Alexandra Fuller’s short story “Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight” explains the actions and feelings of a family trying to sell tobacco. Fuller uses many techniques to make the story more understandable, such as thoroughly explaining the practice of tobacco trading to the reader. She also uses adjectives and adverbs to explain the scene more vividly and enforce the tone and the mood of the passage.
First off, the story begins with a family attempting to sell tobacco. Using the narrators descriptions to thoroughly explain the entire family’s feelings, Fuller allows the reader to fully grasp the story’s setting. The characters’ words and gestures suggest that this sale is very important, and that they are in need of money. In the beginning
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of the story, the mother’s actions are explained, revealing how uneasy she is. Mentioning her actions, such as the tightening of her clutch, shows how nervous the mother is, which leads the reader to conclude that this is a situation of urgency. The reader can picture how desperate the family is for the money when the mother says “‘Try and look hungry, kids’” and the children suck in their stomachs to look as if they need food. Opening the story like this allows the reader to understand the background of the story and the situation the family is in. It also clues the reader in on the economic situation during the time of the story. Lastly, these dialogues and actions are the author’s way of indirect characterization; they vaguely show who the characters are and provides the reader with a glimpse of their personalities. Throughout the story, the narrator alternates the point of view by moving from the mother’s perspective of the story to the father’s and vice versa.
This allows the reader to separately see the family members’ attitudes and the tension between them. When the narrator focuses on her mother, the reader realizes that the mother is nervous and anxious. “Her look says, ‘Give us a good price and you will be rewarded with my love for all time. Please give us a good price. Please’” (9-10); because the narrator has directed all of their attention towards the mother and vividly explained her, the reader not only is able to more easily grasp who the mother is as a character, but also realize how she feels about the event that is taking place. Then, when the narrator redirects her attention towards her father, his attitude towards the situation is revealed as well. For example, the author writes, “Dad nonchalantly stands, resting on one leg, like a horse at rest. He looks away, as if the buyers are a common, bland species of bird on an otherwise more exciting safari” (3-4). At first, it is suggested that the narrator’s father is calm. However, the reader can infer that the father is pretending to be calm, but is actually nervous. The reader can figure this out based on the tension and anxiety that the rest of the family demonstrates. Overall, the narrator’s tendency to alternate her attention between her mother and father provides the reader with a more detailed characterization of her parents and a clearer idea of how they feel about the
situation. Also, Fuller’s use of descriptive words in the prose help to thoroughly explain the situation and the tone of the passage. The author uses a variety of adjectives and adverbs that help the reader fully understand the situation and their feelings towards it. Fuller uses phrases such as “nonchalantly stands” (3) or “fierce, fixed, terrifying smile’ (9) to explain the characters and what they are doing during the transaction. These adjectives suggest an anxious tone and mood. Later on in the story, when the narrator is explaining what will happen if her father does not tear the tickets, the adjectives show a change in mood and tone. This presents a much happier and light mood, rather than the tension that had arisen before. The author uses phrases like “pristine, beautiful whole rectangles of yellow” to describe the tickets that were not torn (32). The narrator also uses the words “exuberant, silly, loud” to show how the family’s attitude will change for the better if the tobacco is bought for a fair price. Fuller uses her word choice to further develop and explain the story thoroughly and demonstrate the mood and the tone of the passage. Lastly, Fuller does an excellent job familiarizing the reader with the practice of tobacco trading. She explains in great detail how the transaction will occur. Through the narrator, the author explains the significance of the ticket. The narrator explains how a price is written on the ticket, and the tobacco salesman walks by the ticket, and rips it if it is not a good deal; “If Dad disagrees with the price the buyer has offered, he tears the ticket” (24). If the ticket is not ripped, the tobacco is sold. The author uses the narrator to explain how tobacco trading works. This makes it easier for the reader to understand the passage and the characters’ actions. This also allows the reader to recognize the outcome of the event, because the narrator’s father says, “‘Fair price’” (41), meaning that the tobacco trade was successful. All in all, Alexandra Fuller uses many different techniques to vividly explain the content and tone of the passage, while using indirect characterization to allow the readers to better understand the characters. The gestures and dialogue of the characters set a specific tone and mood for the poem and help the reader understand who they are as a character. The author also uses plenty of adverbs and adjectives to explain the scene in further detail. Overall, Fuller’s stylistic choices allow the reader to understand the situation more and consequently have a better connection to the passage.
