...Frost and Rhys: Writing Similarities and Differences Charles R. Cobb ENG 125: GSH1331C Alessandra Cusimano August 28, 2013 People experience poetry and short stories differently, yet they all use similar techniques or terms used to write literature. All literature uses some type of tone, a point-of-view, and symbols. This tools for writing help tell the story by giving the reader the emotions, perspective and the hidden messages, making the story come alive to reader and in captivating the reader into the story itself. Others use different terms to help tell their story for poems, rhythm is used often. While in short stories and dramas, foreshadowing and metaphors are used to help tell the story. These tools are not used in every work of literature, but they are tools to help bring the reader into the story more, making the reader become excited or antsy about what is coming next. Looking at the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and the short story “Used to Live Here Once” by Jean Rhys, there are a couple of similarities and a few differences in their techniques. These techniques are what can make a poem and a short story differ are; symbolism, tone, point of view, foreshadowing, and rhythm will be discussed here. Symbolism A symbol in literature “is something that has a literal identity but also stands for something else-something that is widely understood and has been developed over a long period of time or by common agreement” (Clugston, R. 2010...
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...Decline of the West “The Decline of the West” is a short story written by Hanif Kureishi who is an acclaimed English writer. Hanif Kureishi was born and grew up in England as the son of a Pakistan father and British mother. The short story “The Decline of the West” is about a man loosing his job. After years with more than 12 hours work per day, he gets fired, and is excited to see his family and relax. But the family does not feel the same joy as him. The short story is written with a reliable third person narrator. The story takes place in the main characters house situated on the comfortable outskirt of London. The house is with five floors and off-street parking, overlooking a green. The story last for one day in a contemporary environment with TV’s, dishwashers and controllers. There are four characters involved in the short story, Mike, Imogen, Tom and Billy. Mike is the main character, and Imogen, Tom and Billy are subordinate characters. Mike is forty-five years old, and is married to Imogen. Together they have two kids, Tom and Billy. Mike has been fired the same day the story takes place, and now he seems weak. “How easy it was to fall, and how tempting it was – suddenly would be best – to die!” Caused by the financial crisis he has been forced to execute his 40 employees and himself during the period of two weeks. He is an effective man whom used to work at least 12 hours a day. Mike wants to appear generous, and therefore let his wife...
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...A Gap of Sky By Anna Hope One of the first things you put in mind, is the drug K. There are a lot different drugs on the market such as, marihuana, heroin and Coke. All of them can be equally dangerous; it all depends on the dose you take. But not only is drug dangerous, they also have an effect on the individual human being. If people starts talking about drugs, we do not react immediately, because nowadays it has reached to a lot young people, and we hear more and more about drugs. Even though drugs are, but are not supposed to be, a part of the underground environment, it always manages to reach the surface, and maybe wind up with some innocent people who actually don’t want anything to do with it. Some might get pressured to do it, others who’s at club and dancing, might get something in their drinks if they leave them unseen. And in the end we got those types of persons who do drugs, because they love it, or having a hard time getting out of it. In this short story by Anna hope, we meet a poor girl named Ellie. The reason for she is poor is because of the fact that she lacks control of her life. Ellie is nineteen years old and she lives in London, in fact she lives on her own, and she is taking a course on University College London. But these facts don’t make a nineteen years old girl poor. The reason is that Ellie is a victim of the dangerous environment of drugs. The story spans an hour and eleven minutes, from 16:29 till 17:40, a Monday afternoon. As everyone...
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...ID#25840627 APA Format Compare and Contrast Short Story Fiction Essay Jessica Jack Liberty University English 102-B43 Outline for Compare and Contrast Essay Thesis: “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence and “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson provide two contrasting uses of Setting in a short story which accentuate the importance of the element in a story. One author has the ability to distract the reader, while the other author creates the structure of the story. 1. Introduction a. A brief summary of the “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson b. A brief summary of the “ The Rocking-Horse Winner’, by D.H. Lawrence 2. Overview of the use of the Setting a. “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson i. Shirley uses the setting as a distraction from the theme ii. The description of the setting, such as the happy characters, the sunny and bright outdoors to set the scene b. “ The Rocking-Horse Winner”, by D.H. Lawrence i. The author uses the setting to support the story and theme ii. The author allows the setting to draw and pull the audience into the story 3. The similarities and differences between the two short stories a. After reviewing both stories, it is evident that both are convincing and true to life b. The use of the setting in “The Lottery” diverts the reader away from the theme. It draws to the surrounding and characters, that you forget the main point of the story telling. c. The use of the setting in “The...
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...Fiction short stories consist of a few named characters that make use of the plot in a far lesser degree than a novel. Short-story plots deal with the most basic conflicts, and they show how those conflicts build tension and lead to climatic moments throughout the story. The setting focuses on where the story takes place, how believable the setting makes the story, and what mood the setting creates. The setting is also able to use symbols or create expectations that ultimitly turn around in the end. In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” Richard Connell uses various details to enhance his description of the setting, creating a vividly mysterious image. In addition, he builds tension between the two main charcaters which altimately leads to the...
