...THEME AND NARRATIVE ELEMENTS IN A SHORT STORY XAVION LAY INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE JACLYN MALLAN-KING THEME AND NARRATIVE ELEMENTS IN A SHORT STORY The short story that was chosen to write this paper was the Welcome Table by Alice Walker that was written in 1970. This story being racial in theme and treatment was one of the best stories and that was heartfelt in this book. While without describing the story in detail I will point out its theme and narrative elements that make this story what it is today. Just as in the Oxford Companion to African American Literature states: “Though we are aware of the dismissal of so much black American writing for so many years because it did not conform to prevailing aesthetic or critical canons, our understanding of literature is not restricted to these traditional genres.” (Oxford Companion, 1997) This book was definitely written by one the greatest writers ever know. She placed her heart mind and soul into the writings of which she made which brings me to the writing of the Welcome Table. The Welcome Table was a short story that had a racial theme. Due to the story taking place in the time that black who were referred to as colored at the time could not congregate in the same place as whites. The point of view that was in play was omniscient. This is a story is written from another point of view. Not that of the person that is in the story but from someone on the outside that understands the way the character in the story feels...
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...THEME AND NARRATIVE ELEMENTS IN THE SHORT STORY BY __________________________ COURSE NAME/# PROFESSOR NAME DATE DUE, 2012 This analysis is a response to my exploration of the short story Little Red Riding Hood as featured in Journey Into Literature by R.W. Clugston, (2010, Ch. 4.1). The story is actually an ancient fable told in the oral tradition (basically French folk lore) that was written nearly 315 years ago by a writer named Charles Perrault in Paris. The identity of the original author is unknown, although it has been re-written and re-interpreted many, many times by others all over the world. The most popular version of the piece appeared in Perrault’s collection of fairy tales penned under the pseudonym, Mother Goose. Later in the mid-twentieth century, Walt Disney created an American re-telling of the famous Mother Goose story, but reworked it by adding the character of the Huntsman who intervenes and kills the wolf, saving the girl from the grip of Death. The reason for its success and worldwide popularity, I believe, lies in the story’s universal themes: a uniquely human expression of the dangerous interaction between good and evil. Culturally, this theme is extremely adaptable, and malleable to suit many peoples’ values. The story’s narration is done by an omniscient third-person whose voice and tone, in my opinion, reflect a sort of cool distance: a disinterested teller of cautionary tales. For example, the matter-of-fact way the murders are introduced...
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...first meeting with a blind man using a first-person point of view, “the main character is telling the story from their point of view and of course using the 'I' form. This viewing of events largely through a character's eyes is called an internal point of view. We may not experience everything they do but events are mostly seen through their eyes, with an insight into their thoughts and feelings and often with comments on the situation,” (Sanger, 1998, pg 13). Robert is no ordinary blind man though, he and the narrator’s wife are friends and Robert has come for an overnight stay. “This blind man, an old friend of my wife’s, he was on his way to spend the night,” (cited in Clugston, 2010, sec. 8.3, para 2). The narrator initially sets the theme of the story with his stereotype of blindness, “My idea of blindness came from movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to,” (cited in Clugston, 2010, sec. 8.3, para 2). The narrator’s stereotypical thoughts continue throughout the story, “I remember having read somewhere that the blind didn’t smoke because, as speculation had it, they couldn’t see the smoke they exhaled. I thought I knew that much and that much only about blind people. But this blind man smoked his cigarette down to the nubbin and then lit another one,” (cited in Clugston, 2010, sec. 8.3, para 2). Carver makes it obvious that the narrator...
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...gift for Christmas but they have little money and Della only has $1.87. Della ends up cutting her hair for the money while Jim sells his cherished watch. Through selfless acts done for love, they each end up giving one another a Christmas gift they will always remember and cherish. It didn’t matter to either of them what they had to do in order to provide the gift. The theme was portrayed by the literary elements within the story. Plot, point of view and symbolism are just a few of the literary elements which helped developed the theme of the story. The story I read and critiqued was, “The gift of the Magi”. In order to find the theme of this short story, I had to look beyond the plot, which tells the reader what happened in the story (Clugston, 2010, section 5.5). The theme of this story I believe would be “selfless love”. Other readers, who read the same short story as I did, might have an entirely different theme. This is actually to be expected and is even common. This is because every reader has a different relationship to literature due to each individual’s different experience throughout life. The theme of selfless love, I chose due to I feel like the writer chose selfless love as the underlying idea of the story. The story did have items of joy, sadness, and generosity; however the underlying idea was how Jim and Della went to great lengths in order to make sure they each had an unbelievable present for Christmas for each other. The couple had no idea the other one was...
