Assignment: Pg. 1627; #2

#2: Compare Counterparts and Like a Winding Sheet, arguing whether the authors have or have not prepared us for the endings.

In Counterparts, there was a lot to understand and take in. There were some hidden meanings and parallelism as well. I understand that Farrington had a bad day at work, getting yelled at and getting into trouble with his superiors and all, along with losing an arm wrestling match, but I don't really see how it set up the ending of the story. I did not expect what happened to be the actual ending. Beating his son is a possibility, yes, as to get all his anger of his life out, but in regards to everything else happening in the story before, I do not think the author prepared us for that ending. However, in Like a Winding Sheet, I think the author efficiently prepared us for the ending. Johnson thinks to himself more than once about wanting to punch someone in the face due to anger, but wouldn't because they were a woman. Once that was said, I feared right away for his wife. Johnson's anger had been kindling throughout the whole story, and I could see how it was all come out on his wife in the end. The author did not make the hints discrete, as I thought the other of Counterparts did. It was clear as day. In regards to both the endings of the stories in general, they were just sad.