amazing, they never argued about anything. He says that a lot of people died and how Menelaos and Agamemnon split the men because of their differing opinions. Nestor and Odysseus went with Menelaos, but Odysseus went back to Agamemnon so Nestor lost track of him then. Soon Nestor got back to Pylos without news of anyone else. He talks about the men that lived and died. He talks about the murder of Agamemnon and then Telemachos says he wishes the gods would give him power to get vengeance on the suitors. Then Nestor asks about his situation with the suitors and how much Athena loved Odysseus and if only Athena would show love to Telemachos things would get better. Telemachos says he doesn't think that will happen, but Athena says it's easy for the gods to bring Odysseus home but that death is something even the gods cant stop. Telemachos says that his dad will never come back and asks Nestor more about Agamemnon's death. Nestor tells him all about it. After Menelaos and Nestor set out from Troy, Menelaos went to Egypt and prince Orestes killed Aigisthos. Menelaos returned home. Nestor tells Telemachos not to stray to far from his house or the suitors will take everything, and that he should go see Menelaos if he wants more info about his father. Nestor gives him all his services to go see Menelaos. Then the sun sets. Then Athena says they should make sacrifices to Poseidon and they do. Athena and Telemachos want to go back to their ship but Nestor is hospitable and makes Telemachos stay. Athena takes the shape of the bird and flies away. Everyone is amazed and makes lots more sacrifices. They all go to bed. In the morning they make another sacrifice to Athena. Telemachos is bathed by the daughter of Nestor. Meanwhile, peeps prepare food. They get everything ready to go see Menelaos and Telemachos leaves with one of Nestor's sons. They travel all day then rest. Soon it's light out again and then they travel all day.

King Nestor of Pylos was an Argonaut in his early warrior days and helped to fight the centaurs. He fought on the side of the Achaeans in the Trojan War. He was believed to be about 110 when the war started but was still revered for his bravery and speaking abilities. He had about nine children.

The Odyssey - Book II

Setting - market-place of Ithaca, Telemachos' house, Odysseus' storehouse, the beach, the ship.

Characters - Telemachos, the criers, Athena, Aigyptios, Eurynomos, Peisenor, the Councillor, Antinoos, Zeus and his eagles, Halitherses Mastorides, Eurymachos, Mentor, Leocritos Euenorides, the wooers, Eurycleia, Penelopeia, boat crew.

First speech, Aigyptos - He tells everyone to shut up and listen to Telemachos.

Second speech, Telemachos - He says he has no business to talk about there except his own private needs. He explains the current situation with his mother and the suitors and tells them he wants them to leave because they won't ask her father for a proper proposal, eat all of his animals, and won't go away. Telemachos says he would defend himself if he could and that the men should be ashamed and fearful of the gods.

Third speech, Antinoos - He says that Telemachos has a ad temper and is blaming them for something thats not their fault. Antinoos says that the problem is Penelopeia's fault for tricking the nation for almost four years. She's been weaving a shroud for Laertes and said she'd pick a husband when shes done weaving it, but she unravels it every night. Once they discovered what shes doing she is forced to finish the shroud. He tells Telemachos to send his mother out of the house and make her marry somebody. Antinoos says that Athena has blessed her because Penelopeia is beautiful and clever, but she used her cleverness to trick them. He tells Telemachos that the suitors will not leave.

Fourth speech, Telemachos - He says he can't send his mom away because she bore and raised him and because he can't pay back the dowry to Icarios. Her dad will be bad enough, but she'll call down the Avengers on Telemachos. He says that if they think its right for these men to take his stuff, then they can go ahead, but he will ask Zeus for vengeance.

Fifth speech, Halitherses Mastorides - After the eagle thing, he says there will be trouble from Odysseus for anyone who tries to marry his wife and that there will trouble for anyone else who lives on Ithaca. He wants to talk about how to stop the men. He talks about how he previously made a prophecy about Odysseus that came true. His prophecy was that Odysseus would go to war, lose everything, and then come home 20 years later.

Sixth speech, Eurymachos - He rebukes Halitherses Mastorides and say that he can prophesy better than him in this case. He says that not every bird is an omen and that Odysseus is dead. He wishes Halitherses had died to so he wouldn't be talking like he knows what God wants and anger Telemachos. He says he expects that Halitherses is going to get some sort of gift from Telemachos later for saying all these things. If Halitherses continues cajoling Telemachos then Telemachos will be the first to suffer and Halitherses will pay. He says that the suitors won't leave because theres no one there to scare them off so Telemachos should just get his mom to marry one of them.

