“Chef’s House” by Carver presents us with a story that certainly transmits as realist fiction. This is achieved by having the story told from Edna’s point of view, in a way that makes it feel as if she is retelling events to someone else, perhaps a friend. An example of this is, “I said I was still thinking. He said, We’ll start over. I said, If I come up there, I want you to do something for me. Name it, Wes said.” By having embedded dialogue within paragraphs it seems as if story was told aloud, and makes it feel as if it’s being told rather than being played out.
Of the fiction laboratories this work falls under reveal theme. As the story plays out we the readers are left wondering what is the future for this couple. At the end when Wes
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pulls the drapes and shuts of the view of the ocean, we have our answer, Wes isn’t going to fully recover, there is no hope for him and Edna. The story excels in transmitting as a piece of realism. It falls under the acronym we learned in class – WORD, which is to say the story has wholeness, oneness, realness, and is dynamic. While the story starts in medias res it transmits wholeness by having a clear plot (Will Wes and Edna salvage their relationship), setting (Eureka) and theme (recovery, Wes recovering from alcoholism, and them trying to recover their relationship). By having one plot, one climax and one point of view it demonstrates oneness. Edna is a reliable and relatable narrator, the setting is ordinary and familiar, and everything happens logically, there are no superhuman forces at play, which provide realness. Dynamism is marked in the story as “One afternoon…” here the tone shifts, and marks that something is about to change. Another technique to make not of is Carver’s use of symbolism.
The town they’re staying in is called Eureka, symbolizing that Wes and Edna are trying to find their way back to each other, which is ironic because Edna realizes that there is nothing left to find between them. The ocean is one of the most important symbols, representing opportunity. When Wes is staring out the window after Chef has told him they have to go, he is contemplating whether to pursue his opportunity for recovery. The symbolism with the ocean is the most important because it serves as the story’s narrative arc. At the beginning “Edna, you can see the ocean from the front window. You can smell salt in the air. I listened to him talk. He didn’t slur his words. I said, I’ll think about it. And I did” This symbolizes hope and newfound opportunity that Wes has found for his recovery as well as an opportunity for him to rekindle his romance with Edna. At the end of the story the image of the ocean is brought up again, “Wes got up and pulled the drapes and the ocean was gone just like that.” Here the ocean symbolizes that Wes has lost hope and is closing himself off from the opportunities that have presented themselves. When compared to Gavin’s “Play the Man” we see the different approaches to realist fiction made by each author. While Gavin relies on details, as shown through dialogue and descriptions of events, Carver takes a different approach entirely. Instead of providing ample detail as did Gavin, Carver provides little detail or elaborate dialogue. Although at times it felt the story would benefit from more exposition such as providing details of when they last fell out, or a flashback on a previous incident. However, as a short story “Chef’s House” does well with leaving out details. Instead of developing the characters Carver chooses to reveal who they are instead. Minimalism works in this way at the end of the story when there is a lack of dialogue between Wes and Edna. By simply having
Wes unable to communicate with Edna this shows us more than if Edna were to give us a detailed explanation.
Light, especially fire, and darkness are significantly reoccurring themes in Fahrenheit 451. Guy Montag, the main character, is a fireman, but in this futuristic world the job description of a fireman is to start fires wherever books are found; instead of putting them out. Montag takes a journey from a literary darkness to a knowledgeable light. This journey can be compared to the short story Allegory of the Cave by Plato, in which a prisoner experiences a similar journey. An example of light, in reference to knowledge, occurs just after Montag meets Clarisse for the first time. "When they reached her house all its lights were blazing" (9). Since Montag had rarely seen that many house lights on, I interpreted those lines as saying "that house is full of knowledge and enlightenment; not like the rest of the houses around here which are always dark." Clarisse went on to explain to Montag that her mother, father, and uncle were just sitting around and talking. This was also something that wasn't very commonplace in the city. Fire is an important element of symbolism in Fahrenheit 451. Fire consumes minds, spirits, men, ideas, and books. Fire plays two very different roles in this book. The role of a destructive, devouring, and life ending force, and the role of a nourishing flame.
Authors use literary elements throughout short stories to give an overall effect on the message they give in the story. In his short story, “Doe Season” by Michael Kaplan, illustrates a theme(s) of the hardships of not wanting to face the reality of death, losing of innocence and the initiation of growing up. Kaplans theme is contributed by symbolism, characterization, setting and foreshadowing.
Graham Greene, a Canadian actor, once said, “Human nature is not black and white but black and grey.” Carver brings this quote into light, when he describes the outcome of an argument that a couple has. Carver, the author of “Popular Mechanics,” uses imagery, symbolism, and voice to convey that humanity is inherently bad, violent, evil and in times of darkness. One can easily destroy ones own beautiful creations, but in all it’s just a part of human nature.
Carver tells the story in first person of a narrator married to his wife. Problems occur when she wants a friend of hers, an old blind man, to visit for a while because his wife has died. The narrator's wife used to work for the blind man in Seattle when the couple was financial insecure and needed extra money. The setting here is important, because Seattle is associated with rain, and rain symbolically represents a cleansing or change. This alludes to the drastic change in the narrator in the end of the story. The wife and blind man kept in touch over the years by sending each other tape recordings of their voices which the narrator refers it to being his wife's "chief means or recreation" (pg 581).
