Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Lee K. Abbott's "One of Star Wars, One of Doom"

Post your responses in the comments.

16 comments:

  1. Lee K. Abbott’s short story One of Star Wars, One of Doom was filled with detail and thoughts of the different people in the story. You learn all about who Mr. DeWine is and at the end of the story he walk towards the gunshots and tells himself it is not. He gave himself up to Whiskey and Tango. I think that he didn’t like the life that he lived and that he was all right with dying. I believe he didn’t like his wife or really anybody but just filled that gap with sex. It seemed like he was constantly thinking about sex. He also talked about his fathers hands and he said “I don’t think he ever struck me in anger.” To me this sounds like forgiveness towards his father for beating him in a way. This must have been something that has bothered him for a while if it was the last thing on his mind before he was about to die. His wife must’ve also had some sort of idea that he was promiscuous because she knew he was going towards the library to see Ms. Petty. She seemed to be more worried about what he was doing in the moments before his death than his actual death, which tells me she and Mr. DeWine were not doing well in their relationship, which is why I believe he gave himself up so easily.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lee Abbott’s “One of Star Wars, One of Doom” was disturbingly descriptive for me. I was confused for a while as I tried to keep up with whose thoughts were being portrayed through the narrative. But overall, I got the feeling that Mr. DeWine was okay with dying. This was because as he moved closer to the gunfire, he kept telling himself that it was just a prank in the bathroom or a fire. He didn’t want to believe it was gun fire, yet he did not run. I feel as if he was unhappy with his life back home with his wife. Also I think he knew something had happened to Leanne Petty because he asked everyone where she was and no one could answer him. Therefore, he had nothing to live for because he no longer would no longer get the sex from Leanne that filled the void in him that his wife couldn’t fill. I think his wife knew he was cheating because she had figured out that he was going towards the library for Leanne. The narrative said, “Mr. DeWine is being a good sport” and this proves he was ready to die and he wanted to die with a clear mind as he forgave his father for abusing him. I also think that the last line when Mr. DeWine thinks that he had more things to say that maybe he was thinking about apologizing to his wife for cheating. But there’s little evidence to that. I think that it could’ve been his thought because I think he wanted to die with a clear conscience as he forgave his father so maybe he also wanted to apologize to his wife. Also, the narrator speaks of some type of letter or written message in his pocket. That could be a letter to his wife explaining what he has been doing and that would explain why Leanne was crying in the beginning of the story. She said that Mr. DeWine wouldn’t listen to her, so I think it could mean he wanted to tell his wife and she didn’t want him to. This could also be why Mr. DeWine was calm about dying because if he was going to present to his wife that he had been cheating, then life as he knew it would have been ending anyways. I could be completely wrong, but that was my guess.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This story was very entertaining and disturbing at the same time. I like that it was very descriptive and discussed how scandalous Mr. DeWine is, it really makes you wonder about what your teachers do outside of the school. It also makes you question what your teachers really think of you. This story strongly reminded me of the Columbine massacre and that's why I found it to be disturbing. In a way it gives you an idea of how the students there were feeling when that situation occurred. I also found the story to be rather confusing because it kept switching in between the thoughts of Mr. DeWine, Tango, and Whiskey, I'm wondering if the reason is because there is some kind of connection between them. I wish I knew how the story ended how did Mr. DeWine end up the hero?

