... sometimes ironic. In Kate Chopin's short story, The Story of an Hour, many ironic elements are used to help the reader understand the fate of the main character, Mrs. Mallard. Mrs. Mallard is a woman who at first shows difficulty in taking the news of her husband's death. Although, throughout the story, ... the front door bruised and stained a little, not of joy or heart troubles or her being overwhelmed by his death. Also, just to touch basis on the third character, her sister, Josephine, she only played as a contrast in the story. I don't think she had a great significant role in the s...

• Word Count: 4614
• Approx Pages: 18
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... in fact, an admirable balance in Mistry's Bombay, which brings us back to my earlier proposition: that Mistry's writing in its development of the time-honored fictional ingredients-setting, character, style, and plot-seeks and maintains a delicate balance. And that balance leads into subtle thematic implications. Tales from Firozsha Baag. The middle-class Parsis who inhabit the residential block ... close. That the one member of the foursome best equipped to succeed economically should kill himself is heavy with irony. In contrast, the less fortunate survive by achieving what one charac...

• Word Count: 4673
• Approx Pages: 19
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... in fact, an admirable balance in Mistry's Bombay, which brings us back to my earlier proposition: that Mistry's writing in its development of the time-honored fictional ingredients-setting, character, style, and plot-seeks and maintains a delicate balance. And that balance leads into subtle thematic implications. Tales from Firozsha Baag. The middle-class Parsis who inhabit the residential block ... close. That the one member of the foursome best equipped to succeed economically should kill himself is heavy with irony. In contrast, the less fortunate survive by achieving what one charac...

• Word Count: 4675
• Approx Pages: 19
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... by writers of Europe, England and America is enormous. I, as a faculty-instructor, came up with my own inventory of about 15 short stories by the writers of said regions-the list is not a symmetrical one, though, with England having more in number than the other two regions. While I wanted to stick to my own ... list, some of my students were in favour of including short stories from other regions such as South Asia, Africa, Latin America and Caribbean Islands, being prone to embrace the works ... ...

• Word Count: 2530
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... those twisted conflicts, which Poe so effectively portrays. Poe also writes introspectively, which lets the reader glimpse into the mind of the narrator or the main character of the story, exposing to us his fears, his hate, and his perversion. Many of the characters in Poe's stories seem to be insane. ... is the desire to possess or be possessed by the beloved, utterly."2 Poe's stories often have narrators that feel extreme hate or extreme love for another character in the story. In "The Black Cat" the narrator is obsessed with pets; he has one special pet, which is a beautiful black c...

• Word Count: 4324
• Approx Pages: 17
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Strazinsky seems repaid in kind at first, only later does one learn that such an assumption is incorrect. What makes Strazinsky a very interesting character, is the fact that he throughout the story remains an enigma to all. After the journey to the funeral, none is more confused ... than Caine. The inner machinations of this individual are carefully guarded from all unwanted trespassers -much like it is the case with Caine's character. So, while the two are separated by several obvious differences, they also share certain similarities. The ride to the funeral, and the funeral itself ......

• Word Count: 2809
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of showing the different functions of legend in these stories, I shall pay attention to them separately. In "Little Cyprien" the main character is immediately introduced on the basis of his relation to religion. The reader perceives him through the eyes of the community's members who are ... changes his attitude only when he meets Marie the Seamstress who, given her name and her characteristics, is a symbol rather than a flesh-and-bone character in this story. She could be seen as representing Catholic consciousness and thus functions as a tool in converting the infidel into a proper Chr...

• Word Count: 2890
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... secret behind the human race, but the quest begins to change him. He starts to become violent, a completely different person from the original character that is introduced at the beginning of the story. Swincegood finally finds the first of the race and gets her to tell the story of ... in his books. Lafferty has been able to write fiction, wrapped with real history. This concept was displayed in Okla Hannali. The main character is fictional, but interacts with actual people in history. If he had lived one hundred and forty years ago, he more than likely would ... of the champions of Nat...

• Word Count: 2850
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... life. Within the text of Willa Cather's short story "Paul's Case" the use of symbols and motives help to develop and understand the main character. Paul is introduced as a smiling young man with disrespect for most things but the reader slowly comes to realize that his sense of the world ... end of this story. Coming to understand the way Paul substitutes art and music with relationships or education in "Paul's Case," exposes the true character of Paul. In the introduction of the story Paul is at an interrogation in front of his teachers to defend his offensive classroom manners. Paul ......

• Word Count: 2556
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... was influenced this way. O'Connor has a number of characters with racist traits but there were three that stuck out to me. "The Geranium" reveals a character named Old Dudley. He is an interesting character, and from the first page we get the sense that he's quite arrogant, full of his own opinions, certain that his views are the right ones, and ... what went on from the 17th century to the 1960's. As I read on in O'Connor's short stories I came across a short story called "The Barber." Rayber is the main character in this story as he confronts the political detachment of the local elec...

