Fluent Essays

Exploring the elements of fiction with a focus on THREE reading questions based on the following four stories: ● OConnor, A Good Man is Hard to Find (pages 295 - 309) ● Walker, Everyday Use (pages 344 - 352) ● Welty A Worn Path (pages 386 - 394) ● Kaplan, Doe Season (pages 395 - 408) Read the stories with an attention to craft, that is, HOW the writer has put the story together with a keen eye on the literary elements that we’ve been studying such as theme, plot, character, POV, symbolism and so on. These three reading questions will be evaluated according to the rubrics below, so please look the criteria over closely so that you’re clear on what the expectations are. A couple key reminders: ● Be sure to support your responses to each question using not only details from the story, but quoted lines or passages. Remember: the stories are your PRIMARY sources, so the more you can rely on them to develop your response, the stronger your answer. ● You are required to make use of no fewer than THREE academic/scholarly sources. I recommend relying on one academic source per question. ● For each answer, be sure to cite the story and provide a reference as per MLA or APA. Remember: academic integrity is the goal! Question #1In a thorough and well-detailed 400-word explanation of what it means to be a “good man” or “good woman” in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Support your response with details from the story, including quoted passages that helps to develop and support your ideas. You must rely on at least ONE scholarly/academic source. Include a discussion of at least ONE literary craft element in your response. The discussion of craft is supported by textual details and quoted support. You must use proper grammar, mechanics and spelling in your response, make use of proper in-text citations and end-references. Question #2Select three key symbols in Walker’s “Everyday Use” and in a thorough and well-detailed 400-word response explain HOW these symbols are understood or interpreted differently by Dee and her mother. Support your response with details from the story, including quoted passages that helps to develop and support your ideas. You must rely on at least ONE scholarly/academic source. Include a discussion of at least ONE literary craft element in your response. The discussion of craft is supported by textual details and quoted support. You must use proper grammar, mechanics and spelling in your response, make use of proper in-text citations and end-references. Question #3 Answer BOTH parts of this question, including identifying three points on the “worn path” when Phoenix could have abandoned her mission along with an explanation of the relationship between Phoenix’s determination and the symbolism of a phoenix. You must respond to the question in a thorough and well-detailed 400-word explanation. Support your response with details from the story, including quoted passages that helps to develop and support your ideas. You must rely on at least ONE scholarly/academic source. Include a discussion of at least ONE literary craft element in your response. The discussion of craft is supported by textual details and quoted support. You must use proper grammar, mechanics and spelling in your response, make use of proper in-text citations and end-references. hum_1040_e_unit_2_read.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview CHAPTER 11 S LANGUAGE STYLE, TONE, AND (Mary) Flannery O’Connor AP Im a g e s A U N D E R S AP Tim O’Brien P h o to /Da v id P ic k o f S R . , G JamesA Joyce AP I m a g e s R R Y Style and Tone One of the qualities that gives a work of literature its individuality is its style, 2 selecting and arranging words to the way in which a writer uses language, say what he or she wants to say. Style 0 encompasses elements such as word choice; syntax; sentence length and structure; and the presence, frequency, 9 of speech. and prominence of imagery and figures Closely related to style is tone, the 0 attitude of the narrator or author of a work toward the subject matter, characters, or audience. Word choice and T S 281 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 282 Chapter 11 • Style, Tone, and Language sentence structure help to create a work’s tone, which may be intimate or distant, bitter or affectionate, straightforward or cautious, supportive or critical, respectful or condescending. (Tone may also be ironic; see Chapter 10, “Point of View,” for a discussion of irony.) The Uses of Language S Language offers almost limitless possibilities A to a writer. Creative use of language (such as unusual word choice, word order, or sentence structure) can U Sometimes, in fact, a writer’s use enrich a story and add to its overall effect. of language can expand a story’s possibilities N through its very inventiveness. For example, James Joyce’s innovative stream-of-consciousness style mimics thought, allowing ideas to run into one D another as random associations are made so that readers may follow and participate in the thought processes of E the narrator. Here is a stream-of-consciousness passage from Joyce’s experiR mental 1922 novel Ulysses: S whistling the strength those enfrseeeeeeeefronnnng train somewhere gines have in them like big giants and the water rolling all over and out of them all sides like the end of Loves old sweet sonnnng the poor men that S wives and families in those roasting have to be out all the night from their engines stifling it was today. . . . R Skillfully used, language can enhance a story’s other elements. It may, for . is important to the story’s plot or example, help to create an atmosphere that theme, as Kate Chopin’s lush, rhythmic sentences help to create the sexually , charged atmosphere of “The Storm” (p. 199)—an atmosphere that overpowers the characters and thus drives the plot. Language may also help to delineate character, perhaps by conveying a character’s mental state to readers. For G instance, the breathless, disjointed style of Edgar Allan Poe’s 1843 short story A “The Tell-Tale Heart” suggests the narrator’s increasing emotional instability: “Was it possible they heard not? AlmightyRGod!