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...Theme and Narrative Elements of the Secret Life of Walter Mitty Josetta James ENG 125 Introduction to Literature Instructor: Angela di Gualco 01/10/2014 Theme and Narrative Elements of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” The theme is one of the most involved elements of a short story. The themes job is to give the readers the over-all idea that is fabricated behind a story. A short story is marked as portraying broad ideas and elements into small pieces. In short, the theme in a story reflects or serves as the presentation of its ideas. (Clugston, 2010) The objective of this essay is to reveal the ways in which the literary elements tone and character contribute to the larger narrative theme by analyzing the short story by James Thurber titled The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. James Thurber created the character of Walter Mitty whose life seems so ordinary and boring. Walter Mittys imagination (daydreams) helps him to escape his dull life. His imagination places him in heroic situations such as a commander in the Navy steering his crew though bad weather in an 8-engine Navy hydroplane, or thinks he's a famous surgeon who is asked to help a rich Englishman, who is a friend of President Roosevelt. James Thurber set the tone for Character Walter Mitty by his actions of day dreaming, escaping reality Tone is more than merely an author’s attitude toward his/her audience and characters; it is the stylistic means by which an author conveys his/her Attitudes in a work of literature...
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...Theme and Narrative Elements in Hills like White Elephants Lila Wright ENG 125 Kendall Shearman October 2, 2014 Theme and Narrative Elements in Hills like White Elephants In the short story Hills like White Elephants, symbols are other narrative elements are used to illuminate the theme by stirring feelings in the reader, heightening the conflict, or creating a certain mood while reading the story. Theme in a story is a representation of the idea behind the story (Clugston, 2014). In Hills like White Elephants the theme of meaningless is contributed to many literary elements, in which setting, symbols, and characters will be discussed in this paper. In Hills like White Elephants, the story is primarily a conversation between an American man and a girl nicknamed Jig. The rift between the two characters is shown by the way the course of the conversation, in which it is merely just talking because neither of the characters is truly communicating with the other. Both the American man and the girl are talking but not listening to the other’s point of view. Although it is not mentioned by name, the operation they speak of is an abortion. The American man is frustrated and tries to convince the girl, his girlfriend, to have the operation anyway he can. He tells her things will go back to the way they used to be if she has the abortion. The girl’s mind keeps changing and she ends up telling him at one point that she will do it just to get him to shut up. After he still persists...
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...Theme and Narrative Elements in “Hills like White Elephants” Shawntelle D Holloway Ashford University Theme and Narrative Elements in “Hills like White Elephants” In the fictional writing, theme refers to a broad message the writer wishes to deliver buried deep within his story. A theme therefore cannot be picked directly from the storyline but only after identifying the underlying idea. Looking beyond the general plot will be the only way one can arrive at any stories intended theme. In the story hills white like elephants, the writer has used irony and satirical techniques of writing to create theme in his work. The saddening story of a young misfortunate couple has been used to portray the theme of hopeless love in a vague world that has no concept or morality. The setting of the story is vague and without any kind of personal emotion. The young couple seems to be caught in the crossroads faced by the challenge of abortion or keeping their unborn baby. While Jig seems ready and willing to have the baby, she is pushed by her ruthless boyfriend to abort. He seems more concerned about ideals of travelling, fun and merrymaking even when making a decision involving his unborn baby. Jig is pushed by her love for him to make a decision that will affect her and murder their unborn baby. He is a hypocrite and not kind to women willing to keep his own baby. By exploiting their love, he gets Jig to consent to an abortion even if she knows it is harmful. The use of irony and...
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...My five strength themes are deliberative, futuristic, responsibility, relator and consistency. I found these strengths to be consistent with who I am. Deliberative is described as someone who is serious, careful with decisions, calculated, not easily flattered by words, and one who rarely gives compliments (Gallup 2017). It also describes another part where I feel mostly connected with and that is being “Private”. Privacy is something that I struggle with, I often view “being private” as being weak. But I realize now that this could be a strength and could be used in my favor. Being methodical and careful in my travel plans is crucial, especially when traveling to another country, one mistake could ruin a trip. I often travel to different...
