The Activist and Calvino

The second part of “The Activist” was not much clearer to me than the first part had been. I did understand more about the journalist though, and how she was searching for answers to what really happened. The ending was also different from most of the stories I have read. It did not really give a sense of closure to the story at all. Was the bridge destroyed? Was there even a bridge? Why was the map changing? What did the note say? The story seems to bring up more questions than it answers, which can be the same thing that happens when someone looks deeper into an event, especially when trying to piece together conflicting views. “Right and Wrong Political Uses of Literature” was a bit more straightforward. It showed the complex relationship between politics and literature and how literature can give a voice to people who would otherwise be without one. It seemed like “The Activist” tried to give everyone a voice, but in doing so created this confusing web of accounts of the situation.