Midair

Sean's entire existence is the essence of the title of this story.  He seems to have no direction.  He goes from one fleeting moment to the next until he finally comes to a moment of understanding at the end.  It was as if his father had suspended Sean's fate not just Sean himself.  Since the time in 1942, he did things based on desire.  There isn't much in the story that is based on logical reasoning.  He is intelligent, but his emotions have too much control over him.  I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I appreciated that it didn't end in death as I suspected it might. 

The Used-Boy Raisers

I love the way that Paley plays with the names in this story.  The two men in this story have been named Livid and Pallid.  The names immediately show that the men are completely different, yet they have lived the same family life.  The title itself, "The Used-Boy Raisers," confused me until I got to the end.  There is an implication that there's something wrong with these boys because they are "used," and it is natural to think that something that is new is better than used.  There's nothing actually wrong with the boys.  They are just average boys.  The story is about the two men that are a part of these boys lives.  It seems as though it should be an awkward situation, but for this family it isn't.  It is awkwardly natural for this family.  These boys have two dads and these men accept their fate sharing these boys and, in a way, their mother as well.    

"A Good Man is Hard to Find"

I think that it is odd that F O'C left the main character, the grandmother, unnamed in this story. She also doesn't name the wife or the baby, but she gives names to the people running "The Tower" and the other two men who murder the family. The two older children in the story are badly behaved. The grandmother chatters throughout the entire story. She talks about being "a lady" and about being a Christian and tells the children how they should behave, but she doesn't act like a Christian herself. She tries to manipulate the family into going to Tennessee instead of Florida, she gossips with the people at The Tower, she lies to the children about the secret door in the old house, she blatantly disregards her son's wishes about the cat staying at home, and she fakes an injury when she has none in order to gain sympathy from her son. In the end, she tries to bring the "Misfit" to Jesus so he won't kill her, but she seems like she has little concern for the family members who are already dead. She calls out for her son twice in the story, but her cries seemed like a plea for her own life instead of his. Her behavior throughout the story seemed like a foreshadowing of the ending. She talked about the Misfit a couple of times in the story so it is evident he will show up somewhere. The ending is disturbing, but not all unexpected. The way that F O'C described the south and southern behavior was excellent.