Seventh speech, Telemachos - He says that he has nothing more to say to the suitors because the gods and everyone else knows what he wants already. He wants to borrow a fast ship and twenty men to get him to Sparta and Pylos. He wants to find out about his father there. He says that if his father is alive, he'll wait for him, but if hes dead then he'll give him a funeral and give his mother away to a suitor.

Eighth speech, Mentor - Hes being sarcastic when he says that everyone should just be mean to each other and never kind and gentle and that noble Odysseus never ruled any of them like a kind father. He says he doesn't grudge all the people who are taking advantage of the house of Odysseus, but they're going to be sorry because they think he'll never come back. He is ashamed of the ones who are quiet and don't try to get rid of the suitors.

Ninth speech, Leocritos Euenorides - He says that Mentor is crazy and just wants to cause trouble. There are too many suitors for them to drive away, even if Odysseus came back he wouldn't be able to fight them off. He says that what Mentor says is backwards and everybody should just leave. He says Mentor and Halitherses should help Telemachos with his voyage, but they'll have to wait a long time for news because Telemachos will never complete the voyage.

The book ends with Telemachos, Athena, and his crew sailing.

Book II is the start of Telemachos' voyage. It also foreshadows the future conflict with Odysseus and the suitors.

I predict that Telemachos will find his dad and bring him home. I also predict that all the suitors will be killed.

Vocab. Words

mirth - Bugsy was filled with mirth when she got the steak bones.

liege - "My liege! How dost thou have known that I had snatched thine prize heffer from thine royal stables?" exclaimed the surprised stable-boy. 

parricide - Lizzy Borden committed a parricide.

verity - The teacher questioned the verity of Jake's excuse.

avarice - The dragon's avarice implored it to eat the kingsmen and raid the castle.

avaunt - Avaunt ye, scurvy devil!

posterity - Some of Shaky's posterity live in Juneau.

homage - The endearing fans paid homage to their blessed Avenged Sevenfold.

cloistered - The cloistered monks chanted all day long.

equivocator - The president is an equivocator. 

eminence - Eminence comes with the title of "Supreme Ruler of All".

avouch - The murderers went to the priest to avouch their sins.

thralls - The man became a thralls after reading "Ishmael".

malevolence - Harold had malevolence toward Fifi for breaking his Faberge egg.

Duff Man's Thoughts

Grand Scotland is surely headed to its ultimate doom. Our beloved King Duncan hath been murdered and the culprit is thus far still unbeknownst to I, along with the entirety of the nation. We all have our own suspicions though, including myself. Tonight is Macbeth's royal coronation, the day he is taken up into kingship, of which ceremony I shall not be attending. I am undecided as to whether or not Macbeth committed this heinous crime to our nation, but he has shown to acquire much suspicion. I fear our future highness is a murderer. I cannot attend the coronation tonight in good conscious. Perhaps by my not attending I have raised suspicion on myself? And what about the late king's sons? Where have they run off to, and why? Could they have killed their own dearest father? What of the drunken, dead guards? Rumor is that they had plotted to kill King Duncan. But then why did Macbeth kill them? He says to have slain them in love, but can he really be trusted at this point? Tis best not to think of such dastardly things. Yet, it is a necessary evil that that which we do not wish to think or speak of must be undivulged eventually if we are to truly understand such matters and therefore be able to aquire our own opinion in knowledge. Whoever the deceitful murderer, it is too late to attend the coronation now regardless of the possibility of my being accused of some sort of ill deed, and presently, our new "honorable and holy" King Macbeth is the primary suspect so it is surely best not to keep company with such villains. I must think on these issues more.

Vocab. Sentences

surmised - Frank surmised that Jill had taken his water buffalo after he stumbled upon some of such animal's droppings on her lawn.
bounteous - Carmichael, for that was the water buffalo's name, certainly had produced a bounteous supply of scat on Jill's lawn.
consort - For many months, Frank did not consort with Jill.
corporal - He did however, devise many plans to retrieve his water buffalo from Jill, many involving corporal punishment.
chalice - Perhaps he would place poison in her chalice.
undivulged - He must keep such plots undivulged though, unless the law somehow discovered Jill's body in the ditch outside of Saskatchewan.
prate - Frank suffered so greatly from his beloved water buffalo being gone, that he would prate for hours upon hours to himself.
dauntless - He was dauntless in his attempts at deducing whether or not Jill had actually taken Carmichael or if she had simply roamed through Jill's yard on her way to Burger King.
chastise - If it ended up that Carmichael had just gone to the nearest Burger King, Frank decided that he would chastise her for her deliberate stupidity.
surfeit - He considered not providing her with the surfeit of food she has become accustomed to over the years.

