Ursula LeGuin wrote "Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?" because she wanted to send out a message. She wants people to use their imaginations without going too far in a world of fantasy. LeGuin also feels that humans should be taking a mature, humane, trusting approach to the truth. Of all the short stories read in the ENG OAO class, LeGuin would appreciate "By the waters of Babylon" the most.

LeGuin would really like the message that Willa Cather has portrayed in "Paul's Case". This story shows the reader that there is a certain level of imagination, which one must not exceed. LeGuin calls this the "discipline of the imagination" (327). Cather sends us this message by having Paul jump in front of a train to commit suicide at the end of the story. All of his problems were building up and he tried to avoid them, but they all came back to him and he was overwhelmed.

LeGuin would like Paul's character at the beginning of the story because he allowed his mind to engage in free play, such as when "he sat down before a blue Rico and lost himself" (144). Later on in the story he got carried away with his imagination and he repressed reality. This is what LeGuin would not lik

There is no misunderstanding in the message that Stephen Vincent Benet wanted to depict when he wrote "By the waters of Babylon." In the first part of young John's journey, he, as well as the reader, think that the victims of the Great Burning were Gods. In this frame of mind, the reader wonders what could have happened to cause this annihilation. Later on in the journey, when it is realized that the "Gods" were in fact human beings, the reader is struck with the alarming thought of this same situation happening to our society. The reader is assured that the "Gods" were actually humans when John, son of John says "I knew then that they had been men, neither gods nor demons." (249)

LeGuin believes in a mature, humane, trusting approach to the truth. The characters in "The Lottery" do nothing near this. No one in the town even knows how the tradition came about; they just ignorantly follow it. Old Man Warner says angrily, "There's always been a lottery" (256). This shows that the only reason everyone participates in the event is because it has always been around. They are simply following the footsteps of those before them. Children learn from examples set from their elders, and this is made known in the story by the following quote: "The children had stones already, and someone gave little Dave Hutchinson a few pebbles." (258) The story ends without punishing the inhumane characters and this makes it difficult for the reader to obtain the message that Shirley Jackson is sending ou

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Approximate Word count = 1011
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)