A cunning exploitation of the adversities we face are often portrayed repeatedly throughout stories—and who's to judge the perfect authors behind them? I find that sob stories are much more fulfilling, always ending perfectly. Yet we all suffer life's inconveniences, big or small. Perfect lives don't exist, conforming to the idea that no one person has the upper hand over their fate. This is easily the most recycled garbage spewed, often having overwhelming power when said in a controlled environment. Yet, it shouldn't. The inspiration that lies behind the pen, keyboard, mind, must draw from reality—yet, how much is fictitious? The irony of it is, we take these ideas of fulfillment or breakage and blow them out of proportion, which inevitably
blows the story to dust—for me, at least. That's the problem with storytelling, and yet the greatest advantage. Any story can be universally appealing, despite what the New York Times tells you. Just as a story on New York Times bestseller list can be the epitome of distaste. There's many factors that determine a story’s destiny, not all related to the story itself. The world is fast paced, adjustments occurring by the second, much like my rambling. I could go on for days, my words fixating in perfectly balanced knots that are unrecognizable yet somehow intertwined with the common theme of exploitation. But I won't because that would be disastrous, story-wise.
A compelling story reveals a deeper level of meaning without committing the error of defining it. In Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, Le Guin utilizes allegory, realism, and symbolism. By applying these literary elements into her short story, Le Guin has made “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” effectively compelling.
In a simplistic sense, the duty of an author is to bring the reader into an unfamiliar world. Though this task may seem easy enough, there are infinite considerations that the writer has to account for to make the environment of the story feel realistic. In his newest collection Fortune Smiles, Adam Johnson expertly allows us into his worlds, often in the most ambitious fashion possible. By choosing particularly emotionally harrowing subject matter, Johnson runs the risk of losing the more empathetic members of his readership. However, in addition to being a beautiful writer, Adam Johnson deftly incorporates humor at the perfect moments to add levity to otherwise terrible situations. Using jokes in unexpected places can make the reader both uncomfortable and relieved simultaneously. By the end of
Allison has had a bitter past full of moments which have scarred her personality. She uses these and writes about the world that few are willing to admit exists. Many find refuge behind their gregarious nature and take comfort in religion or other bodies. However, that does not change the facts of what the world is and how it got there. Allison exposes her audience to these facts, and in the process, she shares her own view.
In Flannery O’Connor’s stories, “Good Country People”, “Everything that Rises Must Converge”, ”A Good Man is Hard to Find”, and “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, there are many similar characters and situations. Few, if any of the characters are likeable, and most of them are grotesque. Two of the stories have characters that view themselves as superior in one way or another to those around them, and in some cases these characters experience a downfall, illustrating the old proverb, “Pride goeth before a fall” (King James Bible ,Proverbs 16:18). Two of the stories include a character that has some type of disability, three of the stories showcase a very turbulent relationship between a parent and child, and three of the stories contain a character that could easily be described as evil.
In “The Truth about Stories”, Thomas King, demonstrate connection between the Native storytelling and the authentic world. He examines various themes in the stories such as; oppression, racism, identity and discrimination. He uses the creational stories and implies in to the world today and points out the racism and identity issues the Native people went through and are going through. The surroundings shape individuals’ life and a story plays vital roles. How one tells a story has huge impact on the listeners and readers. King uses sarcastic tone as he tells the current stories of Native people and his experiences. He points out to the events and incidents such as the government apologizing for the colonialism, however, words remains as they are and are not exchanged for actions. King continuously alerts the reader about taking actions towards change as people tend to be ignorant of what is going around them. At the end people give a simple reason that they were not aware of it. Thus, the author constantly reminds the readers that now they are aware of the issue so they do not have any reason to be ignorant.
What is in a story if you can’t take something out of it and relate to your everyday life? The book “Typical American” by Gish Jen, gave me something that I never fully, and I probably still don’t, comprehend: foreigners, and their struggles in making a new life in another country. I have been on my share of trips, both domestic and abroad, but was never in a distant land long enough to feel the effects of the unknowing these people felt every day. The manner in which this story was presented has given me a new insight into, not only foreign nationals, but more importantly, how one goes about presenting emotional feeling not just through words, but setting, characterization, point of view, conflict, and theme.
Have you ever experienced a day where nothing goes right? The story “A&P” written by John Updike is one of a teenage boy named Sammy who quits his job in hope of impressing some girls --- only to find they neither cared nor listened. “Miss Brill” written by Katherine Mansfield is a story about an elderly woman named Miss Brill who goes to the park to observe people; her evening is ruined when some kids make fun of the way she 's dressed. Miss Brill and Sammy started their day motivated, as the stories went on their moods shifted because their actions were affected by other people 's opinions. But sad endings don 't always have to be sad, there 's a lot a reader can learn from them. Sad endings are more memorable than other endings because there is a feeling of uneasiness left for the reader. It is also more realistic that people don’t have a perfect day or the hero gets what they wanted. Updike and Mansfield use sad endings to further the theme of disappointment.