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...many things last forever and if they do they do not usually stay the same. In life things change, and they end. I believe the pieces I have chosen both speak of endings and changes. “Nothing Gold Can Stay” describes a sunrise and the beauty of it and how that beauty fades as the sun continues to rise. In “I Used to Live Here Once” the main character is remembering her childhood home and in the story visits the home and describes the changes. I choose these pieces because they are both about endings and change and use symbolism to describe the changes. These pieces both show the change in a very detailed way even though one is a poem and the other a story. In comparison they may not look the same but when you read the words in both you can imagine what is being seen and feel that you can see it fade, as nothing lasts forever. In the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” I found it is full of symbolism. "Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold, Her early leaf's a flower, But only so an hour, Then leaf subsides to leaf, So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day, Nothing gold can stay.” (as cited in Clugston, 2010) In the poem the first line states “Natures first green is gold” the symbolism I find in this line is green refers to new life or birth, often times you hear of someone young being considered green. This is a reference to being new. When the sun first comes up everything looks gold. Gold to me a reference to the colors created by the rising sun...
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...Mitty and The story of an Hour David Babers ENG 125 Sabine Reljic January 27, 2014 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Story of an Hour share a variety of similarities along with many differences. The main points of these stories shows the dynamics love within their marriage but in different way; both woman share common bond of tolerance, for their significant other when it comes to the lack of certain things in their marriage. One of the first similarities of the two stories I notice was the fact that both of the men wives was extremely concerned about their significant others well being. Even though the displayed their affection for their husbands with different actions it was more than obvious that each of them was in sync with their other half’s. Both of the literary pieces where written and described in different points of view. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” was written in the form of an omniscient third person point of view. This allows the narrator to describe his own thoughts of the character as the story progresses. But as far is the character Mrs. Mitty it seems as she speaks in more so a first person point of view, as her words and thoughts seems to be more so given in a direct and plain form. As for the “The Story of anf Hour” it is also written in the third person point of view, but it would be considered more so as a limited third person omniscient. “This is a point of view when the thoughts and feelings of only one of the characters...
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...In this essay, I would like to compare and contrast gender roles/marriage and primarily show through two literary works found in my textbook the differences and likenesses of each story, as they are being told to the audience. The short stories that I have chosen to discuss for this essay are “The Necklace”, by Guy de Maupassant and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, by James Thurber. I will try to compare and contrast both stories and give the audience a brief summary, explaining the likenesses and differences and engaging the reader, while doing so. In the short summary of the short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". This short-story tells the tale of Walter Mitty while on a trip into town with his wife, the bossy and serious Mrs. Mitty. Walter is sadly incompetent of doing many things; he forgets a lot of things, is very absent-minded while driving, and cannot handle the simplest tasks. But, what makes Walter unique throughout this short-story is his imagination. While Walter goes through his tasks, he escapes into a world of many fantasies, each brought on by reality. While driving his car he starts to day dream that he is a commander on a “Navy hydroplane" going through a storm. (Clugston, 2010). While passing a hospital, he believes he is a famous surgeon, known throughout the world for saving lives. He imagines he is being interrogated in court on a case, when he hears a newsboy shouting about a trial. Also, when he is waiting for his wife, he imagines himself...
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...* The short story ”Be Here Now” written by Miguel Syjuco, was published in 2012. The short story is from Miguel Syjuco’ anthology “Elsewhere”. We meet a journalist who is struggling with PTSD, and his girlfriend Jenna. The story is about a mixed race man, his grandfather was Asian. He is a photographer, and he has previously been taking war pictures in an Arabic country. “I browse through some of my photos that made front pages. A soldier on his knees defusing an IED on the roadside […] A group of boys hiding behind mothers and sisters dressed in niqabs”. This quote shows that he has been in a warzone in an Arabic country. The short story takes place in their house, and follow them through there first days after moving in. The journalist recently came back from the Arabic land where he took war pictures and is now having a difficult time coming back from reality. Jenna is his fiancé and she is the one keeping the relationship going, planning the weeding and the setting up the apartment. After he came back from the war, he has been neglecting his relationship with Jenna, and he is just realizing how important the present and his future. The journalist is having a hard time getting over the things that happened in the war, and he is struggling coming back to the reality. In the short story he has been described as if his life is about checking his email, Facebook and being mentally everywhere else then where he physically is. The story covers about 2 day because we hear...