Essay For Short Story Unit Final

Some authors base their characters off other's creations, while some think outside the box

and create their own masterpieces. While in some characters it is harder to see similarities or

differences, in others it is easy. Nearly all characters can be compared and contrasted, even if

it's as obvious as they're both human or neither of them owns a pet platypus.


Leonard Mead from "The Pedestrian" is a simple man who enjoys walking at night instead of

watching T.V.. Commander Barton is the captain of an EDS ship flying to deliver important

medicine to another planet in "The Cold Equations." Other than both they're stories are

futuristic, they don't seem very similar, but they are in some ways. Both characters don't like

the rules that have been set for them. Mead doesn't think he should go to jail for just walking

down the street after dark and Barton doesn't want to follow the law and kill a young stowaway

girl on his ship.


It is easy to see how the house from "There Will Come Soft Rains" and Henry from "The

Californian's Tale" are similar. They both are unable to understand that the people they are

missing aren't there anymore. Their lives go on just as if nothing had happened. The house

continues with its daily schedule thinking that its inhabitants are still living in it and actually

going along with the routine. Henry believes that his wife, who is most likely dead and has been

absent for 19 years, will be returning home shortly from a visit to her family. They are different

in that the house thinks that its missing people are still there and Henry who, except before

around the time of year that his wife had left and he still believes that she is at home with him,

knows she is gone but thinks she is still coming back.


Harrison Bergeron, from the short story of the same name, and the lawyer from "The Bet"

are also similar and different. They are the same because Harrison Bergeron does not want to

follow the rules made by the government, and believes that they are stupid, and the lawyer, at

the end of the story, believes that the laws made by our society are wrong. They both defy their

societies and openly oppose them. However, Harrison is against society even in the beginning

because he wants to be the best as he thinks he rightfully should be, whereas the lawyer comes

to a deeper understanding of life by the story's end and throws away his old life and the

accepted ways for an as worthwhile and meaningful life as he can have in this world.


Almost all characters can be compared or contrasted. For some, the points may be blatantly

obvious, but you can dig deeper than just external attributes, and find more meaning in them.

"The Son From America"

Symbols - The money and Samuel's way of life represents how Samuel has changed since moving to America and new things. Berl and Berlcha symbolize the old ways of living and contentedness.

Plot - Exposition: We are introduced to Berl and his wife and the setting.
Inciting Event: Samuel arrives in Lentshin.
Rising Action: Samuel tries to help his mom with preparing for the Sabbath and they celebrate the Sabbath together.
Climax: Samuel asks his dad where the money is and he shows him.
Falling Action: Samuel talks to the old man in the synagogue.
Resolution: Samuel realizes you don't need money to be happy and Berlcha sings holy rhymes at the end of the story.

Protagonist - Samuel

Antagonist - Samuel

Conflict - Person vs. Self.

Summary - The story opens in the little village of Lentshin, Poland in the 1800s. We are introduced to Berl, an old traditional Jewish farmer, and his wife, Berlcha. They have a small farm and produce enough profit to be healthy, content, and keep their standard of living. Forty years ago, their then fifteen-year-old son, Samuel, had moved to America. Samuel has his own family now and even grandchildren that they did not know. Samuel sends his parents money every month but they do nothing with it, except save it in an old boot under the bed. One day, Samuel decides to visit his parents and sends them a cable, which they never receive. He shows up and unknowingly surprises his parents who are ecstatic at seeing him. Samuel asks what his parents did with the money he sent him and Berl shows him where they keep it. Samuel is shocked and asks why and they tell him that they don't need the money. While in Lentshin, Samuel tries to find a need for the money but is unsuccessful. Everyone is happy to keep living their uneventful lives and simply live on what they have and what God has already provided for them.

Theme - Not everyone needs or wants money to be happy and people can just simply be content with where they are and what their lives are.

"The Bet"

Protagonist - The lawyer because the whole conflict centers around him be it person vs. person or person vs. society.

Antagonist - Society because in the end the lawyer is going against every aspect of society. In person vs. person, the antagonist is the banker because in the beginning the lawyer is trying to prove him wrong. But the banker represents society so its still really person vs. society.

Conflict - Person vs. society because the lawyer is going against the belief that the life sentence is worse than the death penalty. The conflict is person vs. person if you don't dig too deep though because the the lawyer and the banker are opposing each other.

Symbols - The banker represents society and the money represents greed and society.

Exposition - The banker and lawyer are arguing.