    ReplyDelete
  4. The story “One of Star Wars, One of Doom” by Lee K. Abbott was really hard to read in the sense that it is based of a school shooting. Unfortunately events like this have occurred in great amounts in the past few years, and this story really describes, in great detail, what goes through the heads of the shooters, the teachers, and the students. When the story began, I didn’t really understand why I was reading about a man having an affair with another woman and fantasizing about her in strange ways, but it really does play a big role in the rest of the story. When the shootings begin, Mr. DeWine, can’t stop thinking about wanting to go visit his mistress, Ms. Petty, in the library. During this, the author is also describing what is happening in the library with the gunmen. Reading that park of the story was especially hard. The great detail that the event is described is very disturbing and something that I personally find hard read. As Mr. DeWine heads toward the library, people are rushing by him to go the other way. At one point a student even tells him that they are in the library, but he still tries to believe that it wasn’t gunfire he was hearing, that it was just a fire. He keeps walking through the smoke until he can clearly hear that it is actually guns being shot, and even at that point he doesn’t turn and run, he just keeps walking. This to me was strange. It seems that it should be almost a reaction to run, but he didn’t. This led me to believe that he was willing to die, not even knowing that his mistress was dead, but just at the idea of not being able to be with her, his life was over anyways. He was regarded as a hero prior to this event, but by how I read this, he didn’t seem like a hero to me. He was going to the library for his own selfish ways, not to try to stop the gunman in some noble act.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The story "One of Star Wars, One of Doom" was a really hard story to get through. At first, I didn't fully understand what was going on because Lee K. Abbott goes into detail about each person in the story and then when I finally realized what was happening, I didn't want to continue yet I had to just to see how things turn out. Mr. DeWine played a huge role in the whole story and I didn't understand why the whole story focused on him mainly until the end. Mr. DeWine was an unhappy man and this was proven towards the end of the story. Although he was called a hero, I don't know if that's what actually is going on here. I mean, he did save others lives by coming into the library but at the same time, he was going towards the library for all the wrong reasons. He first wanted to find out where Ms. Petty was, despite the fact that he was a married man. I feel like if it's someone's last moments and they're slightly aware of the possibility that something is wrong, I would assume that they would think about the person who they love and cherish most. In this case, Mr. DeWine thought about the woman in which he was having an affair with. I don't think he was headed towards the libraries with others in mind, it was for his own personal gain. As if the news of Ms. Petty not being found or accounted for was heartbreaking and worth dying over. This story was slightly confusing just because of the fact that so many people's point of views were shown. It was extremely difficult to get through, for me but so interesting at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lee K. Abbott’s, “One of the Star Wars, One of Doom”, was a very descriptive narrative. The passage had many thoughts and details of the different characters and I personally got confused at times trying to keep everyone straight. I think the author did this because in bad situations like gunshots and chaos there is normally not any order. This gives the reader a feeling of how the characters felt hyped and maybe unorganized during this situation. It sickens me to think about school shootings. How can any person think it’s okay to do such a thing. This story shows the thought of the shooters, students, and teachers. So you can get a good perception of how everyone in the situation really feels. Since we have seen a lot of school shootings recently, this story really makes you think and feel sad for people who unfortunately had to actually deal with this.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lee K.Abbotts "one of Star Wars, One of Doom was a very interesting read. the thought of a school shooting is all too familiar within America today. The narration of the book was very interesting and I liked how you got to see inside the mind of all three of the main characters. I found myself questioning what I would do if I was in Mr. DeWine's position. I would like to thing I'd play hero but who knows. the three person narration was my favorite part of the story because it gave an interesting perspective on the situation.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The short story “One of Star Wars, One of Doom” was the most descriptive short story that we have read in this class but it was also the most disturbing. I had trouble getting through the whole story, at first it was very confusing because Lee K. Abbot was talking and describing each individual person. Then towards the end, the story became really disturbing and it was hard to finish reading the end. The worst part of reading this was knowing that everything that had happened in the story was all real. It is scary to think that this could happen anywhere and now thanks to this story, I have become a lot more paranoid. I was never really worried about anything like this but the part that made me realize that this could happen is when the teacher came into the library and she told them that they were good kids. They told her that they still are and that is one of the most disturbing parts of the story. How can someone kill innocent people for no reason and still think that they are being good. I don’t understand what goes through someone’s mind and how twisted they must be to actually carry this out. This is a scary and disturbing story and I don’t like it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The short story “One Of Star Wars, One of Doom” was extremely detailed. At times I had trouble thinking about if certain actions were happening in the present or the past. There was so much detail about the lives of the characters to the point where I often got sidetracked wondering how it was relevant. As the story continued and it became more disturbing I soon realized what the author was trying to accomplish by adding in so much detail. These were normal people, living normal lives who never dreamed something like this would happen to them. I liked that the author got into the minds and lives of the teachers students and the shooters. It was sad and sometimes depressing to know what they were thinking. The ending of the story is thrilling and confusing all at the same time. As Mr. Dewitt stands in the hallway with Whisky the scene becomes calm. They begin taking about normal things and you think that there is no way that he is going to shoot this man. But then, he raises the gun to his head. I feel like Mr. Dewitt wasn’t really afraid to die/didn't really care if he did, and that is why he stayed so calm.

    ReplyDelete
  10. "One of Star Wars, One of Doom" was a confusing but interesting story. The story involved a teacher named Mr. Devine and two boys who were planning to use bombs in the school. The teacher Mr. Devine portrayed a person that was always "stuck in his head" and didn't really enjoy his job. I thought it was interesting of all the thoughts he had thoughout the day, like fantasies of another teacher and how he viewed his students. His thoughts showed that he is human and just because he is a teacher doesn't mean he doesn't think like everyone else. But Mr. Devine was always occupied with the past and wasn't really in the future because he couldn't concentrate when teaching. His thoughts would shift to thinking of a student's personality, refering to something historical, his parents or Ms. Petty. This especially didn't help when the shooting occurred because he was the only person who didn't understand what was happening and believed it was a fire. But I didn't understand the shooter's intentions when he said that what he was doing was just business. I started to think the shooting was similar to real school shootings that happened such as Sandy Hook. I thought the shooter, Tango and his sidekick Whiskey were the result of being bullied and decided to deal with it by harming the people. But toward the end of the story the author mentioned that Mrs. Devine was the widow of a hero. So this left me wondering how Mr. Devine was a hero. I thought that maybe his conversation with Whiskey caused Whiskey to end the shooting. During the end of the story Whiskey asked Mr. Devine if there was anything else and when he said yes, I thought this would be the conversation that stopped the shooter from causing harm.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think that Mr. DeWine was a deeply depressed man. He tried many different things so he could fill the void. He turned to alcohol and sex to try and destroy or push away the images he had about his abuse when he was younger. He was living under a dark cloud and he felt as though he couldn't escape. His wife knew that he was cheating and yet he still continued. When he found out he couldn't fill the void he was ready to die. First he had to forgive. He for have the people who hurt him the most in his life. When at last he had a clear mind he was ready to go.

