Within The House of the Spirits and The Story of Zahra, Isabel Allende and Hanan al-Shaykh establish setting through their use of point of view, narrative technique, and parallelism. Allende uses two different types of point of view to tell her story, first person and third person. They differ in the way she presents them because the first person point of view comes from Esteban Trueba, whose thoughts are directly from experiencing the story, whereas the third person point of view comes from an unknown source who has only read the story through journal entries. Al-Shaykh uses point of view differently because she shows multiple first person point of view. The change of point of view in literature, affects the way the reader can perceive the setting that the character is in. Allende and al-Shaykh use narrative technique to show that characters are all different in the way they describe a setting. The differences are seen by the reader through the feelings that the character experiences and through the specific diction that both authors use. Both authors also use parallelism to show that their characters can reflect the setting. This essay will compare the ways that both authors create setting through the above techniques. Allende and al-Shaykh both use point of view in different ways to establish setting. Al-Shaykh creates the setting of Africa through three different first person points of view whereas Allende does this through her contrast of a first person point of view and a third person omniscient. With Zahra’s point of view, coming to Africa without ever living there before affects that setting because everything is new to her, so she makes assumptions, “…a narrow corridor, filled with TV sets, radios and records, stacked on shelves to the ceiling. When I saw these for the first time, I was afraid they might tumble on my head…” (al-Shaykh, 1986, p.20). The “narrow corridor” represents Zahra’s assumption about her uncle’s life because she feels trapped in Africa with no way of getting out. Her thoughts about the “TV sets, radios and records” falling shows that it’s a new setting because it is not something she has seen before. Allende’s use of third person omniscient is a contrast with al-Shaykh’s use of first person point of view because Allende conveys the story through a character who is telling the story through journal entries, “…Clara understood that there was a place for her in Tres Marias and, as she recorded in her notebooks, she felt that she had finally discovered her mission in life.
Since the emergence of literature, thousands upon thousands of characters have graced our imaginations. From trouble maker Bart Simpson of the celebrated cartoon television series The Simpsons to Mr. Darcy of Jane Austen’s renowned novel Pride and Prejudice, the world has witnessed a plethora of characters in literature. Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, and Billy Collins, distinguished American poet, as well as countless other authors, share the utilization of characters in their literary works. The manner in which these authors use the literary element of characters varies immensely.
The setting of a story lays the foundation for how a story is constructed. It gives a sense of direction to where the climax is headed. The setting also gives the visual feedback that the readers need to picture themselves into the story and comprehend it better. Determining the setting can be a major element towards drawing in the reader and how they relate to a story. A minor change in the plot can drastically alter to perception, interpretation, and direction of the message that is delivered. These descriptive elements can be found within these short stories: “the Cask of Amontillado”, “The Storm”, “The Things They Carried”, “Everyday Use”, and “The Story of an Hour”.
In The Houses of History, many different schools of historical thought are presented and light in shed on what exactly it means to be those different types of historians. Not all historians think the same way or approach history from the same perspective, but some similar groups of thought have converged together and have formed the various types of historians that will be presented, such as empiricists, psychohistorians, oral historians, and gender historians. All of these groups can approach the same event or concept and look at them in an entirely different way simply due to the way the historical approach they are accustomed to views things.
Point of view is a literary device that can be often overlooked, and yet, it has a huge impact on the novel Bone Gap, as it changes how the reader imagines the story. This is due to the unique way that each character is seeing and living the moments that are written on the pages. The literary device of point of view is very important, as when it changes, so does perception, giving the reader a fuller or lesser understanding of what is truly going
Ann Rinaldi has written many books for young teenagers, she is an Award winning author who writes stories of American history and makes them become real to the readers. She has written many other books such as A Break with Charity, A Ride into Morning, and Cast two Shadows, etc. She was born in New York City on August 27, 1934. In 1979, at the age of 45, she finished her first book.
