Amy Tan is putting across Waverly's personal feelings to readers as she expresses her understanding of her mother's thinking. "My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. You could open a restaurant. You could work for the government and get good retirement. You could buy a house with almost no money" (Tan 132). When looking at things from the narrator's perspective, it almost feels impossible not to sympathize with Waverly and not to consider that it would be essential for you, as a reader, to support her by using any means that you possibly can. Many readers are even likely to consider that they need to get actively involved in assisting minorities who are prone to suffering because of their status.

When reading Bierce's short story most readers are likely to support his thinking and to hope that he actually escapes. It is almost as if the protagonist shares his plan with readers and believes that they too might think of a plan that can assist him in escaping execution. Even with this, it is difficult to determine whether he actually thinks of escaping or if he simply thinks about his family. "My home, thank God, is as yet outside their lines; my wife and little ones are still beyond the invader's farthest advance" (Bierce 4).

The narrator is initially angry with what he perceives as being Sonny's childish behavior, but gradually comes to understand that there is more to it than meets the eye. He takes readers on a journey to discover Sonny and the moment when everyone (including the narrator) realizes that Sonny is actually especially praiseworthy influences readers and the narrator to express understanding toward the man.
Shaila Bhave, the protagonist in "The Management of Grief" seems to speak directly to readers by telling them how to deal with grief. She uses her personal suffering as evidence in regard to her personal experience with such situations. This is practically a happy-ending story and is probably meant to stand as a teaching for individuals who feel that they are in a desperate situation.

Works cited:

Baldwin, James, "Sonny's Blues," (Klett International, 31.01.2000 )

Bierce, Ambrose, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," (Forgotten Books, 1948)

Selvadurai, Shyam, "Story-Wallah: Short Fiction from South Asian Writers," (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 07.04.2005 )

Tan, Amy, "The Joy Luck Club," (Penguin 2006)