    ReplyDelete
  12. "One of Star Wars, One of Doom." That title from the start does not really make much sense based on the plot of the story. This story was a jumble of thoughts and was very hard to follow, but towards the end I was finally able to make sense of what was going on. I knew at the beginning of the story that it had something to do with a school because the character Dr. Dewine was teach a class. On the second to last page of this story is when it all made sense. The two boys that were talked about throughout the story were trying to set off two home made bombs in their school. In their conversation one of the kids states "'FAT MAN and little boy,' the kid is saying. 'I must've fucked up the timers." It all made sense now because it was those two kids in the story that had set up these bombs. At that point since the story went full circle, it was quite horrifying to read the ending of this story. These kids had not mercy for anyone and whiskey killed his teacher for no other reason but the pleasure. Dr. DeWine is a very respectable character in this story, he accepted his death with dignity. He was more concerned why the boys had to do this, and come to Mr. DeWine's disappointment they told him it was for no real reason. These boys in the story are troubled and angry. Their fury blinds them from what a rational way of solving their life problems is. Maybe at the end of this story Whiskey will start to question his actions to see if they were justifiable in his mind. When the mind is broken, people can lose sight in what is right and wrong. Unfortunately our human society drives people to insanity, but no one is brave enough to stop the cruelty that is constantly inflicted.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lee K. Abbott’s short story One of Star Wars, One of Doom was filled with thoughts of the different people in the story. I was confused for a while trying to keep up with whose thoughts were being portrayed in the story. The story it really makes you wonder about what your teachers do outside of the school. It also makes you question what your teachers really think of you. When they talked about how Dr, Dewine was a hero, I didn't see him as a hero. I believe that when he went to the library that he wasn't thinking of the other people but only of his mistress Ms. Petty. He went to the library in only thinking of himself and Ms. Petty. He was just being selfish and not trying to do some noble act to save other peoples lives. He only wanted to save one.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I thought the short story "One of Star Wars, One of doom" was very interesting. I thought that it was kind of hard to follow because sometimes I couldn't determine who was thinking what. As I kept reading it became more clear for me. I came to the conclusion that Dr. Dewine didn't really care about his life. For me, when I hear a gunshot my first instinct would be to turn around and go the other way. Dr. Dewine did the opposite. When he heard the gunshots he walked towards the noise instead of walking away. He refused to believe that there was gunshots. As he got closed he determined that they were gunshots but he kept moving closer anyways. I believe this is because he didn't care if he died which I think is pretty depressing. Also this story really made me think. I never really thought about my teachers personal lives, or what they thought about me or other students, of if they fantasize about other teachers or even students. This story brought up many unanswered questions for me.

    ReplyDelete
  15. "One of Star Wars, One of Doom" is a very detailed description of the Columbine massacre at Columbine High School. At first, it was a little difficult to read because the sentences were very long with a lot of details and different ideas in each one, but it got easier as the story progressed. You get the different thoughts, feelings, and personalities of a lot of different people through the details in this story, including students, a couple teachers, and the two killers. I never realized how long they had been planning to kill their classmates, or how many weapons they had when they carried out their plan, but this story has let me know. The two students that carried out the massacre, Whiskey and Tango, had been planning it for over a year, and spent that time getting the necessary materials for their plan to be successful. When it finally came time to carry out the plan, Tango admits that he is really scared to do it. To comfort him, Whiskey says they will get nachos afterwards, which is obviously not true, but it comforts him enough to continue with the massacre. When they get to the library to clear it out, Mr. DeWine, one of the teachers, gives up his life to save the rest of the people in the library. Some people may not see him as a hero, but I believe anyone that willingly gives up their life to save another's, even if it's only one, is a hero. This was a very good, detailed story that has taught me a lot about the Columbine shooting, even if that wasn't the actual intention, because it helped me understand how the day of the shooting progressed and eventually ended.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The short-story, "One of Star Wars, One of Doom" was nothing of what I imagined it to be. Just by reading the title alone I automatically thought of a space, Sci-Fi genre. When I started reading the passage, it was quite confusing and hard to grasp what exactly was happening or if the narrator was speaking in from things in the past or present. As I continued, I noticed that out of all the people mentioned Mr. Dewine is the main focus. He is described as a very distracted, deppressed, messed p man. As if his mind weren't all there in class like it should be, and later on the reader sees why. Throughout the whole reading I found it interesting how detailed and intuitive the narrator is of everyone. She is very analytical, judgemental and so sure of what they're thinking, what they are going to do,and how will they react to certain situations. The narrator's thoughts and feelings toward everythhing in school is very negative. The mood is very bothersome, annoyed, and predictable with all of these over- achievers, do gooders, and “mother***r's”. As I read more about Mr. Dewine, I realized how much of a miserable man he was and how his expressions, actions, and odd, lost behavior portrayed this to be so. This is why I was not completely surprised with the ending. Over-all, for me it has been one of the most interesting and relatable short-stories we have read so far.

    ReplyDelete