In Raymond Carver's 'The Bath' and rewritten version of the story entitled 'A Small, Good Thing', the author tells the same tale in different ways, and to different ends, creating variegated experiences for the reader. Both stories have the same central plot and a majority of details remain the same, but the effects that the stories have upon the reader is significantly different. The greatest character difference is found in the role of the Baker, and his interaction with the other characters. The sparse details, language and sentence structure of 'The Bath' provide a sharp contrast emotionally and artistically to 'A Small Good Thing'. In many ways, 'The Bath' proves to have a more emotional impact because of all that it doesn't say; it's sparse, minimalist storytelling gives the impression of numbed shock and muted reactions. The descriptive storytelling of 'A Small Good Thing' goes deeper into the development of the characters and although it tells more story, it ends on a note of hopefulness, instead of fear or desperation. Each story has it's own magic that weave it's a powerful. When compared to each other the true masterpiece of each story is best revealed.
In Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," the husband's view of blind men is changed when he encounters his wife's long time friend, Robert. His narrow minded views and prejudice thoughts of one stereotype are altered by a single experience he has with Robert. The husband is changed when he thinks he personally sees the blind man's world. Somehow, the blind man breaks through all of the husband's jealousy, incompetence for discernment, and prejudgments in a single moment of understanding.
end. This essay will further show how both stories shared similar endings, while at the same time
Alice Walker is a well-known African- American writer known for published fiction, poetry, and biography. She received a number of awards for many of her publications. One of Walker's best short stories titled "Everyday Use," tells the story of a mother and her two daughters' conflicting ideas about their heritage. The mother narrates the story of the visit by her daughter, Dee. She is an educated woman who now lives in the city, visiting from college. She starts a conflict with the other daughter, Maggie over the possession of the heirloom quilts. Maggie still lives the lifestyle of her ancestors; she deserves the right of the quilts. This story explores heritage by using symbolism of the daughters' actions, family items, and tradition.
The imagery of the ocean at Grand Isle and its attributes symbolize a force calling her to confront her internal struggles, and find freedom. Chopin uses the imagery of the ocean to represent the innate force within her soul that is calling to her. "The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in a maze of inward contemplation." (p.14) Through nature and its power, Edna, begins to find freedom in her soul and then returns to a life in the city where reside the conflicts that surround her. Edna grew up on a Mississippi plantation, where life was simple, happy, and peaceful. The images of nature, which serve as a symbol for freedom of the soul, appear when she speaks of this existence. In the novel, she remembers a simpler life when she was a child, engulfed in nature and free: "The hot wind beating in my face made me think - without any connection that I can trace - of a summer day in Kentucky, of a meadow that seemed as big as the ocean to the very little girl walking through the grass, which was higher than her waist.
Overall, the cathedral that the narrator draws with Robert represents true sight, the ability to see beyond the surface to the true meaning that lies within. The husband’s insecurities makes him emotionally blind. His inability to see past Robert’s disability ultimately prevents him from seeing the reality of any relationship or person in the story. The husband becomes more sensitive and accepts the moment of being blind has allowed him to become a better man. Finally, the cathedral drawing ironically reveals blindness to be an important factor. As a result, Carver gives interesting lessons to powerfully assess how we can find beauty and free ourselves from prejudgments and see the real world with our minds, not only our eyes.
...and little animals roaming about. When Edward first arrived on the Island, Wells used his view from the boat as the view the reader would receive through the text. “it was low and covered with thick vegetation,…..the beach was of a dull, grey sand, and sloped steeply up to a ridge, perhaps sixty of seventy feet above the sea-level, and irregularly set with trees and undergrowth” (Wells 42). Setting helps contribute to the theme because it detailed what the animals lived on, and how the animals were living.
“Mockingbirds do nothing for us but sing all day. That’s why it’s a sin to kill one” (103). To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee tells of a small town life, disrupted by an unfair trial of a black man accused of rape.It has many underlying points, like the children trying to meet Boo Radley and new friends in the summer. As named in the title, the mockingbird is used several times to symbolize innocence destroyed by evil, the mockingbird is an innocent animal doing nothing but singing, while the one who shoots it down is the evil one destroying all innocence. The mockingbird represents certain characters throughout the story who have been metaphorically “shot down”.
or be used in real life. In Red Kayak Brady goes through a tragedy which causes him to realize to always tell the truth. realistic fiction is a story that has credible events, authentic characters, real settings, true-to-life themes, and believable dialogue. Credible events are things or actions that could happen in real life. Having authentic characters is when the characters in the story act like real people that you would meet in everyday life. Authentic characters also use believable dialogue. This is when whatever that character is saying seems realistic and like something normal people that age would use in daily life. Next, true-to-life themes means
The image of the bloodhound first rose to prominence in the latter years of the wight, when it was utilized as the critic’s term for the dogs imported to British Jamaica from Cuba for the purpose of putting down a rebellion of runaway slaves and their descendants by means of the animals’ prowess as a means of both pursuit and intimidation. The use of these animals was condemned by parliament and King George III as an un-English adoption of a barbarous Spanish policy dating to the days of Cortez. The American press soon began to adopt the term in their descriptions of Spanish colonial conquests to describe ferocious animals unleashed upon the native people.
Literary realism is the trend, beginning with mid nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors, toward depictions of contemporary life and society as it was, or is. In the spirit of general "realism," realist authors opted for depictions of everyday and banal activities and experiences, instead of a romanticized or similarly stylized presentation. (Wikipedia, Literary Realism)