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...ENG 125 WEEK 2 THEME AND NARRATIVE ELEMENTS IN THE SHORT STORY A+ Graded Tutorial Available At: http://hwsoloutions.com/?product=eng-125-week-2-theme-and-narrative-elements-in-the-short-story-2 Visit Our website: http://hwsoloutions.com/ Product Description PRODUCT DESCRIPTION ENG 125 Week 2 Theme and Narrative Elements in the Short Story, We all at some point want to get away from our problems that we are faced with. At times we try to disguise them with things of lesser value. In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway the female character continuously talked of the clouds looked like white elephants. The woman and the American man hid their conflict throughout the entire story so that no one would know they were having problems. The female character of the short story talked about the clouds looking like white elephants because she was to never forget the decision she was to make in the not too distant future and the color white symbolized the purity that she felt was growing inside of her. She, as in the female character, tried to avoid the discussion many times. I personally feel she just didn’t want to go through it. There was more than one theme going throughout the short story. I saw the theme of imagination, avoidance, alcoholism, dependency, uncertainty, and confusion. And in so naming these themes there are also many literary elements that contribute to the theme or help the theme to better be recognized by the reader....
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...ENG 125 WEEK 2 THEME AND NARRATIVE ELEMENTS IN THE SHORT STORY A+ Graded Tutorial Available At: http://hwsoloutions.com/?product=eng-125-week-2-theme-and-narrative-elements-in-the-short-story Visit Our website: http://hwsoloutions.com/ Product Description PRODUCT DESCRIPTION ENG 125 Week 2 Theme and Narrative Elements in the Short Story, We all at some point want to get away from our problems that we are faced with. At times we try to disguise them with things of lesser value. In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway the female character continuously talked of the clouds looked like white elephants. The woman and the American man hid their conflict throughout the entire story so that no one would know they were having problems. The female character of the short story talked about the clouds looking like white elephants because she was to never forget the decision she was to make in the not too distant future and the color white symbolized the purity that she felt was growing inside of her. She, as in the female character, tried to avoid the discussion many times. I personally feel she just didn’t want to go through it. There was more than one theme going throughout the short story. I saw the theme of imagination, avoidance, alcoholism, dependency, uncertainty, and confusion. And in so naming these themes there are also many literary elements that contribute to the theme or help the theme to better be recognized by the reader....
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...Film Noir Lighting comparison with Ridley Scott's “Blade Runner”. Menelaos Pampoukidis 3. Choose a film, TV show, music video or advertisement and discuss how the directing OR editing OR lighting style and choices inform its narrative form, genre and theme(s). Consider the film or show in its entirety and demonstrate your understanding and awareness of directing OR editing qualities. How lightning style and choices inform Ridley Scott's “Blade Runner”(1982) narrative, genre and theme. In early 1940s, soon after the second World War, a new film genre started to develop. Almost, twenty years later Nino Frank, influenced by the France “Black Book”, gave it the name Film Noir. “Product of a multifaceted interaction between developments within particular genres – the gangster/crime film and the Gothic melodrama – fluctuating conditions of production and reception within the American industry, and more diffuse cultural movements.”1 The early Film Noir was profoundly influenced by the depression of the war. Hard boiled, dark, devious and cynical, it was originally based on German expressionism and later on Italian neorealism in order to create it's individual style and unique iconography. “As expressionists motifs supplied Noir's dark undercurrents, the Neo-Realist influence that appeared after war introduced a documentary flavour to American thrillers”2 As Film Noir kept progressing many elements were added to the prime features, expanding the range of the genre...
