Thursday, February 17, 2011

Zona Gale / Bill


BILL
By Zona Gale

 Bill was thirty when his wife died, and little Minna was four. Bill’s carpenter shop was in the yard of his house, so he thought that he could keep his home for Minna and himself. All day while he worked at his bench, she played in the yard, and when he was obliged to be absent for a few hours, the woman next door looked after her. Bill could cook a little, coffee and bacon and fried potatoes and flapjacks, and he found bananas and sardines and crackers useful. When the woman next door said it was not the diet for four-year-olds, he asked her to teach him to cook oatmeal and vegetables, and though he was always burned the dishes in which he cooked these things, he cooked them every day. He swept, all but corners, and he dusted, dabbing at every object; and he complained that after he had cleaned the windows he could not see as well as he could before. He washed and patched Minna’s little garments and mended her doll. He found a kitten for her so that she wouldn’t be lonely. At night he heard her say her prayer, kneeling in the middle of the floor with her hands folded, and speaking like lightning. If she forgot the prayer, he either woke her up, or else he made her say it the first thing in the morning. He himself used to pray: “Lord, make me do right by her if you see me doing wrong.” On Sundays, he took her to church and listening with his head on one side, trying to understand, and giving Minna peppermints when she rustled. He stopped work for a day and took her to the Sunday-school picnic. “Her mother would of,” he explained. When Minna was old enough to go to kindergarten, Bill used to take her morning or afternoon, and he would call for her. Once he dressed himself in his best clothes and went to visit the school. “I think her mother would of,” he told the teacher, diffidently. But he could make little of the colored paper and the designs and the games, and he did not go again. “There’s something I can’t be any help to her with,” he thought.
Minna was six when Bill fell ill. On a May afternoon, he went to a doctor. When he came home, he sat in his shop for a long time and did nothing. The sun was beaming through the window in bright squares. He was not going to get well. It might be that he had six months. … He could hear Minna singing to her doll.
When she came to kiss him that night, he made an excuse, for he must never kiss her now. He held her arm’s length, looked in her eyes, said: Minna’s a big girl now. She doesn’t want Papa to kiss her.” But her lip curled and she turned away sorrowful, so the next day Bill went to another doctor to make sure. The other doctor made him sure.
He tried to think what to do. He had a sister in Nebraska, but she was a tired woman. His wife had a brother in the city, but he was a man of many words. And little Minna… there were things known to her which he himself did not know—matters of fairies and the words of songs. He wished that he could hear of somebody who would understand her. And he had only six months…
Then the woman next door told him bluntly that he ought not to have the child there, and him coughing as he was; and he knew that his decision was already upon him.
One whole night he thought. Then he advertised in a city paper:

A man with a few months more to live would like nice people to adopt his little girl, six, blue eyes, curls. References required.

They came in limousine, as he had hoped that they would come. Their clothes were as he had hoped. They had with them a little girl who cried: “Is this my little sister?” On which the woman in the smart frock said sharply:
“Now then, you do as mama tells you and keep out of this or we’ll leave you here and take this darling little girl with us.”
So Bill looked at this woman and said steadily that he had now other plans for his little girl. He watched the great blue car roll away. “For the land sake!” said the woman next door when she heard. “You done her out of fortune. You hadn’t the right—a man in your health.” And then the other cars came, and he let them go, this woman told her husband that Bill ought to be reported to the authorities.
The man and woman who walked into Bill’s shop one morning were still mourning their own little girl. The woman was not sad—only sorrowful, and the man, who was tender of her, was a carpenter. In blooming of his hope and his dread, Bill said to them: “You’re the ones.” When they asked: “How long before we can have her?” Bill said: “One day more.”
That day he spent in the shop. It was summer and Minna was playing in the yard. He could hear the words of her songs. He cooked their supper and while she ate, he watched. When he had tucked her in her bed, he stood in the dark hearing her breathing. “I’m a little girl tonight—kiss me,” she had said, but he shook his head. “A big girl, a big girl,” he told her.
When they came for the next morning, he had her ready, washed and mended, and he had mended her doll. “Minna’s never been for a visit!” he told her buoyantly. And when she ran toward him, “A big girl, a big girl,” he reminded her.
He stood and watched the man and woman walking down the street with Minna between them. They had brought her a little blue parasol in case the parting should be hard. This parasol Minna held bobbing above her head, and she was so absorbed in looking up at the blue silk that she did not remember to turn and wave her hand.





148 comments:

  1. At the beginning, before reading this short story I thought it was kind of boring because sometimes we have negative feelings with literature but when I began reading this amazing story I felt I was inside, in my imagination I was living every single moment as the author was narrating and describing each detail. I could say the moment I like the most was when Bill was diagnosed sick (maybe tuberculosis) and that motivated me to keep reading until the end, however I didn't figure out that he was going to die and that his daughter Minna was going to be adopted. Those are genuine finals of the stories, the reader will never know how the tale is going to finish; they are so unexpected!!

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  2. This writing made me think of how unpredictable life is and how suddenly it could change our points of view or just our own decisions.
    On the other hand, this a writing which plays with our feelings, meaning, even you think you're reading the happy part, suddenly a bad thing happens and then you begin to feel the sorrow of the actor.
    As I said last night, for me Bill is Mina's heroe; he gave his life for her, looked after her and the future of hers.
    I know that is so common that a woman plays the role of father and mother at the same time, and as we know, they know how to do it well, because the maternal instinct leads them toward the right decision (most of the time), but I think that a man playing that role would be in hard situation because even (as the man I am) when we try to be so tender, some how we show our rude form of the male gender. Sad but true.
    One final comment: I wouldn't be on Bill's shoes due to I don't use to trust in everyone, and that's a big and a hard decision to take.

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  3. First of all I must say that this tale has left me with a tear rolling down my cheek, waiting for more, and a great hope that some wonder happens in which Bill get better and stays again with his daughter.
    Also, I think it is so hard for a father to know the future of his life but not the upcoming up of his little daughter in the care of two or more strangers. Maybe he thought the change will be better for Minna because of the feeding according with her age (which he did not do it very well) or because she wouldn't be alone but not because of the true love that parents give to a daughter.
    According to the title, in my opinion, this reveals that it is a story about a man call Bill, but it doesn’t really show an idea about the content of the tale, maybe the title of the story could be “Say good bye to my love”, or “The most difficult decision of my life” or something more interesting.
    And finally, I recommend this tale to people who do not believe that a true story can soften hearts and make reading an enjoyable habit.

    By: Marcela Meneses

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  4. At the beginning I thought that "Bill" was a funny story about a child because the title didn't give me an idea about the story but,I never thought this story.
    When I was reading I was imagining each thing that happened inside the Bill's story because the narrator describe it in detail place and people.
    It is a interesting story and the part when I was moved was when the doctor said him that he was seriously ill and he has six months of life and he has to think in the future of his daughter and to take decision.
    I didn't like the end of the story because I wanted to know more about Minna and her new family and what happen with Bill during the next six months.
    So Bill is a real-life story, very sad and it might happen to any persons and we have to be prepared for this "I lived a similar story" and really it was difficult to me.

    by Veronica Mayorga

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  5. This kind of stories are the ones that I love reading. Why? Because we can make decisions, we can take the place of the person who is in troubles and simply answer: what would I do if I were this person? or What would I advice to her/him?

    Besides, talking about the topic chosen by Zona Gale, I think that the best thing here is that we can feel the events, we feel the words told by the characters. It has a very sad plot, which make us thinking that our situation is not the worst, that our problems have solution, and that we can change the circumstances, while Bill couldn't.
    Maybe we prefer the stories which finish saying: ... Bill and his little girl were happy for ever; but let's think that when we read something like Bill's story we realize that we are wasting the time, and when we analyze our own situation we say: yes, death is the only thing that doesn't have solution, I can solve it.

    Also, there is another important thing and it is what we can learn from the characters. As Daniel said in class: “there is a hero inside the story, Minna's hero”. At the beginning I thought: “there is no hero”, but when I listened to Daniel, I realized that actually Bill was the one.
    Maybe he was not the hero we hoped: with a mask and lots of powers... he was a real hero (cooked for his Minna, washed her and mended her clothes, went to the school for learning and helping her, cleaned the house, worked in his shop, tucked his little girl and left her sure on the bed, paid attention to Minna's prayer, and finally found a good family for her... Isn't it to be a hero?...yes, it is.
    But, who is our hero or heroin? Maybe he/she is there, but we don't want to see him/her!

    BY: Claudia Rincón

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  6. Well, I have read many short stories about how an important event can change peoples’ lives, an accident, an illness, death, even a hard decision. We can suppose when we lost someone who we love a lot could affect our existence and dreams. But when I read Bill, I could understand how a mistaken or correct decision can alter extremely our life or closed familiars’ lives. Bill had to take a determination that would change his daughter’s fate. Maybe, some people think what Bill made was something selfish because Minna could not decide what to do with her own life no matter if she was too young or not.
    But Bill had not options; he was dying and his family could not care of Minna as he did it. So, he had to take a hard decision: give her daughter in adoption. It is said that we cannot judge people until walk in their shoes. In his place, I would have made the same. No matter the adversities or problem, we have to think about what is better for us and for our family. Another important thing that I would like to mention is how money can destroy or repair peoples’ lives; I said that because if Bill has had money to heal or treat his illness, maybe he would not have taken a hard decision like this. But sadly, we live in unfair world where money makes happy to some and unfortunate to others.

    by Lina Salas

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  7. When I saw the title “Bill” and I realized that it was a short story I thought that probably it was about a boring experience of an old man, or something related to that, but to my surprise, it was a story that cached all my attention and moved me. While I was reading it, I couldn’t avoid remembering a similar situation in my family. Some years ago one of my aunts who had terminal breast cancer had to decided what to do with her littler son. It was really hard when I listened to her say “what is going to happen with my son when I died”. These strong circumstances show us that there are some troubles in life in which we had to take a decision; maybe it wouldn’t be what we want but it’s what we have to do.

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  8. At the beginning of the readind I had curiosity about the main character because I thought Bill was a bad guy and he would have a tragic end, however while reading I realized that Bill was a different person from what I supposed; he was a model parent, he was a super hero for Minna 'cause he acted out as a father and as a mother, he took care of his daughter and he took correct and right decisions. One of the happenings that caught my attention was when Bill said "Her mother would of"; he took complete responsability of Minna as her mother would have done it, besides he dedicated time to his daugther.
    To finish I sincerely did not like the end of this short story because Bill and Minna were separated forever and Minna was taken away with different persons.
    Another thing about this story I like was that the vocabulary used was understantable for me.

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  9. When I first read the title, I thought the story was like Mark Twain. I admit that I could imagine a little and blond boy whose life was full of adventure. In fact, I was sure that the whole tale was about the pranks of this little boy and his friends. But, as I read the tale, I realized that it was completely different of my previous thoughts.
    Bill is not a boy; actually he is a responsible father that did everything he could in order to take care of her little daughter.
    This tale left us a lesson: Sometimes we think just women are capable of struggling against the circumstances in order to keep their children save. But this story showed me that fathers are also ready to sacrifice themselves in the name of their children’s happiness. This story reminds me of my dad, who has always been a model of self-denial and pure love for his kids.
    To sum up, I would like to share a quote that is closely related to this topic: "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace." Tom Paine, 1776

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  10. In my opinion Bill’s story doesn’t reflect only the disturbed and sad story of a man who due to his illness had to give his daughter in adoption because he only had six months of life. In spite of the unexpected situation Bill had to face, he proved that he is a courageous father with little Minna because he had to attend her as a mother and as a father too.
    As a comparison from Bills story we can find those kinds of stories in real life but with a very notorious difference that life is not fictitious because we always have to be prepared to face whatever circumstance and also for making crucial decisions that could be change the bearing of our life. Finally this story left me a lesson that “when we want the happiness of a person we love too much, we have to sacrifice ourselves and also that we have to make suitable decisions”.

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  11. First of all I have to say this is a very good reading that touched me in the deep of my fellings due to the style the writer used to express her work; she apparently shows indiference or a neutral position to the facts which make it more moved bearing in mind what the story is telling to the reader.
    In adition, I consider this kind of stories as interesting because there is an element inside itself that let us get more in deep in order to discover what it's happening at the moment and what it's going to happen next.


    By Wilky

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  12. Bill is a sad story where many who read it realize that case can happens anybone. Despite the whole situation that Bill lived with his daughter and not knowing what to do for her, is not left her unprotected, he had to make a difficult decision, and to leave a loved one and even more if it is a child, it is very hard and depressing.
    really Bill was a story that moved me so sad to Bill's decision, knowing that he could not kiss her and leave the fact to be happy without very painful.

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  13. well...Even when this is a very short story it has everything to be a good one. Bill is the kind of story you would always remember as it has a very moving plot just what most people like!!!!!!....I must confess that when reading this story i cried (just a little :) ) it made me remember when I was just a kid. i used to have a crazy dream repetely, i dreamed about my mother abandoning us and my father had to take care of me with sadness. what i really like about Bill is that so many people may feel identified with this story just like me, I mean choosing a real life situation to this, was just very suitable.

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  14. Bill is a great story where I can say that people somehow is touched because the themathic and the way in which it is developed whith the different characters who show us a short story but full of feelings. Actually, when I began to read the story I could find a great connection with it because I love children and I admire parents who always are doing something for their children with the aim of help them as much as possible.

    If this story were real life and I had been at that time , without doubt I had took in adoption this little girl because in this case she was a smart girl completely unprotected.

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  15. According to what I perceived from the story called "Bill", it shows how death doesn't respect either age or social status. On the contrary, it makes life fair sometimes.,
    Regarding to Minna, she will probably have sad memories about their parents who died during her childhood and a resenment againt life owing to the lack of her real family in the most special moments of her life.
    Zone Wales probably wrote this story to show us how father's love can be above all the circunstances and the sacrifice that they do to make us happy,even when the choices to be happy are reduced. The moral lesson of Bill it's a good opportunity to reflect about our lives and to admit that most of us have been blessed with the most important gift, a FAMILY.
    yaneth

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  16. This tale by Zona Gale is absolutely amazing, I love the way she writes, I mean she completely captures every single aspect of the story and without being subjective, she actually gets you to feel like if you were part of it.
    The story of Bill is so moving, it kind of reminds me that nothing can be perfect and sometimes we have sacrifice ourselves and let go someone just because in such a way things would be better for everyone.
    This story is really hard, I mean, a single man trying to raise his daughter, but he is always thinking about how his wife would do things. He tries so hard and when he is finally getting used to that, he discovers he has a disease so he would not be able of taking care of his little daughter no longer. That was for sure a punch in the face, but at the end I think he makes a good decision by letting Minna go with a family that resembles his own.
    I enjoyed so much this story, it makes you think what would you do if you were in that position, besides, it keeps some mystery, it never says how did Bill's wife died or which illness Bill suffered, so that's an aspect that help you as a reader to let your mind fly as hight as possible just to try to give more sense to the story.

