The Most Dangerous Game Review

Author

• Richard Connell (1893-1949) wrote the short story, The Most Dangerous Game; it's his only story that is widely read today and won the O. Henry Memorial Prize (1924).
• Was born in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1893; he had one older sister and two younger ones his parents were Mary Miller and Richard Edward Connell, Sr.
• Married Louise Herrick Fox the same year he sold his first short story (1919).
• Traveled the world and settled in Beverly Hills, California, where he died of a heart attack at age 56, in 1949.

The Scarlet Ibis Review

Author

• James Hurst is the author of  the short story The Scarlet Ibis.
• Was born in 1922 on a farm near Jacksonville, North Carolina.
• A famous quote by him is: "I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.”  This quote indicates the double-sidedness of pride, and how the brother's pride let to Doodle's death.
• Attended North Carolina State University and studied chemical engineering.
• Served in the army for 3 years during World War II, after graduating.

The Gift of the Magi Review

Author

• William Sydney Porter wrote The Gift of the Magi; he was born in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1862, whenever he wrote he used the name O. Henry.
• He was the second child of Dr. Alegernon Porter and Mary Jane Porter; he was called Will as a kid.
• His dad did not have a medical degree but was considered the town's doctor.  O. Henry's early life coincides with the Civil War, in which his father worked at the field hospital outside Greensboro.

Animal Farm Summary

Chapter 1

• The first chapter of the book opens on the Manor Farm, with Mr. Jones drunkenly locking in the farm. Word had gone around that day that Old Major had a dream he wished to communicate to his fellow animals, so they had agreed to meet in the old Barnhouse as soon as Mr. Jones was out of the way.
• Old Major was on a raised platform, and the animals progressively came in, all except Moses (the raven).