To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee and A Blow, A Kiss, by Tim Winton

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Intertextuality

The difference between short stories and novels extends far beyond the obvious, Short stories are often read in a single sitting and can be defined as a brief version of logical events usually revolving about a singular plot. Whilst a novel may retain many of the characteristics of a short story the format builds upon these basic ideas and concepts, expanding on themes and extending the plot and shaping the story through complicated interaction between characters. The process of comparing two texts is known as Intertextuality. By studying the novel "To kill a mocking Bird" Authored by Harper Lee and contrasting this with the short story "A blow, A kiss" written by Tim Winton

The most pronounced section at the start of any story is character development. The story "A blow, A kiss" opens with Albie and his father travelling home from a fishing expedition in the front of a truck, Albie refers to his fathers warmth and smell as being "enough" to subdue their earlier bad luck, Immediately a strong bond is realised between Father and son. Other than this the only other clues to the identities of this pair is the references to Albie’s mother and the eventual evolution of their rural surroundings. In the novel "To kill a mockingbird" Harper Lee has adopted a style most novels are written in. The story opens with Scout reflecting on events of the past, referring to developments in the story which are yet to occur. "To kill a mocking bird" Is divided into two sections, The first is almost entirely devoted to the development of characters. Scout describes in vivid detail every thought, look or sign of attitude that another character may be associated with. These vivid descriptions set Harper Lee’s novel apart from the short story. Whilst "A blow, A kiss" relies on the reader to "fill in the blanks" from a stereotypical analysis of the father and son based on the small amount of evidence given as to their identities. In the novel however the realistic portrayal of characters and the dramatisation of their thoughts allows the reader author to alter the readers perception of a character from a particular subculture, by doing away with stereotypes the author has more control and freedom over character development and hence the availability of possibilities for later actions ...

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... writer is given more of a medium to develop and disclose their opinions within their writing, In a short story the writers attitudes may seem forced and biased due to the short space of time in which they are fed to the reader. In a novel however the author may drop subtle hints as to their true intentions and build a better and more influential case to portray their case. A novel appears to be on the surface nothing more than an extended version of a short story and although in a sense this is true the novel brings to the table its own unique style of descriptive and enveloping writing. The short story is often written to entertain and amuse, ending with a deceptive twist. The novel however is slower to develop and will embrace more values and themes dealing with the most complex issues in such away to entertain the reader the depth of a novel allows for bonds to be developed between characters and reader that are more purposeful than that of short story counterparts. Their are numerous differences between the short story and the novel yet as a story their common purpose to enlighten, entertain and inform unites these forms of literature as what can only be described as a story.

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