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  17. DIS TOREY WA WIERD

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  18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  19. What can we do for love? Was the first thing that I had in mind after reading this short story; But it is not just love between a man and a woman, is more than that: it’s a purer love; a fatherly love. Moreover, I think that Bill is a clear representation of the sacrifices that we have to do just for the happiness of people we love, because I believe that sometimes is difficult don’t get what we want; but loosing what we have, it’s so much difficult. Although some details are missing in the story, I think that Zona gale fills the reader or catch the attention with these missing details which make the story more interesting; regardless the intent of the writer the story is very interesting and a recommended reading.

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  20. People who have never known what the sacrifice of giving someone you love is, not even matter if we have to suffer they never couldn't understand this short story name "BILL" by Zona Gale. This writing made me think of how unpredictable life is and how suddenly it could change our different points of view and make change our own decision about life is. in this case that sacrifice that Bill did for his young daughter was admired because he can taught us that a father who really loves can think more over in a future and a best life for his young Minna.
    I think that Zona Gale was an amazing women who wrote about real life situation that we most of the time can’t understand or think like her because we never through it.

    Karen Causil

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  21. Bill's story is one of those stories that make us reflect and think primarily about our lives, and here is where takes place a very important question : what would you do knowing that you have few months of life? Many people maybe will think of fun, spend money, pleasure, dance, and many others only will think with calm without thinking at that time. But Bill went further, and more when he had so many problems in his life, his wife was dead and had a few months of life and the only person wich he counted was his little daughter and he would not let her alone, and worst of all he did not have anyone to look for her and make it charges of her . Bill knew this situation, even if he decided to try to do the best to make your daughter feel happy during the last months of life and never thought of that he will die., He cooked, dressed her, took her to school, little things in our society today almost any father do, and finally takes the hardest decision of all trying to give her up for adoption to find the best family, reasons why this man becomes a hero for me , not only for his daughter, but to many people he is a prime example of life , which not only lets us get to reflect,he left for me a teaching,to live each day as if it were the last day, trying to make the best of each one, in everything, in our studies, work, sharing happy moments with our family and friends without thinking of the suffering, to do the best of each one and trying to make others happy. That is give sense to our life, life is based on small details, and this man become his life no into something small but in something very big.by:oscar gafaro

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  22. BILL is a short story wrote by Zona Gale a very important playwright of Portage, in this story she tells us the story of a widower man who has a little girl and he has to take care of her and work at the same time to give her all the things that his little girl need, including love. Unfortunately he gets sick and he has to take a terrible decision: to give his daughter in adoption because he don’t has a trustworthy people in his family that take care of her.
    On the other hand, just what I like of this story is the way the author tell the story because she take a objective positive to write the story, beside we can infer that she know all the character because of the way she describe them in this literary work.
    Finally, I can say that this is a good story because we as reader can follow the story in easy way because of the style and vocabulary she used to write it. Also I like this story because of the author has a particular style to describe the events, it means that she no give a lot of information about the setting but we can infer where is it by using the little information that she gave in the whole story. In addition I like the story that invite the readers to guess a lot of things and let everybody take your own conclusion about the relevant event that happen in the story

    By : ENEL ROJAS

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  23. Well, when I read the title of this short story “BILL”, I thought it tried about the adventures of a young in a country because of the title did not give me any idea what the story was about. However, when I began to read the story I realized that it was different what I supposed. I liked this story; it caught my attention because all the facts were interrelated; besides I loved the author’s style because it is clear and easy. The climax of this story for me was when Bill was looked for a new family for his daughter; it was a very difficult decision for him because he sacrificed the last days of his life to be with her by giving to Mina a best future.
    In our life, there are many circumstances where we have to make difficult decision and can do it we must think what is right to me and others.
    Cindy Dayana

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  24. Bill is an amazing short story written by Zona Gale. The story is about a man Bill that had a little girl Minna. Once Bill’s wife died he took care of Minna. He was a good father even if he did not know how to cook. He was always taking care of Minna on his way. Someday, he realized he was going to die due to he was sick. He thought he had to give Minna in adoption and Bill posted an advertisement on the newspaper. Then, he chose a couple that had lost their girl. Finally, Minna leaves home and walks away with her new family. In conclusion, I would like to remark the importance of this kind of stories in which a father does his best effort to protect and care of his daughter but unfortunately Bill’s plans were not develop as he was expecting.

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  25. When I read the title of this story, I thought that ¨Bill¨ was a boy that lived in a farm with his parents, an adventurer boy that loved nature.
    The title of the story was simply, however I like it because it allows me to imagine what the story was about.

    This story was so awesome and tender, I love the way in which Bill looked after his daughter, and he was a really good father because Bill did as much was for protecting her. From my point of view he was a super hero.

    This story allows us to think over about our own life, our decisions, often we have to solve problems and we do not what to do, besides, this story teach us to love people that are closed to us and to enjoy the time as much it is possible because a day we have to leave this world.
    By .Sindy Diaz

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  26. First, I have to say that when I read the title I imagined a very different thing what the story actually refers to.
    A really great short story that leaves me many lessons. The first lesson is: Even though a loved person dies, we must rise up and continue fighting for ours welfare and the people that surround us. Another important lesson is that life every day is a test in making decisions, many times we make good decisions or bad, but we never know if the consequences will be positive or negative. Finally, to me the most significant lesson that captured my attention is: A father, an excellent father always wants the best for their children, no matter if they have to turn them over to other parents, what matters is the happiness and good future of his child.

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  27. It is said that to make a decision implies a renunciation. But the most important is to make it full of love and wisdom.
    Bill is a man of our society, it symbolizes the paternal feelings and a common situation.
    He shows that the love is much more than words. Love requires actions and sacrifices, and responsability.
    Bill knew that he wouldn't live much time so he prefered to leave her daughter in good hands, that is, he delivered her to other family with the hope she would be better with rhem. He just thought in her wellfare.
    In brief the love mustn't be selfish and it is necessary to make a correct decision that actually solve a problem in the best way and it is possible with the God help.
    Erika Adriana Rojas Valero.

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  28. Well….I can say that I loved to read this short-story because this allow me to reflect about the difficult situations in life, when is necessary to take decisions with wisdom and responsibility. Sometimes people had to renounce to their feelings and to do the best for everybody, it is the case of Bill, an admirable father who noticed that is very sick and who will die very soon, maybe he never thought to leave his little daughter in another hands, but without other option and knowing that death is very close of him , he decide to put his little into the stranger family care. Anther hand the Bill’s decision shows me that love is over anything.

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  29. Rodrigo Rodriguez said...

    Actuallly, I didn't think of anything when reading the title, I mean, I don't like guessing anything from it, because it can be just a mere distractor. Instead of thinking over, I start reading and giving sens to what the author really wants to tell me. However,this latter depends on my own interpretation, this is why the readers have different reactions in front of the message intended by the writer. I would not expect life put me in the situation Bill was; I just learnt I must do little sacrifacies everyday of my life just to get ready for future difficult decisions.

    I think the title could have been "Minna". It is up to the writer; he could have written more information about the girl, namely, give more deatails and center the story on her.

    And the end of my readings which are few, I ask myself about the title, it is right there when I think of it, not at the begining. In this case, I told myself: "Bill" was a good titile; I would have used it too.

    Thanks.

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  30. As I see it, Bill is a beautiful story because it narrates the life of a man who has a terminal illness, and he has to do his best to ensure that his daughter be good when he passes away. A thing that I really loved was the end of the story when Bill had to stand watching his little girl leaving with the other family. I think that was the most difficult moment of his life and he was very brave to stand it, taking into account that he was not going to see Minna never again. Another important aspect that I liked, was the moment when Bill did not allow Minna to kiss him being afraid that she contracted the illness and telling her “big girl, big girl” to prepare her to the moment to say good bye. It let me a teaching, “to do all the possible for people you love”. In sum, that was a pretty nice story, I enjoyed it a lot.

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  31. ona Gale represents the female Americans’ authors in this tell named Bill which its name doesn’t express any clear idea about what the story is about, however, the title might places us in a specific context: united States, since it is a quite common American name. On the one hand the narrator plays an objective role because he just tells the events of the story without having a direct intervention in it. Moreover, I could say that in Bill there is not a clear description of either the place or the time in which the story is developed. Likewise, the characters are not explicitly described. So Gale makes the readers’ imagination flow.



    On the other hand, I consider this story dramatic in gender which reflects the pain of a father who has to take an important sedition, to find the family who will take care of his little daughter because he will die within six months.



    In my opinion this tell could be a hypothetical story that makes us reflect about life and the things we are too much attached.

    To finish, to me the best feeling we may have is when we think of others before we think in ourselves.



    Madhavendra puri

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  32. Yeison Guerra says:

    Bill is a dramatic shortstory that has embedded a great plethora of feelings in itself, even though is short in writing it is great in message, it takes you to imagine, reflect, put yourself in the story character's shoes. The imagery is constant throughout the reading, one tries to figure out the moments of the story and compare them to real life. This Bill shows us that to make decisions can be sometimes a hard task but although feelings and emotions invade us we have to step them aside and do what we have to do not only because it has to be done but also because it is fair to do it.

    I daresay this shortstory is presented in real life more often than you think, we can see how many poor people give their children to others as Bill did. Regarding Bill, he did it for being close to die; on the other hand we find poor people doing the same but not for being prone to death but for being in abject poverty.
    I take my hat off to Zona Gale because she put a wide range of feelings and emotions into a short text, and of course; this is a token of how great writer she was in life.

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  33. This nice and sad story tells us about the importance of family today when a new pattern is getting its shape. In these days, we can see monoparental family, mixed families and some kind of family that we never imagined before like homosexual families.

    I got respect for Bill's decision for being that concious about his situation and looking for a new family for a girl who cannot live without some protection and care.

    I figure out myself in the same situation and I'll be rather mad about my daughter's future and maybe I'd take such as good decision and Bill did.

    Thanks.

    Juan Carlos Medina

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  34. This is a short story I read in the fall of 1974 when I was in the seventh grade at St. Mary's School in Milford, Connecticut. It was part of a very large collection of short stories in our reading text for school. It always stuck with me and now almost 38 years later I typed in a few key words (including the first sentence of the story which I still remembered) and to my amazement I find it here online.

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  35. “Bill” represents a great story in which are implicit different relevant factors of common life in a little town, namely, the death of a family member (in this case Bill’s wife), a father who inside himself feels a high level of responsibility with her daughter Minna and at the same time, he should carry out with an unknown illness that will end his life in six months. It is because during the story is not presented its name and why he gets sick, and, finally, how to take a decision that is going to change the lifestyle of his daughter. It is to say, all the story turns around Bill and Minna. They are the main characters.
    Also, I can admit that another character makes of this literary work one of the best I read in my life: the woman next door who advises Bill to consider the option that Minna could be adopted by another family in order that she not suffer a lot because of his illness and he accepted it. This woman could represent in the story the good side of life, why? Because she was such as the moral instrument that is used by Zona Gale to find an answer that helped Bill to solve the mystery of “What to do with his Minna?. And, at the end of the story, this fact is shown with a situation that lived a couple who is getting over the death of their little girl, because they discover in Minna the perfect way to remember their death daughter.
    Finally, I argue that the illness of Bill was the beginning of a wonderful story but at the same time sad story, because it was the bridge through which the happiness of the family who adopted Minna happened. By contrast, Bill lived his last days alone remembering his daughter as the one who now is enjoying each day of her life as it was the last. In addition, I could find one important advice to everyone who wants to read this short analysis: “Life is just one. Live it as the biggest gift given by God to each one of human beings”.

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  36. After reading the title I felt curiosity, because I wanted to know the connection between that title and the content of the story, also, I wanted to know all the details about this man and why the author wrote about him, maybe he was a remarkable person on her life; despite of all the impressions I had of this man were wrong, because of the reasons why the author wrote about him were totally different, I really enjoyed reading this short story, because it illustrates the daily life of many single fathers who raise their children by their own, all the things they have to do for making them happy, no matter the situation they have been through; it’s amazing the power that fathers’ love has, it’s something we can’t compare with anything in the world. Talking about the way the author wrote it, it’s relevant to mention that it was very easy to understand it, because of the easy vocabulary used by Zona Gale and something else used by her was the realism that is the mark we can find in her books. This realism makes the reader feel close to the characters and events in order to create a kind of connection between them. Generally speaking, this story brings us a very important message: “If we really love somebody, we just have to look for his/her happiness, no matter if that happiness is not with us”.

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  37. BILL: A SHORT STORY THAT ALLOWS READER BE AWARE OF A REAL SITUATION
    Nowadays, there are many authors who have different styles to write, some of them love writing novels, science fiction, poetry, drama, horror and short stories which is the case of Zona Gale who wrote a collection of short stories where she describes the daily life of people who lived in Portage that was her hometown. To know a little of her works, we quote one of these short stories which is called BILL that is a description of a real situation that one man in this case Bill lived with his daughter after the death of his wife, where he took the mother’s role at home looking after his little and innocent girl. All things were right at that moment; however, when his daughter was six Bill fell ill, in that moment he decided to give his daughter in adoption to a new family because he wanted the best for her in a future, for this reason the end of the story is very sad for him, because he stayed at home alone and very sick with only six months of life.
    As we can perceive the story is very realistic, but why do I say that BILL’s story is very real? The main reason is because Zona chooses a situation that happens daily in Colombia and in many places of the world, for this reason the aspect that I loved the most of this fantastic story was this part, because the majority of books that I read before were about science fiction or fairy tales which is common to me but with this story, I have the possibility to be aware of this situation and also to reflect and take into account that one day I can live the same situation of Bill, because there are moments in life where we are happy with our job, family, all things are right, but in a minute we can receive a bad news that can change tranquility of our life or our future for that, we have to be prepared because sometimes we have to take decisions that will make us unhappy the case of Bill.
    To conclude, I recommend this short story to readers because it is a window to know the dark side that many authors hide writing imaginary stories with fairies, angels etc, and also because Zone writes this story describing facts in a specific way which allow readers be motivated to read the whole story and to imagine the end and some characteristics of environment, characters and moral of this story.

