Brandon Gibson Essays (605 words) - Literature, Fiction, Narratology

Brandon Gibson Shana Hirsch English 102 30 October 2017 FICTIONAL SHORT STORIES Fictional short stories have been part of literature for many years. A fictional short story has a couple key points that define them. The term fiction means that the story has to be non-factual or have plenty of deviation from a true story. A dditionally, a short story must be short enough in length so that is can be read in one sitting . S hort stories, must also take their literary devices and use them in very unique manners. A good writer can use these items to create a unique and artistic story, as well as add a level of complexity . Some of the greatest short stories use these devices and leave a cryptic or underlying message , almost like a puzzle . The most important literary devices, which must be used well in order to create a great short story are; creation of a dynamic character, a well thought out theme, and proper use of the setting. "The Yellow Wallpaper" makes great use and creates a very dynamic character. The story follows a young, upper-middle-class woman, newly married and a mother, who is undergoing ca re for depression. The women starts to go crazy about the wallpaper in the house and begins to have creepy thoughts and visions about it. This story makes great use of a dynamic character because it is a story that follows a women with mental problems. Stories that use mentally unstable people create very interesting characters because there is so many hidden clues to discover . Each event in the story, which this women goes through, has to be analyzed deeply because they hold numerous or symbolic meanings. Some of these events, portray clues about the author's life and feelings. Many short stories put their themes to great use. One story that has a very unique and interesting theme is "The Lottery". The story is about a town of only around 300 people, which conduct an annual lottery. This lottery is to determine, who will be sacrificed to death by stoning. This story has a great theme because it is a theme that has to really be evaluated. The story does not leave a lot to tell, why this town conducts a lottery and kills an innocent citizen each year. This makes for a great theme because now, as the reader, you have to evaluate key words and segments in the story in order to find deeper meaning. Many things can be brought to debate such as; culture, tradition, religion, morals, and beliefs. I also feel that, not all themes come with a single meaning. I see the theme of this story as couple things. One being, the sacrifice of one for the benefit of others. And the other is how mankind will blindly follow tradition. Themes provide so much to be left with a reader to ponder over, but the s etting must also be laid out well. The setting in a story has to be perfect or the story will not work in harmony. "Young Goodman Brown" set up the story very well. This story follows a man as he journeys through the gloomy forest of Salem. The man encounters numerous eerie people and strange events in the forest. The setting for this story is a crucial aid for its success. This story must remain in a time period of witches, cloaks, and 17 th century type architecture. The story is based off the Salem Witch Hunt and even takes some of the real names from that event. The description and