—no, no! They heard!—they suspected!—they knew!—they were making R a mockery of my horror!” In his 1925 short story “Big Two-Hearted River,” Ernest Hemingway uses short, unconnected sentences to create Y a flat, emotionless prose style that reveals his character’s alienation and fragility as he struggles to maintain control: “Now things were done. There had been this to do. Now it was done. 2 That was done. He had made his It had been a hard trip. He was very tired. camp. He was settled. Nothing could touch 0 him.” Language that places emphasis on the sounds and rhythm of words and 9 Consider the use of such language sentences can also enrich a work of fiction. in the following sentence from James Joyce’s 0 “Araby” (p. 288): The light from the lamp opposite our T door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon S the railing. 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. The Uses of Language 283 Here the narrator is describing his first conversation with a girl who fascinates him, and the lyrical, almost musical language reflects his enchantment. Note in particular the alliteration (light/lamp; caught/curve; hair/hand), the repetition (lit up/lit up), and the rhyme (lit up her hair/that rested there) and near rhyme (falling/railing); these poetic devices weave the words of the sentence into a smooth, rhythmic whole. S on sound may be found in the meaAnother example of this emphasis sured parallelism of this sentence from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1843 story A “The Birthmark”: U care of an assistant, cleared his fine He had left his laboratory to the countenance from the furnaceN smoke, washed the stain of acids from his fingers, and persuaded a beautiful woman to become his wife. D The style of this sentence, conveying methodical precision and order, reflects the compulsive personality of the character being described. E The following passage from Alberto Alvaro Ríos’s story “The Secret R Lion” (p. 466) illustrates the power of language to enrich a story: S we knew about bridges and castles and We had read the books, after all; wildtreacherousraging alligatormouth rivers. We wanted them. So we were going to go out and get them. We went back that morning into that S out there, we’re going into the hills, kitchen and we said, “We’re going we’re going away for three days, don’t worry.” She said, “All right.” R “You know,” I said to Sergio, “if we’re going to go away for three days, well, we ought to at least pack.a lunch.” But we were two young boys with no patience for what we thought at , sa-and-wiches. My mother didn’t offer. the time was mom-stuff: making So we got out little kid knapsacks that my mother had sewn for us, and into them we put the jar of mustard. A loaf of bread. Knivesforksplates, bottles of Coke, a can opener.G This was lunch for the two of us. And we were weighed down, humped over to be strong enough to carry this stuff. A But we started walking anyway, into the hills. We were going to eat berries and stuff otherwise. “Goodbye.” R My mom said that. Through language, the adult narrator Rof the preceding paragraphs recaptures the bravado of the boys in search of “wildtreacherousraging alligatormouth Y that the boys are not going far. The rivers” even as he suggests to readers story’s use of language is original and inventive: words are blended together (“getridofit,” “knivesforksplates”), linked to form new words (“mom-stuff”), 2 and drawn out to mimic speech (“sa-and-wiches”). These experiments with language show the narrator’s willingness 0 to move back into a child’s frame of reference while maintaining the advantage of distance. The adult narrator 9 uses sentence fragments (“A loaf of bread.”), colloquialisms (“kid,” “mom,” “stuff”), and contractions. He also includes conversational elements such as 0 you know and well in the story’s dialogue, accurately recreating the childT hood scene even as he sees its folly and remains aware of the disillusionment S permits the narrator to bring readers that awaits him. Thus, the unique style 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 284 Chapter 11 • Style, Tone, and Language with him into the child’s world while he maintains his adult stance: “But we were two young boys with no patience for what we thought at the time was mom-stuff. . . .” Although many stylistic options are available to writers, a story’s language must be consistent with the writer’s purpose and with the effect he or she hopes to create. Just as writers may experiment with point of view S plot, so they can adjust language or manipulate events to create a complex to suit a particular narrator or character or to convey a particular theme. A In addition to the creative uses of language described above, writers also U frequently experiment with formal and informal diction, imagery, and figures of