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  38. In my opinion Bill was a good short story because, from the very beginning it caught my attention, taking me into the story, since the first paragraph I knew this reading was going to be different and unique, due to it was very changing and the development of the story was fast bringing within it unexpected events that allowed me to even feel and portrait the characters and facts that were happening inside the story itself.
    I must say that as a student I am not used to read short stories since I used to think they were boring and too short so, they would not enable me to learn or acquire new vocabulary. But I see myself in the necessity of telling that Bill has changed my thought concerning short stories despite the fact it was short, I could find a variety of words that I did not even know they existed. Also it helped me to better understand the different styles of writing and the importance of giving details to make a reading entertaining. In addition, Bill was very touching because there were strong feelings such as love and sadness. Besides, the ending was not as the regular ending in which all they good ones live happily ever after and the bad people receive a punishment.

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  40. Bill is not only a story of death and sadness but also father’s love; this story is like an actual story about how fathers must be; responsible, lovely and able to do everything for their children. I like this short story because it teaches us that life can change in a minute but we will always have somebody who takes care of us. The title of the story seems a little boring because it just a name however, when you begin to read, you cannot stop it.
    The theme of the story is not so common; it is not about true love, wars, revenge, horror, or friendship, it is about Bill’s life and the decisions that he had to make for love despite of it, it is really interesting. With few details the author make us imagine the characters like Bill and Minna and also the woman next door, or the setting like Bill’s carpenter shop and the house. In addition, reading is easy, the author used a present day language and she did not use many idioms or proverbs which make readings difficult to understand.
    Narration is short however, it has the elements to catch reader’s attention like Bill’s terminal disease or the family who will adopt his daughter, all these things become” Bill” in an exciting short story, with a not entirely unexpected ending.

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  41. I’ve never been a big fan of short stories because I think that a good story can’t be told in two pages, however I’m not saying that short stories are bad literally speaking is just that I’m not really into that kind of writings. So that, when I read the title of the Gale’s story I feel a bit lost because it didn’t give me any hint about what the story could be like, just that the main character’s name was Bill, but besides of that,I was confused. I mean it could have been anything in the world, but my doubts got cleared when I read the story. The story itself is one of those that at least in my case,you don’t expect it to have such an ending, even when you know that it’s a sad and painful story you hope and expect it to have a happy ending for all of the characters, but no, in this story every event is more painful and sorrowful than the last one. In my personal opinion I think that the author succeeded at engaging the reader (means me) to finish the story, thanks to the difficult conditions that the characters are living, the reality of the story, the feelings she expressed though it and the possibility that the reader has to imagine a better or different ending according to people’s likes and I now think that short stories like this are worthy to be read and admired.

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  42. In BILL we can see how a short story can catch the attention by using simple but powerfull elements such as imagination and credible facts to make a stry feel real, Zona through this story could share, In my point of view, some of their different forms to see the world, not as a place where people have what they want, and that life has more deep and meaningfull events that any movie can show us, nothing is as amazing as what we can experience everyday; when I was reading BILL, I could precieve an atmosphere carried with very factible events, instead of the name of this short story, is notorious that the background of the situation touch very sensible feelings, in my own case, I could suffer for a moment when Bill was watching his daughter breathing, eating, and doing all those things that we dont pay too much attention, and are considered normal; was exactly in that part of the story when I was about to let fall a tear, and also I felt a tie strongly attached to my neck in clas when I was describing the moment that for me was the most exiting of the story... In few words I can say that not all the texts that I read cause that effect on me as BILL, excelent!!

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  43. BILL’S COMMENT
    BILL is a literary work, in which ZONA GALE, her author tell us a real story that made me reflect myself and do not forget that I am a human being, and I am not exempt to get sick with a unexpected and terrible illness. Sometimes, when people have troubles or problems in their lives they believe that life is going on with its problems but, they never think in a possible solution.
    On the other hand, there are people who do not have even the opportunity to made a decision on time about what to do with their families when the death unawares them, I mean when someone pass away suddenly .In the story, BILL showed us he was a wise and strong person who even thought loves her daughter he gets MINNA away, in order that she tries to find a space with her new family, and she does not suffers with his father’s death.
    Finally an aspect that I want to highlight was the author’s style, because she used a mode to present the events and facts playing with our imagination. Moreover, just with title she caught our attention and interest to keep on reading the whole story finding an unexpected ending.

    Enel Rojas

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  44. I read this story when I was in 7th grade -- 40 years ago.

    It still haunts me.

    Dane

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  45. As I see it, Bill was a really nice story in which I felt so moving since it could occur in real life and we have to be prepared for confronting all of those situations that could change our life in the blink of an eye. Moreover, I think that this story was written in an excellent way, since it was organized in chronological order following a sequence of facts in the story which made it interesting due to when I read the title of this story I did not imagine this kind of plot ; I imagined an adventure story. However, I was surprised when I started to read it because it was so sad and regrettable.
    Finally, this kind of stories give us a life lesson in which we can think about that the life is like wheel, we do not know when is our turn for confronting a similar situation.

    By: Darymar

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  46. Bill is a great story because of the way that the author expresses all the events that happened, she is very descriptive and more importantly, she captures the reader attention; it’s a story full of feelings and the best thing about it, is that you can feel like you were part of it, it makes you reflect about what would you do if you were in a situation like that, to me, is a wonderful short story for the reason that it is about real life, you can reflect and think how unpredictable life can be sometimes, one day you have everything and the next day you lose it all.


    By. Sandy liseth Cañas Carrillo

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  47. By reading this story I learned that we have to appreciate what we have, and stop complaining about what we do not have. Sometimes we are ungrateful for everything God has given us and we do not realize that there are people that don’t have anyone to talk to, or to be with.
    I also found important through this story that author can create beautiful stories even though they don’t have a happy ending.

    By: Susan Cordoba

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  48. To my point of view this is a story which shows how human being is exposed to many awful situations in which solutions can be difficult to find; in this case, when reason fights against feelings and consequently the most painful decisions are the most intelligent, it is valuable to think about sacrifices as a way to demonstrate the mere sample of love.

    By: Claudia Rubio

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  49. There is a particular way in which the author made me feel in contact with the story. One of the most relevant elements used by the author was the description of the setting and the situation; this gave a whole idea about what was happening in that moment. Likewise, the fact of using a story based on real situations gave me the impression of a good writer who really admires everything surrounding her. The whole text for me was very alluring.

    By Adrian Celis

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  50. In my perspective this story highlighted and showed the effort and unconditional love that a father can feel for his daughter without taking into account the difficulties and problems that life put them through; moreover I have become aware that family is an important part of our life and sometimes we need to learn how to overcome all difficulties presented even though they are painful.

    by

    Yessica Sierra

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  51. It is nice to see the way in which the author tells the story in each sentence. It called my attention the way the theme of family is the sample ranged from a father who gives everything for his little daughter. Bill shows the multiple things that can be done when it is wanted to get ahead. I, as a reader, could conclude that the family is synonymous of sacrifice, love and faith in God.

    By

    Elkin Perneth Parra

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  53. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  54. Reading this tale, made me feel the father's love, the responsibility and the decisions that we as fathers have to take it; this tale is for me a hard situation, because Bill the major character was ill and according to the doctor he was going to die in six months, and he had a daughter, who he had to give her in adoption, however, he did not want to let her alone,because of his feelings as a father; so, this situation when I read made me reflect the role of father is to protect and take care of our children since their birth until they become adults.

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  55. BILL
    There are many authors around the world who have different perspective or styles of writing. Likewise, there are many genres that identify each author. Zona Gale wrote this story named “Bill” and it was classified as a short story.
    From my point of view, I love this kind of stories where one can compare reality with fiction which is related to our world, our family and our feelings. Also, this story showed us how Bill tried to find a family without taking care of himself, just the thing that really matters was the girl happiness. Merely, this author triggered a situation which connected us with the story.
    Indeed, Bill’s story is involved in the imagination of the author. This is the reason why I recommend to all those readers who like or enjoy an excellent piece or writing;this short story opens a door which connects reality with imagination.


    Leydi Lorena VASQUEZ RUIZ

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  56. In my own point of view, the story about Bill seemed very simple and did not capture my attention at first sight. However, as I went deeper into the story and most importantly: when I looked at this situation and I imagined what was like to be Bill, I realized that the character was very clever to find several ways to overcome such a terrible situation. In addition, from this story I could learn that everything has a deadline and that one should do one’s best to take advantage of the opportunities that one has in life; as well as one should appreciate what one has and not wait until one loses it.

    Catherin Peña.

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  57. I know that is so common that a woman plays the role of father and mother at the same time, but I think that a man playing that role would be in hard situation. The tale Bill has left me with a tear rolling down my cheek, because it is so hard for a father to know the future of his life but not the upcoming up of his little daughter in the care of strangers. This story showed me that fathers are also ready to sacrifice themselves in the name of their children’s happiness. I would like to share a quote that is closely related to this topic: "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day that my child may have peace." Tom Paine, 1776.

    Francy Katerine Bautista Boada

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  58. Firstly, Bills is a nice story due to the way that story was written likewise it is very descriptive and the author captures the reader attention with all events and climaxes that happened; besides it makes us reflect about what we would do if we were in a situation like bill’s life. Finally, I consider it like a wonderful story because of it shows us a real story about an unconditional love also it allows us to think about our actions and our relationships with our parents and friends. As well as, the most important is to enjoy every day because one day we can lose all.

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  59. Bill is a story that illustrates daily life, where a father (Bill) has to sacrifice his last months of life, living without his little girl (Minna) for her own sake.
    I consider the story as a realistic, attractive, but also, a dramatic narration that gives us a strong moral:
    We must strive to live facing the difficulties of our existence ,because at the end there will be always a hope that something better is to come.
    That is precisely what daily life is about , and that is why I consider this tale, an everyday story that can be read by everybody and that surely will teach you something you can apply in your own life.

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  60. I think that Bill is a story of an everyday hero who decides between his happiness and his daughter happiness. This is a hero who after overcoming his wife’s death and discovering that has a few months to live decide to find a new family to his daughter. He was always thinking with his heart and taking into account the well-being of his daughter, fortunately, all his efforts were well compensated and he found the perfect family for her.

    Maria Lisseth Gelvez

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  61. Sometimes when our life is in deep water, and problems, difficulties, hardships and dilemmas are against us, we star being in floods of tears, getting cold feet, becoming sad, and seeing our life as the only one in troubles. What a bad reaction, life is, beauty and always enough to achieve our goals, to answer our questions to overcome every obstacle and to be as a Bill, as a hero who builds happiness through sacrifice, love and patience.

    Lenny Alvarado

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  62. Bill is a story that shows how big parent’s love is, also it reflects how cruel and crude life should be and the difficulties some people face up nowadays, however I must say that me as a reader I rather those stories that take me by surprise, those stories that let the reader with an unexpected feeling, those stories that does not allow the reader guess the end; although Bill is a great tale is not the kind of tales I like.

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  63. Bill is an amazing tale that let’s see a situation that we can confront in our real life, moreover the sequence of the events are presented in a descriptive way such as the beginning of the problem, the difficulties to find a solution and the way that the main character faces his problems and solve them. Finally, my personal reflection after reading this short story was actually thinking in my personal life and my relationship with others, also I realized that the parent's sacrifice for their sons is not a simile because it doesn't have any comparison at all.

    Jessica Bandera.

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  64. Bill is not only a tale but also a story that we live day by day in Colombia where we can see fathers and mothers raising their children in difficult situations. on the other hand, the theme show us how love can defeat and overcome any situation in life that's the example of Bill that knowing he was about to die he did his best for his little girl who was only 4 years old.
    In addition, I can say that the reading is very understandable since the author used a present-day language and he did not use many idioms or proverbs, the elements and description can draw the reader's attention so Bill becomes in an attractive story to be read.


    Fredys Beltran

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  65. In this tale, the author (Zona Gale) transmits lots of feelings, and I can put myself on Bill's boots and I can feel what he felt at that time. The story not only talks about love, but also, about dead, poverty, illness, and desperation. Even thought this story is sad, “Bill” got somebody for talking after his little Minna before he died. On the other hand, “Bill” is a tale that is related to nowadays life-style; some persons faced up the same difficulties. Finally, in the story, Gale uses Old-English terms, but it is easy to understand and easy to read.

    ANIBAL ACUÑA

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  66. Bill
    For me, this is a story that invites us to have love about our family, when we are going through hard situations in life. Also, it is a story that teaches us that marriage is for better and for worst. No matter, if something goes wrong, no matter, if we have problems, no matter, if our wives or husbands pass away, because the most important is to build when everything is shattered. And difficulties make our lives stronger. Besides, we are in this world to struggle and accomplish our goals!!! So, we do not have to complain about tough experiences, when we are sure that they happen for us to be happy or for someone close to us to have peace in his/her life.

    Yhoel Castillo


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  67. This short story shows the reality of people’s life and how tragical things could happen without realize the moment. However, the author expresses the paternal love through some little behavior toward his daughter. Sometimes we do not see the affection expressed when someone else prepares some food to us, or when they spend time with us, but something I have learned and what I have confirmed by reading “Bill” is that love is difficult to see when you do not have it in your own heart. And the love of a father can not be explained with words but with facts, always they look for the happiness of their children, it does not matter what they have to do, they offer the best things for them. On the other hand, it is important to say that hardships are all steps in life and without them we could not value what is important, we could not realize the happiness around us, but they do not last forever and always there is a way to overcome difficulties.

    Andrea Castillo

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  68. Talking about Gale’s story where she narrates the life of Bill, I realized that it is not just a realistic story which tells to us how Bill had to make a hard decision leaving his daughter with two foreign to her, but it teaches us the real fact that can happen in our family. It made me reflect about how important is the family love and much relevant the way people act or react facing a difficult situation. The story situated me in a real context where the main character were me and made me reflect about the difficult choice I had to take where the happiness of my daughter depends on the sadness of me.

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  69. Adriana Manosalva
    This tale by Zona Gale is a sad story that shows us all of the sacrifice that a parent can do to provide the best care and a better future for their children, and also allows us to think about our own lives and also teaches us to love all people who are around us and enjoy the best time because we know when we will leave this world.

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  70. Bill

    Bill is an unhappy story that shows in a part the world we live today and it is very common unfortunately. even there are more difficult conditions in the real life;children without mother neither father, who live in the streets without eat any food, who do not have the oportunity to be adopted by a loving family.
    In the story it is hard and sad how Bill had to look for the best future for his daughter,a close future, a future without him and her mother and taking into account that she was just a little girl.By other side he had to take care of her during two years, educate Minna in the best way, prepare food, mend her dresses. Bill had to do the things a mother do, change his role in the family.
    Apart from this situation the story give us the opportunity to think what will come with the characters, we have the main idea to continue with the story if we want, in what way that depends on our imagination.

