Gooseberries, By Anton Chekhov (1898)

 When I read the story, I felt that this story is a tragedy. Ivan is a quite pessimistic character. People usually focus on their own happiness, not other's pain. Nikolay's simple dream just ended up like a sorry distortion of itself. Ivan learned the meaings of life, but he is an old man, who is unable to chase them. He have wanted to spread his thoughts to Alyohin and Burkin, but they found the story uninteresting and sleepy. Therefore, no one in this short story is actually fulfilled, or will ever be. Since this is a new type of story I haven't read, I rated it 8.5 out of 10.

The lady with the dog, By Anton Chekhov (1899)

  The lady with the dog, By Anton Chekhov (1899) This story, which tells us about an affair between Anna and Gurov, looks quite immora. The author tried to show the patheti relationship between Anna and Gurov, anyway they are having an affair. In the story, it is said that Gurov is marriedd at a young age but he calls his wife unintelligent, narrow and inelegant. He was tired of the marriage and kept meeting other girls. But, same to Anna. Having love with and unknown girl, was quite interesting for Gurov. They bagan to know each other for a long time and Anna suddenly felt guilty for herself and for her husband.  So I was surprised when the author ended the story with the two lovers agonizing about their future. However, that the behaviors of Gurov and Anna should not be judged by our modern mindset. Although what Gurov and Anna are doing is wrong, Chekhov did the best in showing the strange avidities and restrictions of life. I quite liked the story, so I give 8.5/10.

The Student, By Anton Chekhov (1894)

The Student, By Anton Chekhov (1894)  There is a four stage in the hero's journey. The hero, meets a mentor, and gets advises. In the case of "The Student", this stage of the hero's journey did not appear.  Ivan, the student who is reflecting the author's willing, is the protagonist in the story. Anton Chekhov wrote this story in Russia, and tried to show Russia in the story.  The story's hero, Ivan develops his own point of view from his experiences, and the background of Vasilisa and Lukerya. Since I like someone who is independent, this part of the story attracted me. 

A Sound of Thunder, By Ray Bradbury (1952)

A Sound of Thunder, By Ray Bradbury (1952) Rating: 6/10 This story was not bad,but not interesting.  The main character, Eckles got on the time machine, did many things on the past including fighting with a dinosaurs, and finally comes back to a little bit changed ordinary world.  It's just a typical SF novel,  containing a lot of cliche elements. I don't really like those stories including cliches, so that is why I rated this story 6 out of 10.  The only part I liked, was about the butterfly effect. I usually really liked the butterfly effect, since it makes me think that I can influence a lot of people.  It was very interesting that the commonly used word butterfly effect originated from this novel. However, this book was not more than entertaining, so I gave 6 out of 10.