speech. N D E The level of diction—how formal or informal a story’s language is—can R reveal a good deal about a story’s narrator and characters. S complex sentences; a learned Formal diction is characterized by elaborate, Formal and Informal Diction vocabulary; and a serious, objective, detached tone. It does not generally include contractions, shortened word forms (like phone), regional expresSor we for I. At its most extreme, sions, or slang, and it may substitute one formal language is stiff and stilted, far removed R from everyday speech. When formal diction is used by a narrator or by a character, it may indi. a superior social or professional cate erudition, a high educational level, position, or emotional detachment. When , one character’s language is significantly more formal than others’, he or she may seem old-fashioned or stuffy; when language is inappropriately elevated or complex, it may reveal the character to be pompous or ridiculous; when G a narrator’s language is noticeably more formal than that of the story’s characters, the narrator may seem A superior or even condescending. Thus, the choice of a particular level (or levels) of diction in a story can conveyRinformation about characters and about the narrator’s attitude toward them. R The following passage from Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” illustrates forY mal style: In the latter part of the last century there lived a man of science, an eminent proficient in every branch of natural philosophy, who not long 2 before our story opens had made experience of a spiritual affinity more attractive than any chemical one. He0had left his laboratory to the care of an assistant, cleared his fine countenance from the furnace smoke, washed 9 persuaded a beautiful woman to the stain of acids from his fingers, and become his wife. In those days when the comparatively recent discovery 0 of electricity and other kindred mysteries of Nature seemed to open paths into the region of miracle, it was not T unusual for the love of science to rival the love of woman in its depth and absorbing energy. The higher S 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Formal and Informal Diction 285 intellect, the imagination, the spirit, and even the heart might all find their congenial ailment in pursuits which, as some of their ardent votaries believed, would ascend from one step of powerful intelligence to another, until the philosopher should lay his hand on the secret of creative force and perhaps make new worlds for himself. The long and complex sentences, learned vocabulary (“countenance,” “ailment,” “votaries”), and absence of colloquialisms suit Hawthorne’s purpose S well, recreating the formal language of the earlier era in which his story is A set. The narrator is aloof and controlled, and his diction makes this clear to readers. U Informal diction, consistent with everyday speech, is characterized by N slang, contractions, colloquial expressions like you know and I mean, shortD and a casual, conversational tone. ened word forms, incomplete sentences, A first-person narrator may use an E informal style, or characters may speak informally; in either case, informal style tends to narrow the distance R between readers and text. One kind of informal languageSis illustrated in Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (p. 453) by the casual, slangy style of the dialogue between the teenager Connie and her older stalker, Arnold Friend: S “I ain’t late, am I?” he said. R “Who the hell do you think you are?” Connie said. “Toldja I’d be out, didn’t I?” . “I don’t even know who you are.” , Here, the level of the characters’ diction is a key element of the story: because Arnold seems to speak Connie’s language, she lets down her guard and becomes vulnerable to his advances. G Another kind of informal language is seen in the regionalisms and diaAGood Man Is Hard to Find” (p. 295), lect used in Flannery O’Connor’s “A where speech patterns and individual Rwords (“aloose”; “you all”; “britches”) help to identify the region in which the characters live and their social class. Informal diction may also includeRlanguage readers find offensive. In such cases, a character’s use of obscenities Y may suggest anything from crudeness to adolescent bravado, and the use of racial or ethnic slurs indicates that a character is insensitive or bigoted. The following passage from John 2 Updike’s “A&P” (p. 160) illustrates informal style: 0 She had sort of oaky hair that the sun and salt had bleached, done up in a bun that was unravelling, and9 a kind of prim face. Walking into the A&P with your straps down, I suppose 0 it’s the only kind of face you can have. She held her head so high her neck, coming out of those white shoulders, looked kind of stretched, but ITdidn’t mind. The longer her neck was, the more of her there was. S 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 286 Chapter 11 • Style, Tone, and Language Here, the first-person narrator, a nineteen-year-old supermarket checkout clerk, uses a conversational style, including colloquialisms (“sort of,” “I suppose,” “kind of”), contractions (“it’s,” “didn’t”), and the imprecise, informal you (“Walking into the A&P with your straps down. . . .”). The narrator uses neither elaborate syntax nor a learned vocabulary. S A Imagery—words and phrases that describe what is seen, heard, smelled, U impact in a story. A writer may tasted, or touched—can have a significant use a pattern of repeated imagery to convey N a