    FabiolaBlanco

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  71. Bill is a quite interesting but disconcerting story. At the beginning I found a lovely and responsible father who always tried to do his best for his little daughter: he cleaned the house, cooked, took her to the school, to the church every Sunday and absolutely everything that his wife would do but when he knew he wouldn’t live more than 6 months, he decided to publish an advertising in order to a family adopt his little girl and instead of being too kind with her for the last time, he acted cold with her, of course, I can understand he acted in that way to do the parting “easier” for the child, even though I know I would never act in the same way.

    On the other hand, I agree with the decision he took about the family to adopt his daughter, personally, I can say it was my climax ‘cause I liked the idea that Bill was aware that he must not to look for a wealthy and cold family but one that gives his daughter a warm and a lovely home. Finally, I can say I loved this story ‘cause it’s different of any plot I had read before.

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  72. Bill? Well, this is one of those tales which try to relate real events; A father and his daughter that have to face a new panorama without their loved wife and mother; but, Minna (the daughter) is the innocence itself and his father is once more dealing with a new problematic circumstance in his life . To some extent, we all face similar situations that drive us to good or wrong decisions; maybe we’ve got not a child to take care of still we have other responsibilities. The thing is how to react to those obstacles or challenges because that is what matters in our lives.
    Analyzing in detail, Bill is a prove of how important the family is for everybody; that’s why the reader feels sorry for the little girl imaging how this person will grow without a mother and a father. There are other topics we can infer from the reading like the external people who criticize without knowing the reality or the changes in life etc Nevertheless, the family is the main point here. Taking into account that Zona Gale wrote a serial of short stories based on her hometown life, I’d say that Bill’s story is everywhere; there are many Bills out in the streets building a future for their children and hundreds of Minnas wondering how their lives would have been different if they had had their parents

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  73. Once I saw the title “bill” I thought it was a tale base on a child called bill and his life at school and his relationship with his friends and his family, but the story was completely different, this story is not a children’s story or a fairytale, this one is a really touching and realistic tale since its starts, in that it starts with the death of one of the most important and loved members of a family, and since the first line we know who is Bill.

    Even if this is not one of the classic fairytale hero it show us how our parents are heroes everyday, besides, this story makes me think about the difficult situations that my parents had to carry on, and I did not have idea about it, in that they want just our happiness, our health and benefit so they are the real heroes.

    Moreover, this tale by Zona Gale makes me think that true love actually exists, and we have to appreciate every moment that we have with our family. On the other hand, this tale reminds me that nothing can be perfect and sometimes we have to make sacrifices letting go someone just because in such a way things would be better for everyone or because there is not another choice.

    To sum up, not everybody are so lucky neither have the opportunity to share our life with the people that we love in that happiness just exists when is shared. So if you have the opportunity to read this short and awesome tale you should not have to think twice.

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  74. It is interesting how ZONA GALE, wrote not only a tale which any child could read everywhere but the dynamic of a complex situation that sometimes we have to overcame. This tale involves the readers in a melancholic description of a real life situation in which the main character Bill has a difficulty ahead of him and consequently it becomes his harder dilemma. It reflects how a father sacrifices all he loves for its own good. GALE, give the reader a deep perspective of what parents have to do in order to protect their children.Nevertheless, this tale shows us how big tasks make any single soul strong, even if it seems to be impossible.

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  75. One thing I liked the most when reading “Bill” is that it was not a boring tale. Firstly, because it is not a long story. Secondly, there is not so much unknown vocabulary. Also, though it is a short story it is structured in a good way and very well explained.
    It is a tale where we find events or situations that happen in our real life. That is why me as a reader of it, I was so interested in continue reading because I wanted to know detail by detail, each one of the scenes, and much more in the case of a little girl who left without her mother, and now her father is playing the role of mother.
    This story caught my attention since I started reading. Why? Because not only fills us with sentimentality but also leaves a vast teaching, because we are human beings living on this planet that God has given us, but we do not know at what moment we will have to face a difficult situation like this. Then this makes us reflect and follow the example of Bill, who with great affection cared his daughter, and also to make her feel more loved and important he mended her dolls and their clothes, he was like a Mommy, that's something that no man would do to his child if his mother is alive.
    That is proof that when we made the decision to have a child is because we are also willing to give everything for our children and be happy seeing them happy.

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  76. First of all, Bill shows us a hard situation about one family First of all, Bill shows us a hard situation about one family that suffered the death of Minna’s mother and Bill’s wife. This tale relates how a father tries to go straight with his life and to keep up his home for Minna and himself, but later one difficult situation change the perspective of the tale bringing to reader to feel sadness, melancholy and helplessness because Bill isn’t only a fairytales but is the real life. I think that is a different tale where the main character must make difficult decisions in relation to his daughter. To me the moral of this tale is try to continue with our life it doesn’t matter if we have many troubles because the life carry on and we must think over those that are around, people that are alive and give them best of us.

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  77. Reading this tale, it was a little sad because you realize how long and short the life could be; and how the love can ignore the different obstacles in our lives. Bill is a great character, despite the difficulties that he had to affront, he always though in Minna’s future and he delivered his life until the last months thinking about her. On the other hand, this tale shows a real situation focus on the family and the valuable that it is. So, no matter the adversities eh have to think about what is better for our family and us. Moreover, In addition, I consider this kind of stories as interesting because there is an element inside itself that let us get more in deep in order to discover what it's happening at the moment and what it's going to happen next. I loved this story from the beginning until the end and I will always remember.

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  78. “Lord: make me do right by her if you see me doing wrong”
    In that prayer, we can point out the big and meaningful love that one father who can get to feel by his daughter. It is a terrible and tragic history in which the author in a detail and descriptive way shows to each in lines, one unfortunate fate, the time that break the history into two , the dark moment where the father fell ill and his subsequent daughter parting. Even thought, he is not healthy, not energy, he is alive but so anxious for the future of her daughter. Go more deep down, this history promotes a set of values that today we can’t see in our society. Honestly it’s a hard history of real life that makes me think in father, in my health and the more closed person whom I express affection and true love.
    So , all of us in one moment in our live , can became such a bill , our fears; these that don’t let us living at peace , that enemy of calm , it is who I named awful anxiety , that play with our tranquility with our awareness , this that don’t leave alone in moments of doubt , this adversary who talk each night in our bed, but when a big and evident difference, bill will not have another chance, rather than our lives go on.
    So, lord; I woke up, I’m alive and healthy. I can’t ask you for nothing else, it’s a big teaching and lives’ experience that bill give me, as well as bill, I give thank you and I thankful that whole of things that god give to my life, and special for my parents, which I can see alive, receiving hugs, kisses and whole their attentions in each moment in my life. Finally ,Bill is a clear example of tenacity that fought alone without his wife, only with the love that can express by her daughter.

    By: Juan Carlos Herrera Pion

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  79. To express my point of view I can say that this great story reminded me when I was a little child. During that time I was living with my father because my mother was in a hospital trying to survive of a terrible disease. It was a tragic period.

    For instance, this beautiful piece of literature narrates the life of a man who has a terminal sickness wanting to do his best work in order to ensure that his daughter was good with just 4 years, so it can show how Bill is such as a hero, a champion. It is the heart of a father feeding her and patching garments to his little girl. It is an example of how the parents forget it all with love and passion. Even the heart of a fallen parent is a kind of sacrifice, so I can also imagine how great is our God for the reason to give his son for love to us.

    In fact, this story caught my attention and I suggest reading this fantastic story to everybody so as to reflect our real life.

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  80. First of all, I would like to say that Bill is a very short story, you can read it in a few minutes, besides, it's written in an understandable way, with no many weird words and also in a chronological sequence of events, likewise the story is a realistic one because anyone could possibly live the situation experimented by Bill in the story, finally I can infer this story allows to reflect about the fact that one probably could live a similar situation, and we need to be ready to face up the problems, one should be prepared to make decisions in hard times.

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  81. With regard to this story, it might say that the author creates a good story despite certain failings in the end. Nevertheless, it is possible to rescue that the author develops a good argument with great emotions between the reader and the main characters. In addition, it is relevant to mention that Zona Gale touches a real topic, which might appear in the life of any human being. Basically, we as human beings should pay attention to this type of stories; in this way, man would think so much about his relationship with himself and with other.
    Finishing with this brief intervention, I would like to recommend this sensitive and brilliant story not only to students but also a public in general, really this story deserves to be read by many people. Please continue commenting and spreading this tale.

    Thank you…………..

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  82. I think that the story is very interesting because it shows us that an illness can separate us from our family. It is to say, people that we love for example, in the case of Bill that felt ill when his little girl was 4 years. From that reason the story is sad because Bill is going to die, leaving his little girl lonely. Also Zona Gale shows in her story (Bill) that we should do the best while we are alive. On other hands, the story lets us to know about the sacrifice that some dads do for their sons while they are alive for example Bill looked for a good family for his little girl so that he would leave her lonely in this world. Besides, Gale in this story wants us to transmit the value of life, in others words, doing the best during the time that we have in this world.

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  83. maria alexandra torres florez
    I think that the story is very interesting because it shows us that an illness can separate us from our family. It is to say, people that we love for example, in the case of Bill that felt ill when his little girl was 4 years. From that reason the story is sad because Bill is going to die, leaving his little girl lonely. Also Zona Gale shows in her story (Bill) that we should do the best while we are alive. On other hands, the story lets us to know about the sacrifice that some dads do for their sons while they are alive for example Bill looked for a good family for his little girl so that he would leave her lonely in this world. Besides, Gale in this story wants us to transmit the value of life, in others words, doing the best during the time that we have in this world.

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  84. In my personal opinion, I can say that “Bill” is an interesting tale because it presents us a real story; in which Bill did some sacrifices for his little daughter. However, it is important to keep in mind that not all the time what we think and believe about something is always the correct, because, in this case Bill thought that the best way to take care of his little daughter was not to pay attention, not show what he really felt and look for a new family but is the best way of taking care of someone?. Before acting we must think about all of the positive and negative consequence. On the other hand, this short story teach us the real meaning of love that only want s the best for that person. In fact, we can compare it with our daily life where our parents struggle everyday in order to look for a better quality of life for us.

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  85. BILL
    Bill is a moving story that reflects real life, in which the author used different events and descriptions. For instance, she used physical descriptions, and events that captured the reader’s attention. While reading it, we discovered a lot of feelings that permit us to think and feel how the main character lived each moment and also think over life, especially in our daily in which all can change, and of course with the opportunity to confront it.

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  86. “Bill”
    The story about Bill is a sad situation lived by a parent who has to make decision about his daughter’s future. It shows, hard decisions that parents sometimes are obliged to do in order to offer the best things for their children, the author touches reader’s feelings because in my case I cannot imagine the separation between my daughter and I, I know she needs me and I need her. Unfortunately, it is very common to find this kind of situations in the society, where kids lose their parents or vice versa and live in difficult conditions around us, in the real life.

    Bill demonstrates how love can be expressed by the actions; he has to take care of Minna, cooks, even mends her dresses, all the little things a mother does that seem simple but not all the people can do with dedication and love.

    The story gives us the opportunity to think what will come with the main characters, we do not know anything about Bill and the new life of Mina, but we can imagine our own version,but the most important is to reflect about the beautiful opportunity we have to live and share with friends and family all the world God gives us.
    Fabiola.

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    1. I agree, none parent should go through such a hard situation. We are all blessed by having a successful a,d joyful life with our kids. Hope none of le latter words change for any of us in the future. :)

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  87. Firstly, when a person reads any writing’s tittle, s/he (often) tries to guess what the plot is about, and in my case, the first thing that came up to my mind was ‘’a man’s sorrowful story’’ which actually came for real.
    Life, as we all know, is about dealing with a series of events that will happen in certain moments of it, they may be good, joyful or sorrowful. But, as we have always heard from our close friends, ‘’life and happiness depend both on our attitude to face the troubles’’.
    In Bill’s case (widower, single father of a little girl, poor and not so good at house caring), we can see this sort of situation, in which you feel the world is all against you, pushing down and forcing you to make decisions that may get better or worse someone else’s life… It is in this way the word ‘’bravery’’ comes to my mind.
    Bill, who actually does not have such a great life style, gets to know he will ‘’depart’’ to a better life and being aware that his daughter will be totally alone (given that they have no more family), makes me think and reflect about how strong he was when making the decision to give her in adoption, acting as ‘’nothing is wrong’’, and doing his best to be, at least for the last days together, a better father for her. It may be that me, as a single mother, feel this story closer and more touching and overwhelming, and as I mentioned before, it made me reflect and appreciate even more everything I have in life, of all love God demonstrates me by permitting me have a ‘’normal’’ life and be able to be with my beloved people every time I want and I can. I feel so blessed after deeply understanding Bill’s story, and hope I will never be in such a situation, because that would probably affect every centimeter of my soul.

    Carol Duque Hernández
    University of Pamplona

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  88. Comment by: Nataly Guarín Torres

    “Bill “a sad story.
    Written by Zona Gale

    In the first place, I would like to say that when I read the tittle I thought that it was about someone’s life but not a happy life ,as normally we can see when stories began with a person´s name.
    As you know, life is not easy for anyone and this story is not the exception, this is about a family that presents or suffers some experiences of life but in a sad way, the first event that the story presented, was when Bill became widower and with a little girl , with a not good situation …his problems began and he had to act in a strong and brave way, all this just because of his love for Minna.
    Then he felt ill , and was in that moment when he had to face up a worst situation, and started to looking for a family for his little girl, some people nice and warm to take care of Minna ,his daughter.
    He showed how brave a person could be, and he did the best for his daughter and finally he got a bless he found a great family who decide d to adopted Minna.
    We can reflect about this story and be thankful with God because of each thing and bless we have , and also analyze that money and things do not represent happiness.

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  89. First of all, it is necessary to say when I read the title I thought that was a boring story about a normal man , however Bill is a tale that does not tell us the story about “ a normal man” this story is about the fate of Minna, a little girl, who was accompanied by an angel called Bill, her father that gave the best of him, he was a great father, he did everything possible and impossible for the welfare of her daughter, he also did everything that makes a good mother for her child; he cooked, cleaned, mended her clothes and worked for her in his carpenter shop. I really liked the Bill’s decision about looking for a family for Minna that finally he found. Therefore , Minna was a really lucky, she had an angel until she was six years old that prepared her for a better destiny… Yinela Martínez

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  90. Juliana

    This short story is about a single parent who tries his best to raise his daughter without thinking of himself. This is the pattern of a mother's behavior but in this opportunity it is present in the life of a man.