Inciting Event - The lawyer accepts the bet.

Rising Action - Everything between when the bet is made and when the banker is reading the letter.

Climax - The banker reads the letter.

Falling Action - Everything that happens between when the banker is finished reading the letter and whe he puts it in the safe.

Resolution - The banker puts the letter in the safe.

Themes - "The Bet" is really all about the meaning of freedom. The lawyer is technically not free to leave his surroundings if he wants the money but he is free in his mind and his choices. He could have chosen to leave the lodge at any time. He is free in his choice of books and food. He could still think his own thoughts. Freedom is being able to do what you want and he could've. 

  The meaning of home is also present in this story. Home is a place where you can be yourself and are comfortable. I'm sure the lawyer had all the anemities he needed to be happy and he didn't have to bother about visitors. Although, home can also be the people that are connected with that place. I know that my home would not be a home if it were not for the family that lives in it. The lawyer made a good hermit though, and was quite content to not associate with any other human being.

Vocab. Sentences

The recalcitrant teenager rarely showed up for school.

The mountains of Sweden are simply sublime.

My mother's garden is anything but verdant.

The girl had an acrimonious attitude towards her siblings.

May flies live a very ephemeral life.

The poodle was tremulous at the sight of the rottweiler.

The silhouette of the trees in the wind made eerie shapes on the ceiling.

Wendy is psychopathic and should detained and put in an insane asylum.
The vet had to sedate the dog for it's shots.
The ghost town was filled with desolation after all the inhabitants left.

"The Thrill of the Grass"

Symbols: The baseball field symbolizes the man's love and his home. The old men that work in replacing the astro-turf symbolize nature, restoring the grass, "Nature temporarily defeated. But nature is patient."

The protagonist is the narrator guy and the antagonist is the people who decided to put astro-turf in the ballpark. The conflict is person vs. society because the conflict is centered around the protagonist being against whats socially acceptable, putting fake, rather than real, grass in baseball stadiums.

The point of view is first person.

The inciting event is when the guy goes through the door into the ballpark and sees the artificial turf becuase that makes him mad and starts him creating the plan to replace the grass. The climax is the night when the old men show up to help get rid of the fake grass because that is the height of the action in the story and also the moment we realize what the outcome of the story will be.

Brief summary of "The Thrill of the Grass": It is summer of 1981 and the baseball players are on strike. One obsessive baseball fanatic, who remains unnamed, likes to visit the stadium even if he doesn't go any farther than the parking lot. One evening, as he is admiring the stadium, the nameless narrator spots a door cut into the fence. Being an experience locksmith, the man opens the door and steps into the ball field. He quickly notices the astro-turf that has replaced the real grass of the ballpark. He hates it. The man then concocts a plan to remove all the artificial grass and replace it with the real stuff. He acquires the help of another known baseball worshipper and, with their team of old men, begin to act. Night after night they work to restore the baseball field to its natural beauty and soon their work is complete. Now they can only sit and wait for the players to return to the field to see what their reactions will be. 

This story is important becuase it shows us that we can change whatever we want to and make a difference no matter the odds. (Though I don't necessarily agree with that.)

The theme of "The Thrill of the Grass" is connected to home, freedom, and technology. The baseball park is like home to the narrator and he feels very strongly about it, even though its not a classic idea of "home". The astro-turf that has replaced the actual living grass in the field is technology and it has destroyed the narrator's idea of freedom, being able to feel and smell the real grass and get the real sense of home and baseball.

Vocab. Words

insolence - The young boy showed his full capacity for insolence at the dinner.
churlish - Mr. Gilamardi had a churlish behavior towards his co-workers.
irate - My grandmother was irate when I didn't put the fork on the left.
efficacy - The college student had the efficacy to go on to do great things.
cajole - He cajoled the deer towards him with jam.
pummel - My brother was pummeled by the large teenager.
perspicacity - She had the perspicacity to differentiate between right and wrong.
chagrin - Jehosaphat was filled with chagrin after tripping on the stage.
assiduously - She did her homework assiduously, not even taking a food break.
maliciously - The football team had malicious intent towards the chess club.

"The Cold Equations." Is Marilyn to blame?

