Story of the Lost Son - Coursework Example

Chapter 5 Answer: In the short story, “Story of the Lost Son,” the point of view is third-person omniscient and this point of view is consistent throughout the story. The third-person omniscient point of view provides a certain integrity to the story because the third-person omniscient point of view is objective and so as the reader, I am able to decide for myself how to interpret the feelings and emotions that the characters are going through. The point of view is consistent throughout the story and it does not shift at any point. Furthermore, the story’s point of view is able to lend a certain degree of integrity to the story’s content because in a way, all the characters were given equal levels of attention. This is quite important because the story emphasizes the different struggles that each character went through and the third-person omniscient point of view is able to provide the reader with the opportunity to pick his or her own side. Chapter 7 Answer: The short story that I wish to analyze is Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour.” The overall theme of the story generally revolves around freedom, and, more specifically, women’s search for selfhood, for self-discovery or identity. This theme is aptly symbolized by the open window, out of which Mrs. Mallard could see patches of blue sky, the tops of trees that were signaling a new spring life, and the many other wonderful things outside of her window. All of these things represented a “new life” for Mrs. Mallard who has been under the clutches of her husband for a very long time. While Mrs. Mallard was stricken with grief at the initial news of her husband’s death, she was able to look at the situation at a whole new light upon looking out the window. Thus, the open window that presented a view into an entirely new life without her husband’s repression represented Mrs. Mallard’s supposedly new lease at life. Reflecting on this week’s literary readings, Answer: The difference between a poem and a short story is that a poem is more imaginative, as it is driven with words that create more spontaneous, intuitive responses, while a short story oftentimes depends on descriptive language and logical structure. In addition, a poem adheres to rhythm while a short story can be a static flow of words. For example, the following lines from Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Criticism” is very rich in imaginative, metaphoric, rhythmic language while the lines from “A Father’s Story” by Andre Dubus are very literal and static. A little learning is a dang’rous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, And drinking largely sobers us again. —Alexander Pope, from “An Essay on Criticism” My name is Luke Ripley, and here is what I call my life: I own a stable of thirty horses, and I have young people who teach riding, and we board some horses too. —Andre Dubus, from “A Father’s Story” On the other hand, a poem and a short story are similar because both are intended to evoke strong feelings from the reader, just like in the following lines of poetry and prose. Seeing the snowman standing all alone In dusk and cold is more than he can bear. The small boy weeps to hear the wind prepare A night of gnashings and enormous moan. —Richard Wilbur, “Boy at the Window” I told him that living two lives each month, one as celibates, one as lovers, made us tense and short-tempered, so we snapped at each other like dogs. —Andre Dubus, from “A Father’s Story” Listen to We Real Cool Answer: Hearing the poem “We Real Cool” recited aloud by the author herself, Gwendolyn Brooks, provided an entirely different experience for me as compared to simply reading the poem silently by myself. It was interesting to hear how the author actually paused at the line breaks of the poem. More interesting too, was the tone that she used in delivering the poem, and the rhythmic feel that she delivered the poem with. The poem was also especially pleasant to listen to because of its alliterative nature, that is, the way the line always ended with the word “we.” Also, while the entire tone of the poem is very upbeat, the tone changes dramatically at the end with the statement: "We die soon." This reflects the actual message of the poem which indicates a happy, carefree, active life for the boys shooting pool in the beginning, but an undeniably sad and untimely demise for them in the end. Chapter 13 Answer: In a drama, the strength or impact of the dialogue rests largely on the actors portraying the characters. On the other hand, the short story is told by the writer who is able to add his or her own interpretation to the dialogue and is also able to tell the readers the effect that events and comments have on the characters. Thus making sure that the readers know exactly what the authors wants them to know; something that is done by inference in the play. In addition, scenery can also be fully described, and a mood can be more deftly introduced. For example, in the play “Riders to the Sea” by J. M. Synge, all the emotions and feelings and thoughts of the characters can simply be inferred from the dialogue and are not being fully described by the author. Thus, drama usually employs a confidant as one of the characters to give the audience opportunities to gain insight into the main character or learn about plot developments. A confidant is a character to whom the protagonist gives important information that other characters do not have knowledge of—as the audience watches. Shakespeare’s Macbeth Answer: For me, Macbeth qualifies as a tragedy, because the tone is seri­ous and emotions are intense. Also, the good fortunes of the main character are reversed and lead to the loss and destruction of lives. Specifically, it dealt with the large-scale destruction and loss that resulted from the rise to power, rule, and downfall of Macbeth, a hardworking individual who tried to do a good job in defense of his king and his country. Furthermore, as a tragedy, Macbeth always maintained a certain level of dramatic tension and kept the audience’s attention at all times. Another main element in a tragedy is irony, and Macbeth was able to show this many times. For example, Macbeths (ambition) encouraged by Lady Macbeth resulted in her death and when Macbeth hears of her death his words are inspired by grief and despair and full of irony. According to Aristotle, a perfect tragedy should be arranged not on the simple but on the complex plan.  It should imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation. And in this aspect, I believe, Macbeth is thus a tragedy. Throughout this course Answer: Both drama and short story have a protagonist and antagonist. However, a drama highlights the use of other minor characters such as a foil and a stock character to better build up the scenes in the drama. For example, the drama “Riders to the Sea” and the short story “A Father’s Story” both showcase a cast of characters that are crucial in the development of each literary piece. In addition, in comparing a poem and a short story, a poem is more imaginative, as it is driven with words that create more spontaneous, intuitive responses, while a short story oftentimes depends on descriptive language and logical structure. In addition, a poem adheres to rhythm while a short story can be a static flow of words. These qualities are evident in the poem, “We Real Cool” and the short story “A Father’s Story.” Macbeth falls somewhere in between a poem, a short story, and a drama because it exhibits unique characteristics of each literary form. All literature involves some kind of performance Answer: The performative quality of a poem is very evident in the poem “We Real Cool” and in the Drama “Riders to the Sea.” First, the structure by which a drama is written indicates heavily that it is written for performance’s sake because of the stage directions and the directed character actions that are evident in a drama such as “Riders to the Sea.” On the other hand, the rhythmic qualities present in the poem “We Real Cool” indicate that it was, in fact, written to be spoken or heard rather than just be read. Thus, the presence of these literary elements adds value to the experience of reading the text. In addition, these literary elements lend a certain degree of authenticity to the respective literary forms because of the idea that if it can be performed, then it can actually happen. Furthermore, there are times when I personally would read drama and poetry aloud because it is through the act of actual utterance does the spirit of poetry and drama truly come alive. Read More