    Through the plot of this narrative and dramatic work, I identified someone who played a role of hero, Bill. He did everything for his daughter Minna; he cooked for her, mended her clothes and at the same time he worked in his shop. Maybe, for us the role played by Bill is the same role played by every mother. For that reason he is a hero, he was a mother and a father for Minna. In the same way, when Bill knew he was sick the first thing he thought was that Minna would require a family to be cared.

    At that point, the story brings us that we must continue to strive to live without thinking about problems. Every person has a reason to live, now we must only look for that reason.

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  91. “BILL”

    “Bill”, a short story written by Zona Gale, an American writer and recognized in that time for being the winner of the “Pulitzer for Drama” in 1921 with the novel called “Miss Lulu Belt”. Likewise, Zona Gale was a woman who was characterized for expressing in her stories real life situations developed in her small town, Portage in Wisconsin. In this way, this short tale reflected a real life experience of a young man who due to the unexpected death of his wife, this man called Bill had to take care of his little girl Minna.

    Hence, I am going to speak about this tale which really caught my attention because of it included hard real situations that made me think about life, and what I would do in that moment. Bill, a widower man who was living a new life with his little daughter, he had just a carpenter shop situated in his house, now a mother and a father who had to work, cook, swept, wash, and patch Minna’s clothes. One day, tragically Bill received bad news changing his life, he was ill. Then, he started to live an internal conflict in which he had to take hard but final decisions, he won’t be with Minna for much time.

    Speaking personally this truly moved me because Bill took the determination of advertising about Minna on a city newspaper in order to search the right adoptive parents to his lovely girl, besides a lot of people did not agree with that. Bill had to change of attitude with Minna and so she would confront her life in spite of the difficulties.

    Thus, it was admirable and highly emotional to read it, and feel what the author wanted to express to the readers. This is the kind of stories that I love the most.

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  92. Firstly, when I read the title, it seemed to be very simple and did not capture my attention. Thus, evaluating my point of view, I can say that there were a lot of reasons which I was not interested in. On the first hand, I thought the plot could be about an autobiography or one important personage who could take part in the writer’s life, reason enough to believe that the reading could be a little boring. Also, I realized “Bill” is a common name in the United Stated, so it could be a clue for knowing what the reading would be about it, it might be about a typical American guy and his disordered life (in my personal opinion).

    After reading the whole story, I found out that my expectations were wrong.Bill’s tale actually is a short story that illustrates the real and daily life of an ordinary American man as well as his hard experiences in the past. Zona Gale wrote a sad story of a widower who fought with his fears and anguishes, facing an early death, it is how in the middle of his dark fears and pain, appears his little beautiful daughter called Minna who is the most important person in Bill´s life. ‘’Bill’’ is one of those stories that goes deep inside our hearts and touching our feelings in a sad way. For that reason, there is no way to stay away from sorrow when you imagine all of these unfortunate episodes in Bill’s life and especially little Minna who would be alone after her father´s death.

    In conclusion, we can find in each corner of our society stories like this one, especially in American cities, when the families are very small and their members unfortunately in some cases come from a dysfunctional family where the values such as fraternity have been changed for other material values, for instance: the money, but it is not the case of Bill; he is totally opposite to this. With Bill’s story, I could learn the value of the responsibility and reasonability; situations where you do not know what you are going to do, always thinking to do it better and do not affect others with our decisions. I am proud of Bill because he was a brilliant father who felt pure love for his daughter. This reading taught me about not caring so much about all the problems that may come to our lives, always dreaming, loving and fighting for the person that has a beautiful side in your little heart. This is what Bill did; he loved his daughter over all things including death and money.

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  93. First of all, “Bill” is a short story treating the topic -hard decisions-. The author developed the narrative in four pages. Building up the topic from the beginning, the author presented the characters and their situation. Although the place is well described, the time is not clear. Details are shown outright as necessary, that to maintain the objective point of view.
    Even if “Bill” is a short tale, it reaches the purpose of catching reader’s attention and keeps doing it until the end, getting also making the reader wants more. Actually, as a reader, I do not accept like an unfinished anecdote, but it is a short one. That demonstrates the amount of feelings the author transmits through her writing. You get involved in the story that you feel empathy with the main character, making you imagine what you would do in similar situations.
    Finally, I recommend Bill to all who love drama. In not too many lines the author touches your feelings, making you, why not, and cry. Sometimes one considers life is not fair, but you have to continue till your forces abandon you. There is no place for regrets, at least which will not change your situation.

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  94. Firstly, Bill’s story shows us a nostalgic situation. A father with a little girl, poor and unhealthy, just a single person always as protector and a hero for his daughter. It is a story showing a sad and sick man taking a hard decision; a man that does not have enough time to share and saying his baby how much he loves her.
    Nowadays, someone can find this story as real as his own life. Perhaps, there are some people living the same situation and nothing in their mind appears or represents a solution. In fact, such as in Bill’s story, could women or men as mothers or fathers keep in their mind and giving their children a family they have not seen in their lives? Good question to reflect for a long time and not clear answers in mind.
    In conclusion, everyone as human being has to face different situations which become a great giant for his living condition and only a wise decision could be a medicine for his illness and the way he hoped.
    Yuly Prada

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  95. Simply, I would like to say that “Bill” story caught my attention from the beginning, because it shows us another life perspective, a different story tale, different from the common stories that always have a happy ending. Thus, that make you think about how far, and what would you do for your children. Sometimes the decisions that we take are not the best for us, or what we want, but sometimes we have to take a decision and just hope that it will be the best one.

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  96. Bill’s comment
    "Bill" is a short story that reflects a reality present nowadays; to become a father and mother at the same time, for different reasons such as being a single mother, or the loss of a spouse, any, reasons that lead these parents to become fierce beasts able to do anything for their children, and confront the same world to protect them. Besides, we can learn of this narrative that nobody has purchased his/her life, that at any time death itself comes knocking at our door without even letting us say goodbye to our loved ones, so it is necessary to live each day with the greatest intensity possible "one day at a time."
    When reading the story many would judge Bill's decision to give up Mina for adoption, and even more denying her a kiss or a simple hug, we should put ourselves in his shoes, we have to carry his cross to understand this reaction to that situation. For me Bill was really strong, because in spite of being sick, and his stay in this life was limited to about 6 months, for him the most important was to look for a stable future for his loved daughter, even though his physical pains, he really demonstrated an unconditional love, he stated how big is the love a father feels to a son.
    The intention of the author was so clear. It made me revise my life, many times we allow the time pass without giving and receiving a hug from our relatives, and as a result we surely will regret those moments when our loved be gone. I really liked this story because the main character is love, a love that never fails, the one willing to give his life for the beloved.

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  97. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  98. After reading the story, first of all I can say that I admire Bill because ever since he found out that he was going to die he decided to make the life of his little girl easier in some way when he stopped kissing her and hugging her. We have to bear in mind that he was just thinking about her, about the life that he wanted her to have as he was certain that he would not be there for her for too long. He just wanted the best for her and he thought that by doing that she was not going to feel sad or miserable when they had to eventually separate. I think I would not be able to do that because making such a decision requires a lot of self-control and determination.

    Besides, doing that to a little child is heartbreaking although we all know that Bill made that decision because he loved her daughter and he was only thinking on her welfare. On the other hand I have to admit that this is a sad story and I am not really into sad neither short stories.

    Finally, although I admire the decision of Bill to give her little girl the best he could I personally think that short stories are not enough to tell a story and some things or pieces of information that as a reader we feel are important for the development of the plot might just end up as background stories without a connection with the main one.

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  99. This is is a short-story that narrates the difficult task of being a single father but not a common single father but a widowed one who does not have so much resources for providing his daughter the things that a loving girl, as Minna, deserves. This feature makes me reflect on the fact of how people may change their personality or their habits in order to satisfy or make happy another one, just like Bill did it for Minna. But why people change? And when I say “people” I am referring to why parents change? Especially when they have a child. And I have arrived to the conclusion that only the purest love can achieve that. As I know some cases where parents have changed severely some aspects of their lives when they had their first-born son/daughter. For example, my own mother.

    On the other hand, I want to present my second point of view about “Bill” which is not about the story itself but about its background, I mean, the analysis or the moral that is behind this tale. I consider that the most important lesson “Bill” gives to the reader is that people should be aware of when they are hurting their loved ones in order to make changes which benefit both parts. In other words, when you hurt someone that you love the best option is let him go. And it is here where the lesson about sacrifice appears, as it is required more love to give up somebody than to remain at his side. And that was exactly what Bill did with Minna when he gave up her for adoption as he knew that the child would has suffered horribly by his side.

    In short, I found this short-story as an excellent instrument to make people become aware of their flaws and a way to demonstrate them that reaching a positive change inside us is possible if we have a sincere incentive which motivates us to be better people. Finally, “Bill” invites us to put aside selfishness and start thinking about the well-being of our loved ones.

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  100. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  101. I consider “Bill” as a really hard story, I mean, a single man trying to raise his daughter, facing the difficulties of being a widower and always thinking about how his wife would do things if she were alive, with the intention of doing things in the same way to be a great father and to avoid his daughter to feel the absence of her mother, and when he is finally getting used to that, he discovers he has a disease so he would not be able of taking care of his little daughter no longer, I just cannot imagine how he felt, but it was clearly very, very hard!

    After reading, the first thing I did was to wonder “what would I do if I were Bill?” And I definitely cannot find a solution because for me that would be not to die and be always with my child; I think Bill is a very strong man who must be suffering even more for leaving his daughter than for the illness itself, because she is clearly his entire world, and I just can feel a huge admiration towards him because of being so brave to raise his daughter and to do his best to give her a normal life in despite of the difficulties that must imply to be a single parent specially for a man. I love the way the author included the neighbor in the story because she helped him when he needed the most, (when learning how to prepare healthy food and when she advised him to give his little daughter up for adoption) which is one the reasons why I admire Bill the most because now that his time was coming, having the courage to think clearly about what would be the best for his daughter must be the most difficult decision of his life.

    Finally, I suppose that after letting Minna go, Bill was immensely sorrowful, but at the same time happy, because at the bottom of his heart, he knew that now she would be enjoying each day of her life without the sadness that would mean to see his father dying.

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  102. “Bill” is a story about the worst case scenario. Bill is a man who was forced by destiny to become a father and then a mother when his wife passed away, he fought as much as he could to become the best father for his little girl Minna, he did not seemed to be the best fit for the four-year-old girl but he was all she had, and she was all he had as well. Then, against all odds he got sick and had to face the worst decision any parent could ever face, he had to choose a new family for his beloved girl because he was not going to be around for much longer. When I first read the title of this story I knew it was about a man named Bill, but after I finished reading it I realized it was about a hero named Bill, because it takes a lot of nerve to be a man who lets the person he loved the most go, and dealt with not only the fact of losing his own life, but the fact of leaving a lonely innocent child behind not knowing what would be of her.

    This story teaches more than one lesson, throughout it we learnt about the only kind of real everlasting love, the love from a parent to his child, about the ultimate sacrifice when you wish you had nothing to lose and nothing to leave behind but you are forced to go without knowing if the love of your life will be alright. I also learnt about the role of a man that is not determined by society but by his own heart, a man can love, raise and even cook if he feels it is the right thing to do and in this case it was the best thing to do. Finally, I learnt about the existence of light in the darkest moments, because in this reading I did not only see tragedy, irony and life’s cruelty, I saw a love that changes stereotypes, a man who is determined to see his little girl happy even if he is not and the fact that there is so much hope in a new beginning for a new life in the ending of another life.

    The author definitely knows how to touch human’s fibres, I believe she was capable of synthetize lots of human’s dimensions in a small story. She made me question myself, my life and the ephemeral of it, so I was able to appreciate more. I am honestly grateful I am not Bill but I am secretly hoping I will able to meet more than one person who can love as much as he did and think so clearly under so much pressure. And at the end she showed me the purest kind of love.

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  103. BILL: WHEN LOVE MEANS SACRIFICE

    Loving is an act of sacrifice and paternal love is the main blessing that has ever existed. There is not space neither for judgments nor for censures since loving is what really guides the track one follows. Never had I been more touched than when reading “Bill” that I would not have other words to start writing this commentary. What can I do? This story is more brilliantly narrated than any other full of elaboration.

    “Bill” is told with simplicity but it reflects the reality that characterizes those sad stories that are sometimes difficult to understand and to accept, but that make people change the perception they have of happiness and love; they constitute a mirror on which we arrive to appreciate our world with other eyes. This story tells how human beings try to be happy on their way even when situations in their lives tend to be repetitive and problems become sometimes the major source of deceptions and solitude. Even so, they make possible to cling to something or to someone in order to be stronger and face all the realities that are often more painful when they persuade themselves of forgetting what they are actually suffering. Thus, Bill was not only physically sick, but it was his constant fight to come off from his daughter to make her happy what really became his illness. The fact he had decided to give her in adoption instead of letting her to know how cruel existence can often be is not a choice that can be judged because when we love, there are not excuses that can put us aside from our ideal of sacrifice. What this man did is an evident sign of tenderness and acceptation of his destiny.

    In brief, it would be nonsense if I said that this story did not accomplish my expectations. Earlier, I had decided to change the end of the story, but now I will not. Perhaps, it had been fair to experience a happy ending, but it is also acceptable that sometimes, realities cannot be readapted because of our desires. In fact, I am able to understand that what Bill did was a brave choice that evidences the great passion he had for caring his little girl: he could realize on time that it would had been worst if he had explicitly demonstrated his love for his daughter since he knew that at the end, he would go away without any excuse or approval.

    Omairys Torres Moya

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  104. Before I read the story, I thought that “Bill” was kind of boring because the title did not give me any interesting clue about the story, so I expected it was about Bill’s adventures or something related to that. However, when I started reading it, I realized that it was quite different than I expected. As soon as I started reading, this amazing story caught my attention and suddenly, all the negative feelings I had constructed around this gone away.

    This short story is so moving. While reading it, I could feel how vulnerable Bill was: his daughter was his entire world and the fact of leaving her alone because of a terminal illness really hurt him, even more than the illness he suffered. However, he knew his little girl will be fine with another family. It was the best decision he could ever make. Besides, I can feel Bill was worried as he knew he had only six months to find a home for his daughter.

