A Balance Between Reality And Imagination
            
            
            
             Ursula LeGuin wrote "Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?" because she wanted to send out a message. She wants people to use their imaginations without going too far in a world of fantasy. LeGuin also feels that humans should be taking a mature, humane, trusting approach to the truth. Of all the short stories read in the ENG OAO class, LeGuin would appreciate "By the waters of Babylon" the most.
            
             LeGuin would really like the message that Willa Cather has portrayed in "Paul's Case". This story shows the reader that there is a certain level of imagination, which one must not exceed. LeGuin calls this the "discipline of the imagination" (327). Cather sends us this message by having Paul jump in front of a train to commit suicide at the end of the story. All of his problems were building up and he tried to avoid them, but they all came back to him and he was overwhelmed.
             LeGuin would like Paul's character at the beginning of the story because he allowed his mind to engage in free play, such as when "he sat down before a blue Rico and lost himself" (144). Later on in the story he got carried away with his imagination and he repressed reality. This is what LeGuin would not like about Paul.
            
             LeGuin would not like anything about the story "Arrangement in black and white" by Dorothy Parker. The woman in this story is racist towards coloured people and she acts as if she is doing nothing wrong. She actually thinks she is doing some incredibly nice when she calls a black person 'Mister'. "Oh, wait till I tell Burton I called him 'Mister'!" (270), she tells the host.
             The thing that LeGuin would not like about this story is that the woman is being inhumane by not considering coloured people equal. Unlike some of the other stories, the main character in this story does not get any ...