2. The author creates tone, which changes from peaceful and calm to horror. Words in the story like humorlessly and awkwardly help the reader feel the tension in the town. In the story, “She held her breath while her husband went forward” proved that the characters was dealing with ...
Then, as you move through the passage you get a more serious mood and tone in the writing until the final paragraph where the perspective of the author’s backyard and washing line has changed altogether. The structure has no jumping back and forth in it; no going from the child’s perspective to the adult’s, the story is able to flow easily. The structure is almost in the form of stepping stones, where the change in perspective can go from one point of view to the other, child to adult.
Having each story been written in a third-person narrative form, the reader knows the innermost feelings of the protagonists and watches the main characters change. The reader learns what Brown feels as he thinks to himself, “What a wretch I am to leave her on such an errand!” In “Where Are You Going,” the narrator supplies much of Connie’s feelings, such as in the first paragraph, “she knew she was pretty and that was everything.” However, in Young Goodman Brown, “point of view swings subtly between the narrator and the title character. As a result, readers are privy to Goodman Brown’s deepest, darkest thoughts, while also sharing an objective view of his behavior” (Themes and Construction: Young 2). Point of view of “Young Goodman Brown” contrasts with that of “Where Are You Going” because “This narrative voice stays closely aligned to Connie’s point of view” (Themes and Construction: Where 2). Despite the subtle contrast, both points of view allow the reader to see the changes in Brown and Connie; Brown loses his faith and Connie loses herself. Point of view also affects how the reader sees other chara...
The mother and daughter have a very distant relationship because her mother is ill and not capable to be there, the mother wishes she could be but is physically unable. “I only remember my mother walking one time. She walked me to kindergarten." (Fein). The daughter’s point of view of her mother changes by having a child herself. In the short story the son has a mother that is willing to be helpful and there for him, but he does not take the time to care and listen to his mother, and the mother begins to get fed up with how Alfred behaves. "Be quiet don't speak to me, you've disgraced me again and again."(Callaghan). Another difference is the maturity level the son is a teenager that left school and is a trouble maker. The daughter is an adult who is reflecting back on her childhood by the feeling of being cheated in life, but sees in the end her mother was the one who was truly being cheated. “I may never understand why some of us are cheated in life. I only know, from this perspective, that I am not the one who was.” (Fein). The differences in the essay and short story show how the children do not realize how much their mothers care and love
The first part of the story is generally telling the settings,background and basic events of the story. It starts with the narrator shocked by the news that his younger brother, Sonny,
...ile forms an image of her character. By comparing her eyes with marbles the reader can construct that Mrs. Merkle was expressionless and had cold, glazed hard eyes. For every instance that Mrs. Merkle is mentioned the phrase is repeated, in the last occurrence to excuse her from not crying for the loss of Mrs. Bylow. Wilson’s adaptation of a motif in her writing shapes the character’s conscience based on their emotional reactions to a situation.
The author clearly shows how his childhood effected his adulthood, making in a living example of what he is writing about allowing the audience to more easily trust what he is writing about. Instead of using factually evidence from other dysfunctional family incidences, the author decides to make it more personal, by using his own life and comparing family ideas of the past to the present.
The direct characterization of the these families through these "dicta" adds humor to the story while informing us about these families.