    Personally, Bill’s story leaves me a significant lesson about love and its meanings. In this case, love means sacrifice since although Bill loved his daughter with all his heart, he renounced her and it did not matter how painful it was. He just wanted a better future for his child. I really love reading this kind of stories because they make me reflect on the importance of family and giving everything you have just because you love it: this story makes me think about how difficult it could be losing someone close to me so it makes me appreciated them.

    Johana Serrano

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  105. First of all, this short-story made me think of how difficult a single parent life could be, taking into account that life is always putting us between a rock and a hard place in order to prove us how brave and deciding we may be when we face those challenges. Thus, this tale shows a story life where a father has to make the most difficult decision of his life: giving her daughter in adoption because of his lethal illness.

    Besides, I have to confess that this little passage of the story touched me, specially the last paragraph which was the part when Bill sees his daughter, Minna leaving with her new family. Sometimes we have to make decisions for the people we love, decisions that probably do not benefit us but them, just because we love them and we have to take care of them.

    Finally, I consider the author should have been more descriptive adding details to the characters and how they felt, and to the setting as well; nevertheless, I know this is a short-story, consequently, we may imagine the characteristics left to have a wide physical and psychological description of them. However, I just cannot wait to read how this story finishes.

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  106. First of all, I want to mention that when I read the title, the first idea that came to my mind was that probably, the main topic was related to money, a ticket or even business stuff. However, when I started reading the first line “Bill was thirty when his wife died, and little Minna was four”, I noticed that it was not a common story.

    Zona Gale, the American author of this short story captures the most difficult moment in Bill’s life, a widowed father who has to look after his little daughter called Minna by playing the single father role. Being a carpenter, he has to learn how to cook, how to clean, and even how to patch Minna’s clothes. Unfortunately, when he was becoming accustomed to his new condition, he was diagnosed with a terminal illness that forces him to look for an adoptive family for his daughter.

    From my point of view, this situation catches my attention since it shows an example of many hard decisions that parents make in order to look for the benefit of their children. For instance, Bill’s choice reflects the sacrifice, the pain, and the impotence produced by a terminal disease or even the death of a loved one. Moreover, the author through Bill’s story makes me think about how important and generous parents are: they are all the time sacrificing themselves and fighting against all odds for the welfare and future of their children.

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  107. “Bill” is a story which did not tell me too much at the beginning, the title was not very clear, it was very simple: Bill, I could not imagine a lot of things with such a short title. Obviously, in literature, all the aspects, especially the titles, have a relation with the story; “Bill” could not be the exception. When I started reading I realized what the story was about, and it really caught my attention from the beginning to the end. Honestly, I would not like to be in Bill’s situation, it is so difficult to experiment hard situations such as his wife’s death. That incident, forced him to learn how to survive without her, at the same time, he had to face the upbringing of his daughter completely alone, doing the best that he could and making an effort to make his wife absence not so noticeable.

    As if things were not difficult, Bill had to affront the most challenging situation: his illness; now, he not only must continue living and overcoming the death of his wife but he must think about the future of his little daughter Minna, who was going to suffer not only the loss of her mother but also her father's absence. It must be frustrating for a person to know that her daughter will suffer the loss of both parents in such a short time. During the story I could appreciate a sorrowful father who tries to be strong refusing to give her an expression of love as a kiss, this emotional situation and the phrase: a big girl, a big girl, announced the beginning of the sad separation. In this way, “Bill” is a story that illustrates a real situation where our perspective about life can change to the point that we start a retrospective analysis of our actions, about our real feelings and the aspects of our life which are really important; t means a deep evaluation about the meaning of life and death.

    Consequently, it is clear that the author's intention is to influence all readers with the sensitivity of experiencing a situation like this one, an experience of unconditional love and sacrifice. Personally, when I finished the reading, a soft sigh went through my mouth and I thought, I hope I never have to live a similar experience, because I would not know what to do, it would be very difficult to leave our loved ones knowing that we always wanted to give them our best, but like Bill certainly I would give up to live in her memory with just one purpose: her happiness; it would be the best gift I could give her, even if she did not remember me, she would know that she had a mother that loved her so much that she made the decision to let her go earlier than expected avoiding the pain of the inevitable separation.



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  108. “Bill” is a story which talks us about parenthood and sacrifice, this middle age man wants to be everything his daughter needs, but time and illness are not his friends and they build a path for him which push him away of his dreams of giving her everything; being able to face his faith he decides to make a last effort to his daughter and make him sure of giving her the future she deserves. This tale is short enough to understand the implications of being a single parent.

    This story has touched me deeply, it has awaken my maternal side, and actually it made me notice a part of real life situations that we are not so conscious about, sometimes we consider that mothers are the ones who made big sacrifices for their children but this story show us a committed father who cannot fight against his faith, I respect men who are not afraid of being good fathers, who are not afraid of putting themselves throughout situations which are not planned for men. This story awoke my respect towards the concept of family and it affirms my thought that families are built not imposed.

    Stories with sad endings are not my best option at the moment of choosing readings, but stories that touch real life situations seem to me as brave stories with braves authors who are courageous enough to show the reality of the world without taking apart the inspirational fact that all stories should have, I consider this short tale goes through the parenthood reality quite enough to offer to readers a touching and attaching story and to awake feelings of sympathy and sorrow.

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  109. “Bill” is one of the saddest stories that I have read. When I first saw the title, any idea came to my mind. However, when reading the first line I realized that he was one of the main characters of this story, a sad story from the beginning to the end. It is a beautiful story ( even if I like happy endings) because it caught my attention, it kept me interested in knowing what was going to happen and also because the writer’s way of writing make me imagine each situation lived by the main characters. I could imagine Minna playing with her doll, and Bill working in his carpenter shop or trying to cook something for his daughter. It is a story that can wake up different feelings and in some way make us think about our reaction in front of difficult situations such as those lived by this family.

    For me Bill is the hero of this story. He is a hero because not all men are strong enough to face up those kind of situations. First of all, the death of his wife, and then taking her role in order to bring upraise his daughter. He did the best, he had to learn many things for the benefit of this child; he took care of Minna, he worried about her such as a good father would do it. But what make him a real hero is what he did for Minna, it was a painful decision but at the same time it was amazing to realize what a father can make for his daughter. Looking for someone who could take care of her at the moment of his absence is something that deserves being recognized as a heroic action.

    Bill is an example for all those men who think that only women can take care of children or that only women are able to cook. Bill is the way to demonstrate the abilities that all men can develop if they set out to do it. Bill is an example of courage, but overall, Bill is the representation of a good father that even the difficulties he had to face up, love for his family was the most important.

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  110. “Bill” is a story written by the American writer Zona Gale, which tells us a serie of facts that an American middle-class carpenter should overcome. Zona Gale’s “Bill” is a story full of love, sacrifice, suffering and social problems, which shows so many aspects of human beings’ lives.

    I could appreciate that the author wanted to illustrate the importance of love, doing something particular, she turned a carpenter into a mother, a carpenter ready for doing any thing to give the best to his daughter and show her that she will not walk alone. Bill is the representation of two essential feelings. In first place, this man is love since he learnt to do things that a mother does to make Minna happy. In second place, this carpenter is suffering because he had to fight against his own feelings to get away his little darling’s love. On the other hand, the appropriate representation for Minna is innocence as she did not know what is happening around her. During the reading, this writer gave me a general panorama of her situation at that time, illustrating a really religious and macho society that is why she took the Bill’s figure to show all the readers that being a mother and a housewife is a difficult and honorable labor, which any man can accomplish correctly. Gale says we are women and we do harder activities than men.

    Finally, I would like to add that this writer has done a great job with her literacy work as she made all readers wonder what will be the Minna’s future. For these reasons, I think Gale is a great writer as she did not only show the fatherly love, but the social situation of her time.

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  111. When I read the title ‘’Bill’’ I thought that maybe he was the main character, but I could not infer anything about the story because the title did not give any clue about it, even though when I read the first line I realized that it was a tragic story about a man called Bill ,the story is told by an external narrator who knows everything about the characters and events, it is told in an impersonal way because the author never gives her opinion ,furthermore she always talks in third person.

    In addition, the environment is defined by the places given by the author such as the house with the carpenter shop and the yard, the city with the school and the church; also the spiritual realities are presented through the events, their religion for example. Bill used to pray God and take Minna to church. In addition, the events are presented in order and the author never presents any flashback.

    In conclusion, the environment and the characters make of this story a great story about love and sacrifice. I consider that Bill was a lovely and a good father, he loved his child, and he looked after her even he was sick, he prayed God to help him to be a good father and doing it right for Minna.In this story Zona Gale make us reflect about truly love and sacrifice, I think that the biggest love someone can feel is the love that our fathers give us, in my personal opinion this short story really touched my heart. I lost my father 9 years ago and I think that even if he was ill he did his best for me and my siblings, my mother is like Bill, she takes care of us and for me she is a heroine, she is the best.That is why I consider Bill a hero because in spite he loved Minna he gave her in adoption to a good family and even if he was ill he did his best until the end.

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  112. “Bill” by Zona Gale
    Comment by Alexandra González Santos.

    “Bill”, It is a short story of the American witer Zona Gale and one of the most intelligent ways of catching the audience attention with a dramatic story full of emotions such as parental love, desperation and sadness. It has a great dramatic written style that could even touch the hardest hearts.
    “Bill” a widower man who tries to do his best for “Minna” his beautiful little girl and most appreciated treasure. After his wife’s death, he is about to deal with one of the most difficult situations that someone could ever have. How hard life could turn up for a man when he realizes that he would die in just six months leaving alone his only and loved daughter. And that is when the story gives its first emotional shock, when “Drama” opens its door involving the reader in a series of feelings that enrich his imagination and move his heart. Through the whole tale Gale delights us with a sequence of facts in Bill’s life that let us see how big, powerful and strong love can be.
    In conclusion, I consider this short-story as one the best I have ever read. Even if I do not like sad endings this tale changed all my expectations about what a sad ending is. It was sad but it gave me hope what means that it was not sat at all. That is what a good writer as Gale does, they invite us to live all kind of emotions through their words even if they are not living and create new expectations in our lives. A story that I strongly recommend for all those who are able to feel lot of emotions in few pages.

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  113. Zona Gale describes Bill’s story who is a typical American father got into carpentry and must subject himself into certain sufferings, prejudices and in such way overcome gender barriers and the social stereotypes in those times in order to bring his daughter up demonstrating that love can make everything.
    I could notice how the author depicts the incalculable value of love and family and responsibility, how two people become a society grounded on family ties, how a father becomes an oblation to provide well- being to his daughter. Bill is the personification of the greatest human ideals: happiness and love. Firstly, happiness which is basically the satisfaction got when overcoming each arisen trouble and he certainly represents it as he undertakes female housework which the macho society labels as unworthy for men. Likewise, Bill hides his sufferings and sorrows as to make the others happy and especially his child who is sent along with another family. Secondly, he is love for all what he wants more is that his disgrace does not disturb his daughter’s innocence and thereby he decides to give her in adoption so that she and her new family can be happy. On the other hand, the little Minna is the personification of commission or of a project whose fate only depends on us; its success depends on the quality of love and determination that we demonstrate thereunto. While reading I could get an insight that the author lived in a very traditional and conservative society where the duties are labeled by gender and dignity by duties or roles. On the contrary, Gale teaches that the dignity of an action is not weighed by gender or by the superficial social norms, but through the love and determination whereby a human being goes it through
    Finally, I would like to affirm that this female writer has done of Bill’s story a great work as she makes of a simple fictitious narration a realistic social and moral criticism which not only applies for her time but also for nowadays.

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  114. I usually try to imagine the course of a story based on the title. However, I did not know what to expect from “Bill” because it was just one word so I started reading thinking about the role that “Bill” would play in the story; a thousand questions were filling my mind: Who is Bill? Is he a kid or a man? Is he the main character? Is he the antagonist? Will he die at the end? Will he be happy? I was unaware of the tragedy that I would encounter thanks to this magnificent story which blew my mind.

    Despite all the sadness, I adored this story from the beginning to the end. The feelings portrayed through each word were so touching that I was on the verge of tears near the end of the story where Bill had to say the last goodnight to Minna. Although I do not read often, I am very sensitive that I can connect with the characters and their emotions. I really wanted Bill to be happy and stay by Minna’s side so badly, but life is not that easy sometimes. I think the ending was perfect, I cannot imagine another one.

    I admire Bill; he was an emblem of true love. He fought with all his might to guarantee Minna’s happiness, enduring all the pain just to see a smile on her face. He showed that love is about protecting, not destroying. I thank Zona Gale for having written this marvelous story which reminded that we can be strong for our beloved ones; no matter what is waiting for us, we will fight to see their smile shine every day.

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  115. “Bill” is one of the short-stories written by Zona Gale. I could not imagine what was encoded in the title of this sorrowful story just after ending to read it (B-ill). This story teaches us what a tender father is willing to do for assuring the future of his unique daughter.

    Bill is a carpenter who works hard to provide all what is necessary to Minna. He safeguards her as the pupil of his eye. A serious diagnosis changes the Bill’s life. His doctor finds him ill and his time in just six months. Sharply, Bill thinks in a plan, and after looking for a family carefully, he decides to give her up for adoption. What the author wants to show us with this story is how a single parent tries his best to raise his daughter. Besides, how B ill faces his illness and how hard it is to say “good bye” without saying “good bye” to his only child. Other essential aspect we learn of “Bill” is that money is not enough to take care of a child. A lot of people believe that material things such as toys, video consoles, cell phones, tablets can replace father’s and/or mother’s role. Money is necessary to supply many things at home, but it should not be a priority. Parents must share much more time with their children, instead of working 24/7.

    Finally, most of stories have a happy ending, however, “Bill” has not. it happens something we do not hope not even we want. It was one of the things I liked the most, because it is a different way of writing. That is why, I strongly recommend you to read “Bill” to imagine what we would do if we walk a mile in the Bill’s shoes.

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  116. First of all, I want to say that Bill‘s story really caught my attention since the beginning, when I read the title I think about a typical love story with a happy ending. Moreover, when I started reading I realized it was not a traditional story, Zona Gale shows us different perspectives of life through this story, and how our decisions change our life, besides, the true love between a father and his daughter.

    For me the most important moment in Bill’s story was when he had to decide about Minna’s future, because of his terminal disease, taking into account that he was a single man with his daughter as his entire world, it was really impressive for me, being a carpenter he took care of Minna, he cooked, cleaned and even patched her clothes it was so tender. The moral message of this story was the sacrifice when Bill had to give her for adoption in order to protect her; I think he just wanted the best for her.

