The Unique Features of a Short Story - Essay Example

The Unique Features of a Short Story A short-story writer may not have to keep the reader’s attention, but it does have to grab it. Do modernist short stories conform to this principle? You should refer to at least two authors studied on the course. One of the unique features of a short story is that it can be read in one sitting and yet be complete in itself. The whole piece gives a sense of closure at the end and makes the reader satisfied and entertained. A reader must be captured in order for the story to be read thoroughly. Moreover, it has been said that a short-story writer may not have to keep the reader’s attention, but it does have to grab it. True enough modernist short stories conform to this principle. The reader inevitably surrenders to the luring power of the short story that he/she is unaware that he/she is fixed on the story until it ends. The reader never stops reading until the last word and then finally give a sigh of relief or satisfaction. There is a sense of power that holds the reader’s attention and does not let go of it until it is over. Two writers and two short stories affirm the aforementioned qualities of a short story. These are Edgar Allan Poe’s The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar and Katherine Mansfield’s Bliss. These two authors know their craft so well that they have acquired recognition in the literary world. Each has a different style and approach but each has successfully grabbed his/her audience’s attention throughout the play. Edgar Allan Poe’s The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar is a story that conforms to the principle of grabbing the reader’s attention. From the onset, it appears as if the story is just a narration of events that may seem objective and non-literary as in relating facts about what actually happened. However, as the story unfolds, the reader is held glued in anticipation to what would happen next especially in the part when M. Valdemar was successfully mesmerized. The reader is kept in the state of expectation of what will happen next. At first it was uncertain if the narrator would be able to succeed in his experiment but each detail answers each question as the story unfolds. The reader’s interest is heightened when M. Valdemar answered that he is already sleeping. This is the part where fiction takes its place in the story. The reader is led to think and battle in his mind whether to believe if the narration is true or could really happen in real life situations. The reader holds his/her breath on the second time that M. Valdemar answered that he is already dead. The image and sound that is described can put one’s imagination into some altitude as if he/she is watching a horror movie. As I rapidly made the mesmeric passes, amid ejaculations of "dead! dead!" absolutely bursting from the tongue and not from the lips of the sufferer, his whole frame at once—within the space of a single minute, or less, shrunk—crumbled—absolutely rotted away beneath my hands. Upon the bed, before the whole company, there lay a nearly liquid mass of loathsome—of detestable putrescence (last paragraph). The last revelation of the narrator is so vivid that one can even feel and smell the decaying and stinking corpse of M. Valdemar. Despite the narrator’s attempt at sounding clinical and objective in the reporting of the details, the reader cannot help but join his/her imagination in a different level making it more horrifying and really hideous. Katherine Mansfield’s Bliss, on the other hand, carries the reader along its highs and elated feelings. Once again, the reader is held captive by the narrator that he/she continues to read to find out more, to answer questions building up along with every character revelation and along with every incident. The reader feels the main character’s feelings of ecstasy and is moved to follow and discover what it is all about. Every detail makes the reader go on in anticipation of what will happen next. The reader keeps guessing and is actively participating in the sequence of events. The illustrations are vivid such that the reader finds him/herself inside the short story feeling what the main character feels and anticipating what will happen next. The reader becomes one with Bertha as she moves from place to place and joins her in expectation and thrill of this strange feeling. However, unlike Poe’s story, Bliss remains abstract and intangible. The story goes on and on until it reaches a hanging ending. The narrator gives hints and tips about Miss Fulton but it did not specify nor elaborate more. The reader is kept guessing and anticipating something tangible and concrete but the story ends with Bertha’s asking “Oh, what is going to happen now?" and mentioning about the pear tree being “lovely,” “full of flower” and “still.” Bliss is not an easy-reading material for the words are not to be taken lightly and literally. All over, the whole short story is made up of bits of comments and critiques about the society, particularly civilisation. This is evident in the lines: Oh, is there no way you can express it without being "drunk and disorderly"? How idiotic civilisation is! Why be given a body if you have to keep it shut up in a case like a rare, rare fiddle? (3rd paragraph). It comments against some social conventions and standards of conduct that restricts one’s freedom and mobility. It appears that Bertha’s elation could not be real. It may only be her coping mechanism regarding the circumstances that she is in. With this in mind, the reader is glued to the events and details of the story that subtly he/she is already actively participating in the course of events and development of the plot. Without really knowing it, the reader as come to the end of the story and cannot help but go back to the pages of the short story in order to look for the answer to the question at the end of the story. In other words, Bliss has a unique characteristic that makes it grab the reader’s attention and make the reader ask for more by re-reading the text. The two stories differ in many ways. First, they differ in the style of the writer. Poe is direct and down to earth, while Mansfield is a little poetic and romantic. Poe gives what the reader expects and more, while Mansfield keeps the reader guessing and leaves him/her hanging. In addition, although the two writers are very much aware of the conventions of story-writing, they both do what they prefer to do with their story. They narrated as naturally as they could and both capture the minds and hearts of their readers that they continue to read until the last word is over. Despite differences, short story writers are aware that they must deliver their product to the expectant audience as effectively and efficiently as they could. They must meet the standard of grabbing the reader’s attention and keeping it that way until the narration is over. It appears that the more the writers are able to grab their audience’s attention, the more effective they become. Works Cited Mansfield, Katherine. Bliss. 18 April 2010. Poe, Edgar Allan. The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. 19 April 2010. Read More