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...The short story, “Seventh Grade”, written by Gary Soto is a realistic fiction piece of literature. The purpose of this story is to entertain the audience through a story about a seventh grade boy who is trying to figure out how to impress a girl and start off his school year well. This short story is directed towards an older youth audience, as it relates to what middle school students might go through and how they may feel as they start a new school year. The theme of this text is the first day of school, more specifically, a boy trying to impress a girl he likes. Throughout the story the author shows how the main character, Victor, is constantly thinking about Theresa and how he feels when he is around her. The diction used throughout the story emphasizes the thoughts...
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...matter how many times that fish may swim to the glass of the tank it cannot change the outcome it has to suffer. In the collection, “We Live in Water”, two specific short stories, "Thief" and "We live in Water" shows readers how the environment and circumstances people...
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...news and science articles from the internet, and occasional bed time stories with my son. I enjoy reading news rather than watch or listen to news, mainly because it allows me to gather and analyze information from various sources without the filter or the bias of television or radio networks news anchors. In addition to news and various articles I prefer to read short stories. My fascination with short stories began at around age 12 or 13. At the time, since access to television in Iran was very limited. We had to entertain ourselves and being a mischievous child I spent a lot of time in my room (being punished) either listening to radio or reading. My favorite books at the time were horror books. I remember buying these paperback books and reading them cover to cover in two or three days and be scared out of my wits for a few days. I recall at the end of some of these books were teasers about the next story that was due to arrive next. However, at the end of one of the books there was a short story by Edgar Allan Poe titled “The Cask of Amontillado”, I read that story several times and every time I found something new that I Had missed previously. That was the reason I got interested in short stories. My fascination with short stories always have been with a given writers ability to develop main characters, , story plot, and a that in novels might take chapters to develop, in a page or two. The stories are rich in content and packed with symbolisms that requires multiple...
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...Daniel Laux October 26, 2011 Techniques from "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" In Sherman Alexander’s short story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”, there are quite a few interesting writing techniques one could use as inspiration for a new story. One interesting technique used in this story is when the author splits the story into smaller paragraphs, and then titles each of said paragraphs with a time of the day (an example being 3 P.M.). I think this is a rather interesting technique to use in a short story because it makes the story feel like a chapter book, and it also makes the story feel more realistic. It feels more realistic in a sense because in real life, different things happen at different times of the day, and this is the case in this story. And it also feels more like a chapter book because this is a large narrative, and each part of the narrative is split up based off of a part/time in the story, just like a chapter book! Another interesting thing about this story that one could use is its style of narration. Unlike many other short stories told through first person point of view, this one stands out because the narrator tells the story as if he’s speaking to someone in a casual manner, and the narrator is also very honest with his audience, often stating what parts would not be interesting to ponder about, and even discouraging himself by sometimes saying “Probably none of this interests you”. In a nutshell, if anyone were to borrow/steal some new writing...
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...Ghosts by Naomi Wood The short story by Naomi Wood was written in 2012, and is about Pia, who is a middle-aged woman and the day where the short story takes place, is her 40th birthday. In this story we meet Pia, her partner Daniel and random people from the streets and of course Pia is our main character. The short story starts in the middle of Pia’s day, she just finished working and she is about to leave the car park at work. She is on her way home, where her partner Daniel waits to take her to a restaurant to celebrate her birthday, but on her way home she is reflecting over what it means to turn 40. The short story is told in a chronological order, but with flash back-like situations “Giving in, she ghosted back through memory. She drank the coffee, ate the omelette, took down the laundry...”. What’s most important is the middle and the ending of the short story, how Pia starts by thinking that turning forty will only be the first of many depressing situations, but actually comes to the conclusion that it is only as depressing as you make it. It is kind of an open ending where the author puts in a line saying “Time waits for no man” which sums up on every reflections Pia had during her drive home. The atmosphere of the story is to begin with really tense and dim because of how Pia feels about herself. Turning 40 should be something to celebrate but for Pia it is the same as starting digging your own grave. When she hears the news of the neutrinos she “…wondered...
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...is a short story written by Robin Black in 2010. It deals with the theme “death” a specifically engages in how death affects our relations. The short story contains mental and social issues connected to losses and the generational recurrence of these. “Divorced, Beheaded, Survived” shows how a woman’s life was changed because of her brother’s death and how she is still affected as an adult. The main theme in the short story is depression caused of a death. The following essay focuses on the structure and symbols in the short story. “Divorced, Beheaded, Survived” is about a 40-year-old mother - Sarah, from whose the point of view is told – therefore a first person narrator. The woman looks back upon an essential episode in her childhood when her older brother became sick and died. The setting is also important in these realizations. The story takes place in Manhattan in the present, but the setting of Sarah’s childhood home is described positively with a sense of calming familiarity. “Day after day, dusk really, in the time between school and dinner, in the small, untended yard behind my childhood home…” When we see at the setting the exiting aspect is to see at the lack of details in the description. The result of this is that the focus of the story becomes the emotional way Sarah experiences and creates a deeper understanding of death and all it’s terrible consequences. The emotional aspect of the history is boosted through the structure of the short story. The short story...
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