    In general, this story is a clear example of love and sacrifice, and also how the decisions affect our complete life. This story teaches us that we have to become aware of our way to appreciate and to demonstrate our love in front our loves ones. Finally, this story is a kind of reflection about how important is parent´s role in our life, and also that sometimes we do not appreciate their sacrifices.

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  117. When I read for the first time the title ‘’Bill’ I could infer immediately that Bill was the protagonist of the story, I was not able to recognize any detail because the title was not so elaborated or gave me more clues about the story. The first thing that came into my mind was looking for the author’s biography in order to get more details about her life and the facts that could have pushed her to write the story. According to the author’s biography and her life’s context, I supposed that the story would take place in Wisconsin where Zona Gale came from. I started the reading and the first line made me think of what I was just about to read a very very sad story.


    After reading, the story seemed to me so moving because it showed us how difficult can be being alone with a child and knowing that we are ill and we are going to die. It was also interesting the main character life’s style, a hard worker man, without childcare experience, but with a huge heart full of love for the little girl. Bill, concerned about Minna, was thinking all the time about her child’s future and for that reason he started to look for a new life for the girl. The facts were always surrounding Bill’s illness and the six months he had to find out a new home for the girl.

    Personally, I enjoyed reading this story because it is so realistic and showed us the actual situation of many men and women around the world and the sacrifice they have to bear being single and having children. Bill is an example of love and perseverance, for me, he was a hero that made painful sacrifices to preserve his daughter's happiness. I would have liked that the end of the story had been different, but after all, I liked it, although the scene in which Minna left his father withtout saying goodbye, arose my deepest feelings.

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  118. ‘Bill’ is a short story about the internal and external struggles that a widower has to face, a tale that shows the different sides of being a single parent with a loving tender little girl to raise, accepting an unpleasant destiny as having a terminal disease and only a couple of months to live, he decides to be brave to make the most important decision: define his daughter's future. When I read the title for the very first time I thought it could represent two things: ‘Bill’ as a male name, then the story could be about Bill’s life or ‘Bill’ as an amount of money owed for goods set out in a printed statement, then the story could be related to money debts, business, power and richness.

    This short story taught me more than one lesson, I learnt that looking after a child is not as easy as I thought, it is a huge responsibility for both parents; and when Bill, a single parent took this responsibility and was able to bring up Minna, it really moved me because it was something to look up to. I also realized that a mother’s role is as relevant as the parent’s role and beyond the stereotypes that society establishes, a man is able to do his duty. Bill did all what he could to make Minna's life was happy and she felt comfortable; for instance, he learnt how to cook healthy food, clean their house, wash and mend Minna’s clothes. Although Bill was worried about giving up his daughter, he acted as a real hero. Something that touched me deeply was when I read that Bill stopped kissing his daughter, he did that sacrifice in order to protect Minna’s health knowing that each time he had to tell her: ‘‘Minna’s a big girl now. She doesn’t want Papa to kiss her’’, he was regretting not to do it.

    I think the author was able to show the reality of many families around the world; Zona Gale summarized in a short story all the dimensions of raising a child being a single parent, she described the reader not only the external issues but the internal fights, and the most important she showed us the power of love and how it can make a person changes completely from learning to cook to have the courage to make sacrifices in the name of a true love.

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  120. “Bill” is a short story written by the American writer Zona Gale in the 30’s. It narrates some sad incidents related to Bill’s life, a widower carpenter who lived with his daughter in a small town. It is an interesting story because it hides information that are only discovered throughout the reading; that is to say, it does not give us detailed explanations about some aspects presented in the story, it is the reader who has to identify them. An example of this could be the title because in a simple overview only means the name of the main character, but in a deep look it also means “be ill” alluding, since the beginning, the plot of the story.

    Despite of the fact that the story was written a long time ago, we could notice the endless love that parents can feel for their children, going beyond time or circumstances. It is a real example of sacrifice where the father, having already confronted his wife’s death, has to face his fate without knowing someone who could look after his little daughter. It must be painful trust to an unknown person this important mission. For that reason, it is admirable the kind of men who are not scare of struggling for the well-being of their loved ones, or in this case, for being good fathers, forgetting the “rude image” that had been imposed by society.

    In my opinion, I dislike this kind of stories in which the end is sad; perhaps most of us are accustomed to read happy stories with romantic endings after an unhappy storyline. Despite of this, I accept that the author touched me because it made me reflect about those families who are passing through difficult moments. Maybe I could not imagine this kind of sorrow at this moment of my life because I do not have children yet but thinking about it could be a good exercise because we do not know what could happen in our lives.

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  121. To begin, when I saw the title I thought it was clear because Bill is a name, so it referred to a story of somebody. Maybe in my opinion, this did not give me a clue about what the author wanted to say but I could work out that Zona Gale would tell us a story of a man. Additionally, I could think that this story was going to be sad.

    According to the story, this is about a man who was alone with his little girl because his wife had gone. He always tried to give the best of him but a terminal disease knocked on his door and his poor dreams went away like the wind. In addition to that problem, he decided to look for a new family for his daughter and when he found it, he knew that a good life and other opportunities would arrive to his little Minna.

    In my view, we sometimes do not stop to think about if a similar situation happens in our lives we can make a decision like this and cease to be egoist to give for an important person the world’s best. The purpose of this story is not to say that a father abandons his child because he does not have money but rather he gives his girl to a new family because he cannot continue dreaming with her as above and he is not going to destroy his daughter’s dreams because of his illness. I have come to the conclusion that if we love so much, we can do everything for that person who has loved us sincerely.

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  122. Bill is a short story written by the American Zona gale that related the life of a

    father who has to raise his little daughter just after his wife death. Bill had to affront

    the responsibility of been a single father and learned what were the necessities of

    Minna through all the stages. Even though he learned and acted not just as a

    father but as the best mother he could be he didn’t made through to see his

    daughter grew up and became a good women.

    Although this is a short and just one chapter life story I think Zona gale was able to

    include and show all the aspects of a reality. Without been to dramatic or poetic,

    Zona described in an excellent way not only the struggles but the feelings and

    devotion of a father that has to do the best for his daughter. For me the most

    important and what I liked the most is the fact that this is not a typical story with a

    happy ending, this as I said before is a real story, a story that didn’t need fantasy or

    a hero with a cape to touch our heart and make us feel happy and sad at the same

    time with a real hero; a hero that if think deeply is a representation of all the heroes

    that are close to us because every father and mother, even someone related to us

    are heroes in their own way. This is the real life with struggles and harder

    moments, with no happy endings but with real lessons.

    To conclude I have to say that I´m very pleased with the story and the way Zona

    Gale wrote; we all know she was a writer that took her own experiences and

    environments to wrote, so I think this tale was inspired but someone which helped

    her to made it more meaningful (it taught us the infinite love of a parent and what

    they do for us).

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  123. When I read the tittle of this story, I thought that it would be about a little boy, but I never imagined that it would be about a carpenter. I read the story trying to guess what was going to happen after each one of the different events that changed the course of the story and this is one of the things I have to highlight from Zona Gale’s work, because her dramatic style involved me from the very beginning.

    The story itself is captivating, from the moment in which Minna’s mom died, until the moment in which Minna is adopted and her father sees her go away without saying goodbye. I also felt that she was very innocent as she did not know what was happening around her, for me it made the story more realistic and amazing. Furthermore, I was able to laugh thinking in the advertisement that Minna’s father made in order to find someone who took care of his little girl, it was kind of funny imagine me walking on the street and reading it. Definitively, the author made the reader part of the story.

    Finally, I thought about an ending for the story in which Minna’s father died in his bed, it was sad because there was not anybody who heard his last words, but at the same time it was happy because he knew that his daughter was good in a lovely family and although he could not be with her, he also knew that he had done his best.

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  124. The American writer Zona Gale presented us a short story of a single father called Bill who had to affront the fact of becoming widowed and acquiring the responsibility of taking care of his little daughter Minna. He had to learn how to be a father and a mother at the same time in order to give Minna all she needed. Although the story was short, the author knew how to present us this reality experienced by many single parents, and I think she wanted to make us reflect about hard decisions that sometimes we must make thinking about our loved ones’ welfare even if that decision implies keep away from them.

    For me, it was a very sorrowful story, Bill made all the possible to take care of Minna and to be with her always, but the terrible disease he was suffering from prevented him of being next to he, making sure she grow up full of love and without any problem.

    Finally, even if the author did not mention descriptions of any place in the story and did not give any specification about the characters’ physical and moral characteristics, we, as readers are able to identify the theme of the story and to analyze the different difficulties that arise when a person has to face a series of obstacles that oblige him/her to make decisions by necessity rather than by own decision.

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  125. NIXON FLOREZ

    Zona Gale describes Bill’s story who is a typical American father got into carpentry and must subject himself into certain sufferings, prejudices and in such way overcome gender barriers and the social stereotypes in those times in order to bring his daughter up demonstrating that love can make everything.

    I could notice how the author depicts the incalculable value of love and family and responsibility, how two people become a society grounded on family ties, how a father becomes an oblation to provide well- being to his daughter. Bill is the personification of the greatest human ideals: happiness and love. Firstly, happiness which is basically the satisfaction got when overcoming each arisen trouble and he certainly represents it as he undertakes female housework which the macho society labels as unworthy for men. Likewise, Bill hides his sufferings and sorrows as to make the others happy and especially his child who is sent along with another family. Secondly, he is love for all what he wants more is that his disgrace does not disturb his daughter’s innocence and thereby he decides to give her in adoption so that she and her new family can be happy. On the other hand, the little Minna is the personification of commission or of a project whose fate only depends on us; its success depends on the quality of love and determination that we demonstrate thereunto. While reading I could get an insight that the author lived in a very traditional and conservative society where the duties are labeled by gender and dignity by duties or roles. On the contrary, Gale teaches that the dignity of an action is not weighed by gender or by the superficial social norms, but through the love and determination whereby a human being goes it through.

    Finally, I would like to affirm that this female writer has done of Bill’s story a great work as she makes of a simple fictitious narration a realistic social and moral criticism which not only applies for her time but also for nowadays.

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  126. “Bill” is a tale which tells the story of a widowed parent. Bill has a six-year-old girl, his wife has passed away and he is now in charge of the house and the girl, he tries his best and does everything the little Minna needs, like mending her dresses take her to church and school activities; Bill has a neighbor who has given him some advice to improve Minna's raising process. Then after being alone with Minna he finds out he had a terrible disease and only six months left, so he starts looking for a family who can look after Minna when he is gone. After a few interviews he finally finds the perfect family for his daughter.

    By reading this tale and the author’s bio, I can appreciate how the writer’s background printed in the story, the place, the characters and the situations. Even if it is a tale I would rather a more descriptive story which makes me feel in the place, a story with more details about the side situations and the other characters, but also the writer has to leave the reader something to imagine. I also like that the writer had exposed such a hard topic: a man doing woman tasks (given the time) and how difficult is for men to face such a hard situation.

    This tale is also peculiar because does not have a happy ending for the main character, in a way he could fix Minna's situation but he finally died, it is really interesting find tales like that that are not the common happily ever after story, I would like to read some of Gale's work to learn more about life at that time.

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  130. “Bill' written by Zona Gale, is a touching story because from the beginning sad news about the life of the possible main character are noticed. Furthermore, if we analyze in detail the title we can break it down into two syllables: “b –ill” that could help us to have a superficial sight about the possible subject treated in the text. Although, I think this story has a mix of issues, not just feelings, daily activities and welfare but also making sacrifices and drastic decisions that may change the course of our lives.

    The situation of this humble, kind and worker widower, who is head of hishousehold and a little girl of only 4 years is difficult every day, this man feels he is in troubles with so many responsibilities; but he did not imagine that the hardest struggle to them began the day he knew that he only had a few months to live. It had not been enough the great sacrifices of a loving father, who now had to choose between his happiness and of her daughter’s; because of his illness it was pretty obvious that he could no longer take care of her, at any time his health could worsen and he did not want to give her any suffering.

    The wisest decision that this man made was to find a new home for his daughter, a place where she could live deeply her childhood but also she would have the opportunity to have parents who will love her and take care of her as he would like to do it. The search for new parents did not take long; so, he took advantage of every minute he shared with her doing things to his own way, that was, showing no affection, no pain or sorrow in front of her; his principal purpose was to be a strong and hard man who is putting her daughter away with a clear conscience, the conscience of real love and sacrifice, but knowing that now she would have a better life.

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  131. “Bill” gave me the impression of a horrible person, maybe a serial killer or someone with mental issues, but was quite interesting when the teacher asked us about the title itself, I mean about the word BILL. It had never come to mind to analyze the tittle in detail, dividing the letters and associate them with the plot of the story: B-ill, finding the word ILL. When I read the title of the story, I could not avoid thinking that it was about a horror story. This kind of experience tends to happen, not just with books, also with people, jobs and even clothes.

    On the other hand, this kind of analysis makes us more critical and helps us to create a closer relationship with the author. When I started reading the questions of the literary analysis, I thought that some of them were too easy or maybe obvious; but later, when we socialized all the questions in class, I realized that these questions required a deeply analysis before answer them. A clear example is the analysis of the context. How do we know what is the setting of the story if the author does not provide enough information? That was what I thought when I read the question; to my surprise, my partners found details that helped them to deduce where were happening the events, details that I did not notice.
    In that sense, each person may interpret the author’s words according his/her own perspective; that is why it will be better if we try to connect the author’s mind with ours, it will help us to not to lose the author’s purpose.

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  132. Sometimes we think that just the mothers are the best in the childcare and that they just know how to do a perfect work but we forget the father’s role. “Bill” story is a real example of a good father because he thought about the welfare of his daughter, for that reason he looked for the best option for her. Some people can believe that it was not correct but I think it was the best option because it was worse if Bill had not done anything for her.
    However, it was not the best way to communicate that kind of information because Bill risked being arrested but maybe at that time there were not a lot of choices to be more discreet. Really, I think, he acted in that way because he was desperate owing to the lack of time, so he did not have enough time to think or to choose the best option for his daughter.
    From my point of view, what calls the most attention about “Bill” story was the effort that Bill did to educate his little girl because nowadays as a mom I know how difficult it is. I mean the cash and the time that children spent, the cares that they require and in general all what to have a child implies.

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  133. “Bill” is a wonderful and sad story written by Zona Gale. As a reader I could not discover what the title meant until I finished reading. The purpose of the story is to show the reader how big the love of a father can be, so great and real. It is for this reason that if I had to give a name to the story it would be: “TRUE LOVE”.