In Tobias Wolff’s novel Old School, the narrator, a young and aspiring writer, plagiarizes a story that he views as his own in order to win his high school writing competition and impress his hero, Ernest Hemingway. “Summer Dance,” the story that he plagiarized—where “nothing was okay”—ends with the words, “Everything’s okay” (p. 125). The narrator’s truth, complicated and elusive, proves a challenge to admit as his own. As he considers writing someone else’s story, the narrator realizes how concealing his identity compromises the value of his writing and places his personal truth in question. The narrator uses others’ stories as an outlet for personal reflection, self-expression, and self-discovery without realizing
Atwood’s “Happy Endings” retells the same characters stories several times over, never deviating from clichéd gender roles while detailing the pursuit of love and life and a happy ending in the middle class. The predictability of each story and the actions each character carries out in response to specific events is an outline for how most of us carry on with our lives. We’re all looking for the house, the dog, the kids, the white picket fence, and we’d all like to die happy.
...onal connection with each other that enables the feeling of empathy. Through each narrative the differences, as well as the similarities, establish the beginning of what is in today’s world and how people have changed. Each of the narratives were created for a purpose and as the themes, differences, and faith is established the purposes are expressed as the author allows each and every person reading to dive into their trials and afflictions. Through the captivation of the reading audience, there is the question of what is our own faith, hope, and view of self vs. other? Though captors and slaves or not prevalent in today’s day and age, there is still other items that can capture our thoughts and mind and lead us into a captivity that brings about trials and afflictions. Is faith and hope the answer to these afflictions? Does faith and hope make afflictions easier?
The famous French playwright Moliere once said, “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” Throughout our lives, we often are faced with hardships that cause us to change ourselves, the people around us, and the situation itself. Because of this, it may reveal our true characteristics to show who we truly are. In the memoirs “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls and “Warriors Don't Cry” by Melba Patillo, they vividly illustrate the story of how they faced their struggles. They both prevailed because of their tenacious mind sets, but handled the situations in both different and similar ways. The characteristics of the characters Jeannette and Melba show the similarities and differences between the characters.
Using narratives to gain an insight into human experience is becoming an increasingly popular method of exploration. Assuming that people are in essence narrative beings that experience every emotion and state through narrative, the value of exploring these gives us a unique understanding. Narrative is thought to act as instrument to explore how an individual constructs their own identity (Czarniawska, 1997) and explain how each individual makes sense of the world around them (Gabriel, 1998). It may also give us an understanding into individual thought processes in relation to individual decision making practices (O’Connor, 1997). It is evident from studies such as Heider and Simmel (1944), that there appears to be an instinctive nature in people to introduce plots structures and narratives into all situations, with an intention to construct meaning to all aspects of life in its entirety. The value of narrative is that it is a tool that allows us to understand what it means to be human and gives us an insight into a person’s lived experience whilst still acknowledging their cultural and social contexts. Narrative is thought to be significance as it is ‘a fruitful organizing principle to help understand the complex conduct of human beings (p.49)’ (Sarbin, 1990) The construction of a person’s narrative is thought to be dependent on each person’s individual awareness of themselves and the circumstances that surround them. However, a debate to whether a person is able to formulate a valid narrative in the face of a mental illness such as schizophrenia has emerged. Sufferer’s symptoms are often thought to interfere with their abilities to perceive within a level deemed acceptable to their society’s norms and therefore the validity ...
This quote by Tim O’ Brien beautifully captures the influence of stories in our lives. Stories attract us, move us and inspire us to be a better human being.
Often, the value of a piece of literature is measured by how accurately it reflects certain contemporary social issues or recurring psychological phenomena, as understood not only by scholars, but also laymen. Literature, therefore, is collectively a study of linguistic experiments and human responses. The ability to manipulate diction and syntax to create convincing and original narratives that calculatingly evoke specific emotional reactions strikes me as a weapon as empowering as it is enthralling. Nabokov’s “Lolita”, the epitome of the unreliable narrator trope, commands poetic language that never fails to fascinate and beguile readers; its influence and effectiveness are what I hope to someday emulate in my writing.
To conclude a ‘moral fable’ is something that has a deeper meaning than the initial meaning it suggests. To describe Hard Times as one would be right as of the impact it had on both Victorian readers and twenty-first century readers. The history it provides and the comparisons to other novels from its era. Also it doesn’t just dwell on the ‘truth’ and there’s a mixture of fact and fancy.