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...‘At the Bay’ largely utilizes natural images as a means of expression, focusing heavily on landscape and setting in order to create the foundation for the establishment of themes integral to the characterization and plot development. The story instantly commences with the light shed on scenery and environment, “The sun had not yet risen and the whole of crescent bay was hidden under a white sea-mist” followed closely by ,”Drenched were the cold fuchsias, round pearls of dew lay on the flat nasturtium leaves”. References to ‘paddocks’, ‘bungalows’ and ‘a flock of sheep came pattering’ provide evidence of a rural, New Zealand setting and the usage of seasonal images of “the marigolds and the pink” indicate a Spring backdrop. Phrases such as ,” It looked as though the sea had beaten up softly in the darkness, as though one immense wave had come rippling” foreshadow the darker aspect this story is to follow as it progresses. The rural setting is further reinforced by the personification of the ‘gum-tree’, “An enormous shock haired giant with his arms stretched out” Mansfield’s composition follows an abundance of paragraphs, each of a constant length allowing for the build-up of a slow paced, tranquil atmosphere to grow at the base of the narrative, in line with the expanse of description. The first hint of one of the recurring motifs comes with the encounter with the Cat and the Sheep-Dog. Mansfield gives the Cat a metaphorical voice, “Ugh! What a course, revolting, creature...
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...If one examines textual narrative, one is faced with a choice: either accept the modern paradigm of expression or conclude that language may be used to reinforce capitalism. But Foucault’s model of the prepatriarchialist paradigm of reality suggests that the establishment is part of the paradigm of narrativity, given that sexuality is equal to consciousness. Derrida promotes the use of textual narrative to analyse and attack sexual identity. Therefore, Scuglia[1] implies that we have to choose between the prepatriarchialist paradigm of reality and subdialectic rationalism. If textual narrative holds, the works of Joyce are an example of constructivist nihilism. In a sense, the subject is contextualised into a pretextual paradigm of narrative that includes reality as a paradox. The primary theme of the works of Joyce is not, in fact, discourse, but subdiscourse. Thus, the subject is interpolated into a prepatriarchialist paradigm of reality that includes narrativity as a totality. 2. Joyce and textual narrative “Society is intrinsically unattainable,” says Bataille. McElwaine[2] states that we have to choose between the prepatriarchialist paradigm of reality and posttextual capitalism. It could be said that several discourses concerning cultural theory may be found. The main theme of Buxton’s[3] analysis of textual narrative is the role of the artist as observer. If the modern paradigm of expression holds, we have to choose between textual nihilism and the neodialectic paradigm...
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...characteristic theme of Long’s[1] critique of the patriarchial paradigm of reality is the genre, and hence the paradigm, of neoconceptualist sexual identity. However, any number of sublimations concerning not, in fact, discourse, but postdiscourse may be discovered. The primary theme of the works of Tarantino is the bridge between reality and class. If one examines capitalist Marxism, one is faced with a choice: either accept cultural narrative or conclude that discourse is created by the masses. Therefore, Baudrillard uses the term ‘textual dematerialism’ to denote not theory, but neotheory. Marx’s essay on capitalist Marxism states that art is capable of significance, but only if subdialectic structuralist theory is valid; otherwise, Sontag’s model of Lacanist obscurity is one of “postmaterial semanticist theory”, and therefore part of the futility of consciousness. Thus, the example of cultural narrative which is a central theme of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction is also evident in Four Rooms. The main theme of Humphrey’s[2] critique of Lacanist obscurity is a mythopoetical paradox. Therefore, the subject is interpolated into a capitalist Marxism that includes truth as a totality. Porter[3] implies that we have to choose between subcapitalist capitalism and Batailleist `powerful communication’. However, the characteristic theme of the works of Rushdie is the common ground between reality and sexual identity. The subject is contextualised into a cultural narrative that includes...
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...overcome prejudice. The context of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings focuses on the problems associated with racism that was prevalent in the southern states. Racist oppression is a common theme in the book that is portrayed by all the major characters; in fact, all the other themes in the book are closely related to racism, identity and segregation. In addition, the style and genre, and the structure of this literary work make significant contributions towards its thematic development, which focus on resistance to racism, the significance of the family, self-identity and definition and independence. Walker (95) argues that I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings is characterized by thematic unity, which is achieved using the structure adopted in the text that takes more of a thematic form rather than a chronological form. In addition, Angelou managed to emphasize on the universal ideas in her literary work irrespective of its periodic quality. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou used the major characters of the book to facilitate its thematic development identity, racism and literacy throughout the text. Basing on this assertion, this essay uses evidence from the book to affirm the role that the major characters played in the development of the major themes in the book. The first major theme in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is identity. In the course of the text, Maya is depicted as symbolic character representing every African American girl growing in America. Maya is depicted...
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