    “Bill” is a short story with few characters that make it like a real situation. The main character of the story is a widowed carpenter dedicated to his home, his job, and his young daughter who is the only valuable thing that he has in his life. One day, some terrible news changed completely Bill's destination, news called illness, with just six months left. After that, Bill decided to put an advertisement in a city newspaper so that a family with a good heart would decide to adopt her daughter, because he wanted the best for her future. The end of the story is very sad for him, because he had to look her daughter go far away with a new family. I really loved the story, because what the author wants to show us is a situation that happens daily anywhere in the world and any person regardless of their race or social class, it just happens and there is nothing we can do. Other essential aspect is that I had the possibility to be aware of this situation and thinking that I could be the one who would be in this situation, besides, I could reflect on the things that really matter in life.

    To conclude, most of the stories that I read are totally different, with a context that in nothing looks like the “Bill” story, but today I allowed myself to read it and I can say that behind these short stories there is invaluable learning and some reflections about life, if I had a new perspective of these stories, why do not you?

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  134. EDUARDO SALCEDO URZOLA

    “Bill” by Zona Gale, is a short story about a father and his daughter. His name is Bill and he is a carpenter. Her name is Minna and she is six. Her mother died when she was just four. One day, Bill goes to the doctor and finds out that he is very ill and does not have much time left. Now, he has to think about the future of his daughter and who is going to take care of her. He does not have any relatives or friends to think of. While the story moves forward, he meets a couple he thinks is perfect for the little girl and sadly let them go with her, because there is nothing else to do.

    This is a story whose purpose is to show what a person can do when he loves someone. In this case, Minna is everything Bill has and he thought it was imperative to leave her in good hands now that he was not going to be there for her. Bill is a young father, but I believe he looks older due to his illness. He is a humble man, that always gives his best in order to take good care of his little girl. He is a strong man, both physically and morally. On the other hand, Minna is loving, tender, but also strong in spirit. She had to face the death of her mother being very young, but we can see she lets things go with ease. At the end she looks happy and forgets that her father will not be with her anymore.

    I must say that I did not expect the story go that way. I never imagined that he was going to die. I thought we were going to know a little more about them, their lives, their activities as a family. But I ought to mention that it was a good end after all, although I think Bill was too harsh with himself and his daughter. He could have said goodbye and hold her for the very last time but I know he was just trying to protect her. And I believe he did such a good job, because although she is just a little girl and does not understand the whole situation, he was always aware that she should be happy for the rest of her life, and letting her know about his death was only going to cause her a lot of pain. So, he did what he had to do. It was a very touching story, with an unexpected end, but I really liked it.

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  136. First of all, I want to highlight that “Bill” is a shot story written by an important American playwright called Zona Gale, which is presented in five sections: first, Minna’s mother death; then, Bill learning to raise his little daughter; later, Bill’s illness, afterwards Minna’s adoption plans, and finally, Minna’s goodbye. When I read the title of the story “Bill”, I thought that it was a really funny story about the childhood of Bill being narrated by him. Nevertheless, when I started reading, I realized that it was completely the opposite; it was a dejected story in which Minna’s father had to make a pretty hard decision because of his illness.

    This story is about a man who had to raise his little daughter after his wife’s death, without knowing how to do it. Nevertheless, with the pass of the days, he learnt how to be more maternal and takes care of Minna in an appropriate way. However, Bill had to make a hard decision about Minna’s future when he realized that he was sick and he had only six months of life.

    In brief, I strongly disagree with this kind of stories with sorrowful ending. Nevertheless, “Bill” is a real life story that gives us a significant lesson of life, which invites us to spend more time in family, and at the same time to be thankful with God that gave us the opportunity of having a lovely family, in my case an excellent mother who loves me; being that, we do not know how much time we have to spend with them. Furthermore, it demonstrates us the sacrifice our parents do when they think in our futurity.

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  137. First of all, I want to highlight that “Bill” is a shot story written by an important American playwright called Zona Gale, which is presented in five sections: first, Minna’s mother death; then, Bill learning to raise his little daughter; later, Bill’s illness, afterwards Minna’s adoption plans, and finally, Minna’s goodbye. When I read the title of the story “Bill”, I thought that it was a really funny story about the childhood of Bill being narrated by him. Nevertheless, when I started reading, I realized that it was completely the opposite; it was a dejected story in which Minna’s father had to make a pretty hard decision because of his illness.

    This story is about a man who had to raise his little daughter after his wife’s death, without knowing how to do it. Nevertheless, with the pass of the days, he learnt how to be more maternal and takes care of Minna in an appropriate way. However, Bill had to make a hard decision about Minna’s future when he realized that he was sick and he had only six months of life.

    In brief, I strongly disagree with this kind of stories with sorrowful ending. Nevertheless, “Bill” is a real life story that gives us a significant lesson of life, which invites us to spend more time in family, and at the same time to be thankful with God that gave us the opportunity of having a lovely family, in my case an excellent mother who loves me; being that, we do not know how much time we have to spend with them. Furthermore, it demonstrates us the sacrifice our parents do when they think in our futurity.

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  138. “Bill” is a short story written by the American writer Zona Gale, which make feel, reflect, and think about many things. My first impression of the story was not good because of its title, at first glance does not say me anything. However, the more I read the more the story´s plot trapped me.
    “Bill” tells a story of a loving father and his little daughter. It is about sacrifice, love, all things that a father can do for his children’s benefit. Of course, it is a story full of love but also sadness and problems. All started when Bill have to assume both roles; mother and father, after the death of his wife. He was in charge of everything, cook healthy food, clean, and even patch Minna’s cloth. Unfortunately, a diagnosis change Bill and Minna’s life completely. Bill had a terminal illness; just six months of life, and anyone relative to take care his daughter. As both were alone, Bill was forced to give Minna in adoption. For me with his decision of adoption, instead of being a hero Bill becomes in a superhero. Overlying the future of his daughter over his feeling.
    I just can say that “Bill” is an amazing story with many feelings and emotions. It is a story that well represents all sacrifice that parents can offer for their children, even putting their lives over themselves. I must confess that it was a story that touches me so much, I was near to cry when I was reading the end. Imaging me that scene, a father that have to say goodbye to the person that most love. That is really sacrifice of love. Bill made me reflect about my parents, that I have to appreciate, value much more the time they are with me, and moreover, say them more “I love you”, recognizing all their sacrifice done by them for me.

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  139. I fell in love with Zona Gale’s writing style. It was outstanding how she managed to picture the different aspects that composed the story and the way she made me feel about it. It also reminded me of how difficult life can be and how in some situations we have to sacrifice ourselves for our loved ones well-being.

    In this case scenario, Bill is a single man who was trying to raise his young girl in the way his deceased wife would have done it. Sadly, when he found his way, he was diagnosed with a terrible disease that would give him death taking him away from this daughter; it was heartbreaking. But, when one thinks that it could not get worse, he decided to make Minna not miss him by creating some distance between them so that she would depart and live with a another family previously chosen by Bill close to the earmarks of their own.

    I could conclude that a parent not matter the gender, will always go as far as to the unimaginable for their children, including doing what she or he dislikes and even turning their own blood over to another family.

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  140. “Bill’’ by Zona Gale is a short and interesting story which relates the dilemma of a father of looking a family to his little daughter. The title of this short writing makes sense because of the disease of the main character Bill and the fact that being ill brought him the impossibility to keep his daughter.

    What caught my attention was the fact that Bill was rearing his daughter by himself because his wife passed away; besides, I like his attitude towards the situation and the fact that he was strong because his social status was not the best and he had to look after Minna all alone, he did what a good father would do, to look for a better future for his child, even if the circumstances were difficult: the loss of his wife, being sick, and to look for a family for his little girl, he made that Minna did not realize what was going on, she was too little to understand.

    I consider that besides Bill, the heroes in the story were the carpenter and his wife, because they were a similar family with humility, which was the key for Bill to take them as the family that Minna needed. What broke my heart was when Bill decided to spend the last day with his little girl, he told her that he was a big girl, and that he could not kiss her anymore even if it was the last time he would spend with her because he could not. Zona Gale finishes the story with a speechless ending: the situation seems to be so normal to Minna that she forgot to say good bye to the man who gave everything for her to have a better life.

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  141. Basically, this story is surrounded by the dilemma a father have to face, so a crucial decision needs to be made to keep her daughter save. Besides, the narrator shows different aspects that could bring back emotions and sensibility to readers, such as the impossibility to change the circumstances, the faith and the love of a father, being brave, the innocence of a girl and how unpredictable life is.

    An important angle of view through reading the story are the reasons why Bill decided to give his daughter in adoption. Some people came to carry Minna but a sensation stops Bill to deliver her to those people. Now, taking into account that Bill was a man of faith and in his prayers he request God “to let him do right for his daughter even if he was doing wrong”, so it is possible that those people who came in the morning with special particularity would be the signal of the answer of God. The key aspect of the story stands by the moment Bill confirms his illness, in some way the narrator intention was to include an impact fact in which the narrative is all around emphasising in the issue that could crash readers’ expectative and leaving aside minor details such as the setting of the story making sense on the main matter of contention.

    Before reading the story, I thought it would be a children’s tale but I did not expected to find so much intensity in this short narrative. The beginning is a little bit predictable: a four-years-old girl who lost her mother and a courageous father that have to look after her; then something unexpected change and catch my attention: Two years later, Bill fell ill and have just some months to live. He needs to find a hopefully way to guarantee the future of his daughter with the right people to look after her. And a bittersweet ending focusing on the helplessness when Bill see for the last time her daughter moving away with her new family and the innocence of the little girl being distracted with the parasol that forget to say good bye ignoring reality.





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  142. When I started reading the tale, I got excited because it was different from the others, at the very beginning I thought it was about the adventures of a little boy with his family. On the one hand, it tells the story about a man that has to deal with his little girl after his wife’s death and all the things he has to face with her, surrounded by many dilemmas, his illness and his daughter.
    Consequently, when I read the title I thought that the main character was a mysterious person, with mental problems, a mad man or something, but when reading it, I changed my mind. The events are very moving and touching since Bill is ill and the concerning fact that Minna will be left with other people when he dies. On the other hand, there is something that really caught my attention, was that Bill was worried about his little girl, he was concerned about her in spite of his humbleness, he did the best for her, and he really loved her. So, I think Bill was a strong man, both physically and mentally, because he was prepared to leave Minna. At the same time, Minna’s personality is great, because she is loving and she knows better things will come. In addition, Minna surprised me due to she had to struggle with her father’s death and all the pain he suffered with his illness.
    Finally, the moral teaches us many valuable things that love is a treasure people have to preserve and take care every day. Furthermore, that we have to be prepared for every situation in life and handle it with strength and always being with God. In other words, I never thought that Bill died, I expected a happy ending that Bill will be recovered but he did not. Another important point is the people that surrounded Minna, I consider that she was surrounded by love, in spite of the dilemma she faced. Personally, I think Zona Gale reflected in an excellent way the daily life, and social problems at that time.

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  143. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  144. “Bill”, is a fascinating story that relates the difficult moments that a man has to confront when he realizes that his life is finishing because of a serious illness. The most important decision he has to take is related to what to do with his little young daughter who does not have any other person who looks after her.

    Before starting to read I just could imagine that this story was based on the life of a man and it did not seem so interesting. However, when reading the first lines I could notice it was an amazing story in which a great mixture of emotions and facts defined the environment and made the narration so wonderful. What most caught my attention was the attitude that Bill shows towards the different painful and hopeless situations he had to live as it was the death of his wife, the moment when he knew that he was going to die too, and the uncertainty about his daughter future.

    This story makes us to think about our relationships with the others, what we can do in order to help another person and if we really appreciate the time we share with them. It teaches us that a real love can overcome any situation regardless of the degree of difficulty it entails. Moreover, Bill teaches us we have to face any situation as best as possible, trying to do the things always in a right way.

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  145. “BILL” is a short, but a moving story written by Zona Gale. When I read the title for the first time, I could not infer or recognize many details about it. Just after reading the first paragraph, I realized that it would be a sorrowful story. At the same time, this story teaches us how big may be the love of a father for his children.

    Bill is a man that does not have childcare experience; however, he works hard in order to provide all his little daughter’s needs. Suddenly, a serious diagnosis changes Bill’s life and he starts to look for a new future for his little girl. At the end of the story, Bill has to say goodbye to her, but she does not say goodbye to him. After reading the whole story, I started thinking about how difficult can be being alone with children knowing that we are going to die and someday we have to abandon them. This fact made me feel powerless facing the current situation of many parents that spend less time with their children without knowing how valuable this can be.

    Personally, I consider it is one of the shortest, but most interesting stories I have read in my life because of its realism. For me, Bill is a hero and a clear example of perseverance and paternal love. Finally, I have to accept that I would have liked that the end of the story would had been a bit different; however, I liked it.

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  146. “Bill”, a story of undeniable fatherly love

    “Bill” is a story written by the American writer Zona Gale. It is a story of love, pain that shows many aspects of social reality for many people around the world.
    In the story, I could see that the author wanted to show how the carpenter´s fatherly love for his daughter, could be most important that his own happiness. “Bill” is love because he learned how to do many things that a mother does everything to keep his daughter happy, also Bill is suffering because he had to fight with his own feelings to get away from the greatest gift that God had given him “MINNA”. On the other hand, the appropriate representation for Minna is innocence as she did not know what is happening around her. During the reading, Zona Gale gave me a general panorama of her situation at that time, showing me, a macho society, for this reason, the writer took the Bill’s figure to show that being a mother and a housewife is a difficult and honorable labor.
    Finally, I think that Zona Gale made an excellent job with her literary work, because she did not only show the fatherly love, but the social situation of her time and made that all readers wonder about Minna’s future.

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  147. “Bill”, written by Zona Gales, depicts the story of a thirty year old widower who after the death of his wife must overcome all sorts of hardships while raising his four years old daughter, Minna. When Minna is six, he is diagnosed with a terminal illness that forces him to find a family who can take good care of her before he passes away. After going through a certain number of difficulties Bill finds a suitable humble couple who finally take Minna with them.

    While reading this story I could notice how a significant number of fascinating elements were emerging from it, one of them was the way the author summarized the whole of a life through specific descriptions, creating an effect of transportation for the person who is reading; an example of this, is when Bill’s lifetime is running out and he fails into find a family he thinks will suit Minna’s needs and at that time in question, wondering about her future is inevitable. Another one, is the fact that this story makes us wonder about the decisions that we would make being in the place of the protagonist and finally the way this story makes us reflect about how unpredictable life can be.

    Despite the end of the story left me with a true feeling of uneasiness. I always had in mind that it was not just a product of the author’s imagination but the reflection of the obstacles that many people have to face when parenting alone.

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