particular impression about a character or situation or to communicate or reinforce a story’s theme. For example, a character’s newly discovered D sense of freedom or sexuality can be conveyed through repeated use of words E and phrases suggesting blooming or ripening, as in the two stories in this text by Kate Chopin. R In T. Coraghessan Boyle’s “Greasy Lake” (p. 425), the narrator’s vivid S imagery to evoke a scene: description of Greasy Lake uses rich visual Imagery Through the center of town, up the strip, past the housing developments and shopping malls, street lights giving way to the thin streaming illuminaS the asphalt in a black unbroken wall: tion of the headlights, trees crowding that was the way out to Greasy Lake. RThe Indians had called it Wakan, a reference to the clarity of its waters. Now it was fetid and murky, the . and strewn with beer cans and the mud banks glittering with broken glass charred remains of bonfires. There was a single ravaged island a hundred , yards from shore, so stripped of vegetation it looked as if the air force had strafed it. We went up to the lake because everyone went there, because we wanted to snuff the rich scent of possibility on the breeze, watch a girl take off her clothes and plunge intoG the festering murk, drink beer, smoke pot, howl at the stars, savor the incongruous full-throated roar of rock and A roll against the primeval susurrus of frogs and crickets. This was nature. Rwith surprising words like “fetid,” By characterizing a bucolic natural setting “murky,” and “greasy” and unpleasantR images such as the “glittering of broken glass,” the “ravaged island,” and the “charred remains of bonfires,” Y Boyle creates a picture that is completely at odds with the traditional view of nature. The incongruous images are nevertheless perfectly consistent with the sordid events that take place at Greasy Lake. 2 0 Figures of Speech 9 Figures of speech—such as similes, metaphors, and personification—can 0 about characters and themes. enrich a story, subtly revealing information By using metaphors and similes—figures T of speech that compare two dissimilar items—writers can indicate a particular attitude toward characters S 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. Figures of Speech 287 and events. Thus, Flannery O’Connor’s many grotesque similes in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” help to dehumanize her characters; the children’s mother, for instance, has a face “as broad and innocent as a cabbage.” In Tillie Olsen’s “I Stand Here Ironing” (p. 217), an extended metaphor in which a mother compares her daughter to a dress waiting to be ironed expresses the mother’s attitude toward her child, effectively suggesting the daughter’s Sare used throughout in Kate Chopin’s vulnerability. Similes and metaphors “The Storm” (p. 199). In a scene of sexual awakening, Calixta’s skin is “like a A creamy lily,” her passion is “like a white flame,” and her mouth is “a fountain Ua lushness and sensuality to the story. of delight”; these figures of speech add Personification—a figure of speech, N closely related to metaphor, that endows inanimate objects or abstract ideas with life or with human charD where houses, “conscious of decent acteristics—is used in “Araby” (p. 288), lives within them, gazed at one another E with brown imperturbable faces.” This use of figurative language expands readers’ vision of the story’s setting and gives a dreamlike quality to theRpassage. (Other figures of speech, such as hyperbole and understatement,Scan also enrich works of fiction. See Chapter 19, “Figures of Speech,” for further information.) Allusions—references to familiar historical, cultural, literary, or biblical texts, figures, or events—may also S expand readers’ understanding and appreciation of a work. An allusion widens a work’s context by bringing it R into the context of a related subject or idea. For instance, in Charles Baxter’s short story “Gryphon” (p. 172),.the narrator’s allusions to Pinocchio and Betty Crocker enable readers who recognize the references to gain a deeper , understanding of what certain characters are really like. (For information on the use of allusion in poetry, see Chapter 22.) G NOTE In analyzing the use of language in a work of fiction, you may A occasionally encounter unfamiliar allusions (or foreign words and phrases or regional expressions), particularlyRin works treating cultures and historical periods other than your own. Frequently, such language will be clarified R by the context or by explanatory notes in your text. If it is not, always look Y up the meaning. ✔ CHECKLIST Writing about Style, 2 TTone, and Language 0 ■ Does the writer make any unusual creative use of word choice, word order, or sentence structure? 9 0 ironic? How does the tone ■ Is the story’s tone intimate? distant? advance the writer’s purpose? T S continued on next page 9781337509633, PORTABLE Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Ninth edition, Kirszner - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization. 288 Chapter 11 • Style, Tone, and Language ■ Does the style emphasize the sound and rhythm of language? For example, does the writer use alliteration and assonance? repetition and parallelism? What do such techniques add to the story? ■ Is the level of diction generally formal, informal, or somewhere in between? S ■ Is there a difference between theA diction used by the narrator and the diction used in the chara ... Purchase answer to see full attachment