7 The Jockey by Carson McCullers

There was a jockey called Bitsy Barlow. He went to the dining room of a hotel. He was angry with three men, Sylvester the trainer, Simmons the bookie, and the rich man the owner of Seltzer, the horse. Six months ago Bitsy's good friend, McGuire, and Irish rider, broke his leg and hip on the track. Now Bitsy received a letter that one leg of McGuire is 2 inches shorter than the other. Bitsy hated these three men who still enjoyed their elegant meal. Sylvester kept telling Bitsy to be reasonable. Simmons said that Bitsy was crazy. In the end, Bitsy went to the bar alone drinking. Then he went back, ate some French fries, spat them on the floor and left. Now he weighs 112.5 pound. He was super skinny.

6 Brooksmith by Henry James

Mr. Offord opened up his home for a society that discuss philosophy, poetry, and art. Brooksmith was his butler and became one of the members of the society. The narrator was a member and became very close to Brooksmith. To Brooksmith, Mr. Offord is everything and he craved for communication and society. Mr. Offord eventually died and Brooksmith was sold to become a servant to lower classes. The narrator wanted to help Brooksmith, but he could not. Brooksmith began living with his aunt and his mother when he was ill. The narrator finally met Brooksmith for the first time when Brooksmith's aunt came to tell him Brooksmith wanted to see him. They did not say much to each other, because Brooksmith's aunt and mother kept checking out what they were talking about. The next time the narrator met Brooksmith was when he went to a restaurant. Brooksmith was a waiter, but he never looked at the narrator. Then he disappeared for 3 years. The narrator went to many invitations just to increase his chance of meeting Brooksmith, but he never showed up. The narrator thought that he was avoiding him on purpose. Brooksmith was spoiled and was never happy again. One day, Brooksmith's aunt went to see the narrator and told him that Brooksmith was missing. He supposed to go to a large party as a waiter, but he never showed up and was never seen again. The narrator was always reminded of Brooksmith's ghost and how he had been spoiled.

http://thestorygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2011/09/short-story-spotlight-brooksmith-by.html

5 The Other Side of the Hedge by E. M. Forster

The narrator was running an unending race. He kept looking at his pedometer to make sure he was making some progress. The road is monotony and he was tired, so he stopped. He began thinking about what's on the side of the road. He decided that he would take a look on the side of the road then quickly come back to the road he was on. He crawled through the thorns and he lost everything he has and was hurt. At last he dropped into a moat. He struggled to get up until an old man pulled him up on the other side of the moat. The old man told him that many had come, but few returned to the other side. He asked the old man where the road they were on leads, but he said that it goes nowhere. The narrator was stumped. He desperately wanted to get back, but the old man would not allow him to. They saw a white gate opens outward that leads to the road, but the gate was shut. The old man told him it was the beginning of the road where all people left, but they will also come back through another door when they were tired and left dead. He was surprised to meet so many people he knew. He felt sympathy for those people who work for nothing in this world. The narrator was hungry and tired, but he knew he couldn't sleep or else he will never get back. Then he saw another gate opening inward that is half transparent. A man with beer running past the narrator. The hungry and thirsty narrator ran towards him and snatched the drink out of his hand and began drinking. Then he saw the old man shuts the gate saying all humanity will come through this gate. The man whose drink the narrator stole was his brother.

4 The Saint by V. S. Pritchett (finished 9/2/2011)

A boy and his uncle believed that nothing in the world is evil, because God created man, how can He create anything that harms man. They belonged to the Church of the Last Purification of Toronto, Canada. They lived in an English market town. The boy always went to boat, or punt, on the river. One day, when he was seventeen, Mr. Timberlake came to talk to him about his problem of thinking about origin of Evil. They always use Error to represent Evil. When they were on the boat in the river, Mr. Timberlake wanted to take charge of the boat, but he was not as good as the boy. He caused them to row into a bunch of tree branches, but he did not duck them. He got caught in one branch and he hold on it and fell into the water. The boy went to pick up the soaked Mr. Timberlake and wanted to take him back. Mr. Timberlake refused and did not take his soaking wet clothes off. Then they continued paddling until they reached a bend where they landed. The lay down on the yellow buttercups and Mr. Timberlake was covered with yellow and appeared golden when he got up. They went back home, but Mr. Timberlake still did not change his clothes or get near the fire. He was just thinking about the train back to London. After 16 years, the boy heard that Mr. Timberlake had died of heart disease. The doctor said that it was a miracle that he had survived over the past 20 years until he was 57. A little shock would kill him, but he survived. Since the experience the boy lost his faith. (I do not understand the "ape" eating up his heart.) (Now I understand what the "ape" means. The ape is the false, foolish belief that Mr. Timberlake believed wholeheartedly in. The boy was once followed by the ape, but now he was not. The ape helped Mr. Timberlake to stay alive for over twenty years, so he would not have a heart attack. Still he died of heart failure.)