Twain describes local customs and the ways that the characters behave to create a more realistic setting for the story. In the story the characters engage in behavior or activities that would be unusual for a regular person to do. For example, the narrator says:
Living in a society where the fulfillment of dreams is based upon material wealth, the Younger family strives to overcome their hardships as they search for happiness. As money has never been a way of life for the family, the insurance check's arrival brings each person to see the chance that their own dreams can become reality. Whether in taking a risk through buying a "little liquor store" as Walter wishes to do or in -"[wanting] to cure" as Beneatha dreams, the desires of the family depend upon the fate of Mama's check. In the mind of Walter Lee Younger, the check is the pinnacle of all, dominating his thoughts, as he does not wait a second before "asking about money "without" a Christian greeting." He cannot see beyond the fact that he "[wants] so many things" and that only their recently acquired money can bring them about. The idea of money and being able to hold it "in [his] hands" blinds him from the evils of society, as he cannot see that the Willy Harris's of the world will steal a person's "life" without a word to anyone. When money becomes nothing but an illusion, Walter is forced to rethink his values and his family's future, realizing that there is more to living that possessing material riches.
In contrast, syntax provides a new perspective to the narrator s behavior as sentence structure draws attention to her erratic behavior. By her last entry, the narrator s sentences have become short and simple. Paragraphs 227 through 238 contain few adjectives resulting in limited descriptions yet her short sentences emphasize her actions providing plenty of imagery. The syntax quickly pulls the reader through the end as the narrator reaches an end to her madness.
By stating how other people behave or interact, the author offers a great chance for readers to interpret fairly for themselves what the reason for any conflict may be, or the nature of any essential contrast between the narrator and other adults in the story. In the story, there are many self-righteous opinions from people, which seem to be ironic to the readers; For example, her mother’s aggressive attitude of showing off her daughter, her piano teacher’s self-praise claiming him as “Beethoven.” All of the narrations including conversation clearly depict a different characteristic between the narrator and other people. For instance, a conversation occurs between the narrator and her mother when the mother criticizing a girl who seems similar to the author on TV which reveals dissimilar understanding for both of them to each other’s behavior. At first, the daughter speaks out for the girl by questioning her mother by saying “why picking on her […] She’s pretty good. Maybe she’s not the best, but she’s trying hard.” The daughter actually is defending for herself and reflecting that she feels uncomfortable with her mother’s disregard of her hard work. She wants to get her mother’s compliments instead of her criticisms. However, her mother response of, “just like you,” and, “not the best. Because you not trying.” Here, her mother doesn’t really answer her question, instead wants her put more effort on trying, neglecting how much she has tried before. However, in her mother’s perspective, she has never tried hard enough. By narratively stating the conversations she has encountered, readers perceive a strong implication of the reason for a future conflict between her and her mother.
Her character is portrayed as being anxious through the author’s choice of dialogue in the form of diction, which is “waves of her [the mother] anxiety sink down into my belly”. The effect of this is to allow the readers to establish the emotions of the narrator, as well as establish an the uneasy tone of the passage, and how stressful and important the event of selling tobacco bales for her family is. Additionally, the narrator is seen to be uncomfortable in the setting she is present in. This is seen through the many dashes and pauses within her thoughts because she has no dialogue within this passage, “wishing- we- weren’t- here”, the dashes show her discomfort because the thought is extended, and thus more intense and heavy, wishing they could be somewhere else. The effect of the narrator’s comfort establishes her role within the family, the reason she and her sister does not have dialogue symbolizes that she has no voice within the family, as well as establishing hierarchy. The authors use dictation and writing conventions to develop the character of the narrator herself, as well as the mother. The narrator’s focus on each of her parents is additionally highlighted through
Also, it is written as if the narrator is a storyteller recalling and retelling a folklore to the reader. The narrator uses speech and quotes within the story, such as, “ Oh mother do stop crying..’ to give the tale seem more realistic as it makes the characters much more life-like, important and the story much more dramatic. (Grimm) Added to this, the writer does not share the feelings of the mother he just implies them with her actions, for example ‘crying.’ This also makes the story much more relatable because when someone is upset we only see their actions which in turn infer their feelings, rather than being told what they
Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller provides an insight on the desperate times of the economy when tobacco selling was the one crop that made ends meet. Fuller justifies the prose by creating a plot filled with tension that portrays the poor, economic struggles of a family through a first person narrator. Alexandra Fuller writing techniques depict the prose through language and characterization; it shows the harsh economy the narrator’s family is dwelling with.