Marilyn, the young stowaway on the EDS in "The Cold Equation", is totally to blame for her own actions. She knew she wasn't allowed to be on that ship. Although she did not know the consequences of her actions, she is still at fault. Marilyn is 18 and should be responsible enough to take the blame. Besides, if the guy on the EDS lets her live, they will still probably die anyways due to lack of fuel, and if they can't reach their destination 6 other people will die. Is one life really more important than 6? She should realize that she would be making 6 other innocent people suffer and die, just for her own sake. Marilyn knows that she'll just be killing herself, the ship's pilot, and other unknowing people if she decides to be selfish and live for just a short while longer. She knows she made a huge mistake, as innocent as it may seem, and she should fully be responsible for it. No one wants her to die (except John), it's just that she caused the whole problem and should be the one to deal with it. She should be willing to die knowing that she is saving the lives of 6 sick people. 

"Harrison Bergeron". Maybe "equality" isn't so equal.

The ideas of equality and freedom in "Harrison Bergeron" are simply that, ideas, and not very good ones either. Sure, they had good intentions, but Hitler believed he was doing "the right thing" too. In a world where everyone is "equal", we would all have to be at the lowest level of everything so as not to be better than someone else at something. Those with above-average abilities, that could help everyone by supplying new ideas and talents, would have to suppress their gifts. They would actually have it worse off than the average people, just as the best ballerina in the story had to carry around more weights and wear an extra hideous mask. (Which was ironic, considering you could tell she was "special" because of the amount of weights and the ugliness of the mask she was wearing. I guess no one would even be able process a thought long enough to retain that for more than 20 seconds though.) And was everyone really "equal" in that society anyway? What about the government officials and the people who had to enforce those preposterous laws? Surely they were allowed to keep their own minds? No one was even free! The government controlled when they thought and practically what they thought! Their ideas of freedom and equality don't represent actual freedom and equality very well. 

I would definitely not like to live in this kind of society. I would hate it in fact. Yes, everyone is technically "equal", but no one can even think! They have no mind of their own! Being different is what makes us special, unique. I, for one, enjoy the freedom that I have now. Some people are good dancers, others great public speakers, some excellent musicians. We all have our own talents and the world would be pretty boring without them. Where would all the good books and movies come from if no one were allowed to write well? Someone will always be better than you at something and you will always be better than someone else at something. We need a balance to life.  Plus, packing large weights around and hearing extremely annoying noises right in your head every 20 seconds is not my cup of tea.

"The Pedestrian" Epilogue

The drive on through the crisp November night was deathly silent. The car ignored all of my inquiries. We arrived shortly at a very large, white, modern building surrounded by scarce trees and bushes, of course no amount of space outdoors for walking. Not that they would allow me to do such "frivolous" activities anyway. The boldly-printed sign read, THE PSYCHIATRIC CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON REGRESSIVE TENDENCIES. The car stopped abruptly and my door was automatically opened. 

"Please exit the car Mr. Mead," stated the police car. I did as I was told. Just then, a stout woman dressed all in white appeared through the building's door and speedily walked toward me. "We've been expecting you, Mr. Mead. Please follow me," the woman said in a deep Germanic accent, practically grunted. When the car had contacted the psychiatric center I did not know. 

As I follwed the nurse toward the lifeless morgue of a building, the police car drove down the drive and back onto the street. The nurse opened the door for me and we entered the building. The hallway was coated in white and the flourescent lights only added to the "hospital effect". It was completely empty. No noise seemed to be present anywhere in the building. "I vill show you to your room now, Mr. Mead," the nurse spoke.

Doors upon doors lined the long hallway. Some were open. I quickly took a peek in a few of the doors and I was not excited about my future living quarters. The walls were covered with T.V.s. There was one plain bed and a matching plain chair in each room. We came to a door just like the others and stopped.

"Dis is your room, Mr. Mead," the woman said. "Rules. First, you are not to leave dis room under any circumstances unless accompanied by a doctor, nurse, or orderly. Second, no outside belongings or contact is allowed. Third, if you break these rules you will be severely punished according to our standards. Meal times are at 8 a.m., 12 noon, and 5 in the evening. You are late, you get no food. At 2 p.m. an orderly vill come and supervise you vhile you get a half hour of free-time. Also, staff members can and vill take you out of your room periodically for study. Fortunately for you, we have provided many channels on your television. Enjoy your time with us, Mr. Mead." She paused. "Any questions?"

I was shocked. I thought for a moment and the replied, "Yes ma'am, I would like to know how long I will be staying here?" I did not hide the anger in my voice. 

"Good night, Mr. Mead," the woman said as she closed the door. She locked the door behind her and I could hear her footsteps echo down the hallway. Perhaps another innocent man had arrived and was being placed in this dreadful institution. I sat on the bed and despairingly laid down. I'm not crazy, I kept repeating to myself. Eventually, I drifted off into a restless slumber, that mantra repeating in my head.