• Word Count: 2519
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... suddenly realizes he can see. Characters Narrator's wife Although she is never given a name in this story, the narrator's wife is an important character. It is her earlier friendship with Robert that provides the catalyst for the story. As a much younger woman, she went to work as a ... . Creativity and Imagination In "Cathedral," Carver explores the role that creativity and imagination can play in the reduction of isolation and alienation in a character's life. Early in the story, the narrator reveals his own creativity. He imaginatively describes his wife's employment with the blind ma...

• Word Count: 11148
• Approx Pages: 45
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... and universally applicable definition of stories of initiation in literary theory. This is mainly due to the fact that many theorists (as well as fiction authors) made statements about the character of the initiation-story only as a kind of by-product while analyzing specific examples of the genre. There are some attempts to build a concise theory, though, on which the ... is depicted as a confrontation of the innocent protagonist with guilt and atonement (Freese 95) and often has the notion of a shocking experience. This confrontation usually includes a progress in the protagonists ch...

• Word Count: 5305
• Approx Pages: 21
• Grade Level: High School

... 's Booker Prize-winning The English Patient. 256 pp. In the Skin of a Lion Written by: krazy_gurl In the novel, "In the Skin of a Lion,"" by Michael Ondaatje, the main character, Patrick Lewis, searches for identity and light. Without these elements, he lacks love and cannot survive the world. A passage in chapter three describes him as a lonely man that is isolated ... who is isolated from everyone who is close to him. This passage also provides emotional endearment for the readers, since it illustrates Patrick's compassion and perception. It reveals Patrick's true character. In the beg...

• Word Count: 3985
• Approx Pages: 16
• Grade Level: High School

... and his father. This role reversal is ironic, as the reader would expect that a second- generation youth would be more liberal than an old world character. Ali seems to take on the role of an old world character as he continually assimilates himself with his religion and culture, our people are oppressed' and my people have taken enough'. This is a contrast to ... make money and buy happiness. The Rocking Horse Winner' is a simple moral story that asserts the dangers of materialism, through the use of an innocent child. Paul is the main character in the story and is desperately searchin...

• Word Count: 2806
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the park' composed by Gwen Harwood presents a significant example of someone who regrets the changes in their life. This is understood as we observe the regret and disappointment the central character undergoes as she acknowledges the self- sacrifices she has made as a mother. The Catalyst accountable for this women's change occurs when an unexpected confrontation with a past lover reminds her of ... excitement the washing line represents. When we are bought to the presence we learn the washing line has become warped with sagging wires' reflecting the self change of the central characte...

• Word Count: 2540
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... or intentionally reveal; as a result, we know him at a deeper level. Characters The Narrator As we observe the way the narrator sees and understands the world around, we infer some character traits: his attitude is insecure, arrogant, and rude, out of touch, unaffected, hesitant, lacking self-awareness. There are many examples in the story where this is proved. The narrator deceives ... off to the world, he is actually open-minded and understand life better than narrator (Allan SImes, 2008). Themes Prejudice and Ignorance In this short story, Carver uses the main character's skeptical t...

• Word Count: 3978
• Approx Pages: 16
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... article applies some concepts of Freudian psychoanalysis to Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Oval Portrait". It also in a specific manner tries to make parallels between Poe's own character and his projections onto his tales and poems, in here "The Oval Portrait". The main focus will be the traces of Freud's ideas on the "Life and ... filling some gaps in his story we psychoanalyzed what he said and what he avoided to talk about. Actually through these silences of the text, the most important points about character and the Author himself will be discovered. However, it seems that at l...

• Word Count: 3098
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... in the same way that he wears his clean, clean clothes. He ends up as a man in a wheel chair, mad and alone at thirty three. He is not the last character who will loose all and end up either dead or wanting to be. To Anthony, Gloria was "a single flower amidst a collection of cheap bric-a -brac. " (p.71). Gloria was used to ... spite of their "damnation." But they are never as "beautiful" as he tries to make them. This is a failure of the novel. Racism is introduced in this novel with the character of Joseph Bloeckman. When the reader is asked to admire the novel's rich people, the uppe...

• Word Count: 2828
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: High School

... in a way, made them, he thought, liable to bigotry" (Waggoner 15). In most of his novels and stories, there is a strong display of the Puritan society's reaction to a certain primary character's struggle. Hypocrisy being a major element, Hawthorne also used guilt, confession, and sin as smaller elements to get his feelings across on the Puritans" shortcomings. Hypocrisy is a major component, if not ... ...

• Word Count: 3188
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School