The emotive language used throughout her memories, show direct contrast to her present situation, as well as her reasons for leaving home. The use of personification, in text such as ‘ the sea roared like an angry beast’, provide emphasis of emotive language, used in describing the estrangement felt. The language is so eloquent, conjuring such engagingly vivid images, of Ziba’s emotions, particularly as she feels the ups and downs of the unforgiving ocean. Through figurative and evaluative language, Ziba is able to depict her past and present feelings and memories. The strong connection between sensory experiences and memory is sophisticated and crisp, making the text straightforward and resonant. The author uses simile’s such as, ‘thoughts of home washed over Ziba like the surge of sea washing over the deck’, linking past and present, creating feelings of loneliness, whilst reflecting on her once peaceful home. The effective use of noun groups - laughter of children, cool mountain air, rich spices of the evening meal - alongside side a number of sensory verbs - thought, felt and smelled - assist and connect the reader to Ziba’s thoughts. Furthermore, the use of repetition in the first and last page of the text, places emphasis on the unstable state of their emotions, the uncertainty of what’s to
works of literature have tremendous amounts of similarity especially in the characters. Each character is usually unique and symbolizes the quality of a person in the real world. But in both stories, each character was alike, they represented honor, loyalty, chivalry, strength and wisdom. Each character is faced with a difficult decision as well as a journey in which they have to determine how to save their own lives. Both these pieces of literatures are exquisite and extremely interesting in their own ways.
...ment in which the story takes place. His ellaborate description of the llano shows you the beauty of Spanish America and helps you to understand the restless culture of the vaqueros who wander across it. Also, Anaya gives you a detailed description of El Puerto. The village in which the Lunas reside. The imagery in this description also helps you to understand the culture of the farmers, the calm and quiet people who plant their crops by the light of the moon and live in peace. Imagery plays and important role in this novel because without it, certain aspects such as the point of views of both the Lunas and the Marez faimy, would never be understood .
Short stories have particular settings to supplement their themes. The eerie catacombs during a carnival in “The Cask of Amontillado” supplement the themes of revenge, and deception, which the protagonist takes responsibility in; whereas in “Hills Like White Elephants”, the atmosphere around the Spanish train station emphasizes the themes of miscommunication between characters and their evasion of responsibilities.
The protagonist Hazel in ‘Yesterday’s Weather’ carries the insights of her slightly unhappy marriage and her motherhood. The story illustrates the occurrence of family gathering and how Hazel was affected by this particular trip. In this piece of the story, the readers will pick up on Hazel’s using the third person narration. “Third person limited point of view offers the thoughts and motivations of only one character” (Wilson, M & Clark, R. (n.d.)). That is to say, third person’s usage in the story is only able to give the set of emotion and actions. Therefore, limits the ability for the readers to see the insight of the other characters in the story.
In the story, the narrator is forced to tell her story through a secret correspondence with the reader since her husband forbids her to write and would “meet [her] with heavy opposition” should he find her doing so (390). The woman’s secret correspondence with the reader is yet another example of the limited viewpoint, for no one else is ever around to comment or give their thoughts on what is occurring. The limited perspective the reader sees through her narration plays an essential role in helping the reader understand the theme by showing the woman’s place in the world. At ...
The setting of a story sets the tone for the entire piece. Without the appropriate setting, what the author is trying to express is lost. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allan Poe uses the setting as a way to set the stage for the events that will come. Poe’s settings make his stories interesting, as well as easy to understand because of his descriptiveness and writing techniques. His use of vivid details and symbols in his settings intrigue the readers and set a particular tone. Each and every setting has a direct meaning and reason attached to that of the story and time.
The one of the main themes in the epilogue, and in the entire novel is
Literary elements are demonstrated throughout the story and further improve our understanding of the central idea. The setting is important to the central idea because it shows the reader the type of society being described in the story. The language is also important to the central idea because it contains metaphors which further prove that the people are afraid of going against tradition because they are scared of being the target of violence. The conflict contributes to the central idea as well, because there are many examples of the society going against character, Mrs. Hutchinson, for not respecting the traditions put in place. The central idea is important to our understanding of the story because it sums up the main objective and furthers our