Katherine Brush utilizes diction and atmosphere to convey the mood’s shift throughout the story. Her choice of words and the aura they create demonstrate the transition from a seemingly jovial occasion, to a tense and uncomfortable reaction. “The Birthday Party” takes a seemingly normal couple and uncovers the troubles that lay just beneath the surface.
Brush’s choice of words is the primary indicator of a shift in the story’s direction. It begins by describing the couple as ‘unmistakingly married’ and ‘nothing conspicuous about them’. However, later on it describes the husband as ‘indignant’ and his words as ‘curt’. The wife is described as ‘pathetic’ and ‘heart-broken’. This choice of words insinuates the true nature of the couple
and reveals the strain in their turbulent relationship. Subsequently, a tense atmosphere is created through the utilization of diction. This tense atmosphere is developed by first creating a homely feeling of the wife’s effort to please her husband on a day out to celebrate. However, the mood quickly plummets into a darker and more somber situation. The author illustrates the husband’s negative reaction to the surprise as ‘clear at once that help was needed’. This automatically shifts the atmosphere from one of humble celebration, to one of trepidation. It invokes a feeling of apprehension in the reader, an uneasiness on what is to follow. The finale illustrates the husband’s harshness towards his wife. His words seem to lash out at her. He has now turned the tables and utterly humiliated her. As she sits crying, and the husband makes no move to comfort her. A sense of pity for the wife and anger towards the husband is formed. The story ends with the wife still crying in her ‘best hat’ and leaves the reader with a bitter and unsatisfied mood. An ideal embodiment of the couple’s marriage.
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 ...
In her short story, "The Birthday Party", Katharine Brush depicts the cruelty that many people in this world so curtly reveal. Through her use of imagery, diction, and point of view she is able to send this message across to her audience.
Appealing to the reader’s emotions through stories is a commonly used technique, and Scelfo uses it beautifully. She starts the article out by introducing the reader to a young girl named Kathryn Dewitt. Whether they mean to or not, the reader develops some kind of emotional connection to this young girl. They feel as if they are a part of the story, for when something goes well, the reader feels good and vice versa.
As the story begins, the narrator's compliance with her role as a submissive woman is easily seen. She states, "John laughs at me, but one expects that in marriage" (Gilman 577). These words clearly illustrate the male's position of power in a marriage t...
This story had been put in and order in which the emotions were changing all the time. At one point Lisa’s neighborhood had been celebrating then the next day something terrible happened. “ The night ended with everyone still humming the tune as they went inside”. This represented the celebration. “ Smoke, everywhere, I need to get Tod out”. this represents the terrible event. This shows the change of emotions by first everyone had gone to bed proud and happy. the next morning the house caught on fire and Lisa was left on the streets. Another thing that came into play with the order was with every challenge and battle it would be harder and closer to defeat and the celebrations would be bigger.
Most of us can easily picture a typical child's party, loud and hyper boys running about, noise and fun and screaming kids and chaos, but this party seems to be viewed differently by the mother. It is a more serious and quiet event. She sees the boys as "short men" gathering in the living room, not as children having fun. The children seems subdued to us, with "hands in pockets". It is almost as if they are waiting, as the readers are, for something of imp...
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...
Immediately, the narrator stereotypes the couple by saying “they looked unmistakably married” (1). The couple symbolizes a relationship. Because marriage is the deepest human relationship, Brush chose a married couple to underscore her message and strengthen the story. The husband’s words weaken their relationship. When the man rejects his wife’s gift with “punishing…quick, curt, and unkind” (19) words, he is being selfish. Selfishness is a matter of taking, just as love is a matter of giving. He has taken her emotional energy, and she is left “crying quietly and heartbrokenly” (21). Using unkind words, the husband drains his wife of emotional strength and damages their relationship.
At the beginning of the story, in plot “A”, John and Mary are introduced as a stereotypical happy couple with stereotypically happy lives of middle class folks. Words like “stimulating” and “challenging” are used repetitiously to describe events in thei...
...te, “What could I say to people who thought /That a woman of thirty-five was at fault /When her lover of nineteen killed her husband.” Here, Masters tells not only the plot, but also gives the reader Mrs. Merritt’s point of view of the events. In this story, Masters uses a dysfunctional marriage as the cause of a man’s death, once again displaying his true feelings about romantic relationships and marriage. By constantly using unhappy marriages as the causes of his character’s deaths, Masters conveys his own discontent toward romantic relationships and marriage.
author really believes that there is any other arena for human fulfillment than that of human society. The Farquarsons’ maid is the unacknowledged Hester Prynne in the midst of Shady Hill, while Weed wrings his hands—or whittles wood—like a suburban Dimmesdale. At the end of “The Country Husband,” the real question concerns the nature of the suburban society into which Cheever reintegrates his characters.
Young individual’s perspectives change and mature as they go through experiences, both good and bad. In the short story, “The Stolen Party,” written by Liliana Heker, Rosaura’s childish view and enthusiasm is stolen from her. Initially Rosaura stubbornly argues with her female parent that she is getting to the birthday party as an invited friend. As the story progresses Rosaura is over confident as she is consistently called upon by Senora Ines to help host the party. Towards the end, Rosaura figures out that she was taken advantage of and discriminated against because of her socioeconomic class. Therefore, Rosaura’s experience of the party changes her positive perspective about rich people to a negative one, causing her to mature.
Revolving around a young and recently married couple, Hurston develops an entertaining short story that explores the idea of a perfect marriage that is forced to cope with betrayal and the process of forgiveness. Newlyweds Joe and Missie May Banks frolic in their newfound marital bliss. They could not be happier with each other and Missie proudly plays trophy wife when Joe takes her out to the ice cream parlor. Unfortunately, the story takes a turn when Slemmons starts chasing after her, promising money in exchange for sex. One night, after getting off work early, Joe discovers his wife in bed with Slemmons and their marriage turns bitter. Joe becomes cold and distant until he realizes Missie is pregnant.
The narrator’s criticism of Robert’s marriage reveals he misapprehends the meaning of a true relationship, which unlike his own is beyond physical intimacy. He has yet to experience the emotional, intellectual intimacy, which is inhibited from his dismissiveness trait. Consequently, he is unable to understand Robert’s marriage. Inconsidering other opinions means one have yet to hear the full course of the story, and as a consequence, it leads to flawed
The Sheridan family is arranging a Garden Party a beautiful sunny day. In the poorer neighbourhood across the street, a young man gets killed in an accident. When the young girl Laura hears about this, she wants the garden party cancelled to show some respect for the exposed family. Laura speaks with her sister and her mother about cancelling the party, but she is not taken seriously by them.