Personal Opinion Essay: Short and Long Length Literature and Example Novels

If literary works were to be split into two categories based on length of work, I would propose that these categories could be works that take the average reader less than half an hour to read, referred to as shorter length literature, and more than half an hour to read, referred to as full length literature. If this claim is accepted, then I would believe that short stories, short drama pieces, and poetry would fit into the shorter length literature category, while the full length literature category holds longer drama pieces, novels, and novellas. Poetry is the only genre among these that, because so much of it is left up to interpretation, is difficult to define character development. The rest of these works, both short and full length, contain clearer examples of character development. Full length works are capable of more than one character defying stereotypes thus more effective for the reader, where as shorter length literature is typically capable of one, if any, characters challenging these roles. Because full length works are capable of this, these are the pieces that leave a full impact on readers; these are the characters people remember.
The presence of whether there is a traditional protagonist, blatant and obvious to the audience, is a large factor in whether that character will have a large development. In A. R. Gurney’s “Sylvia,” there is a clear “main” character, Greg, who the conflict, both emotional and physical, is focused around. “Sylvia” is about a man, taking in a dog, who is portrayed by a human, and the conflict that it brings he and his wife. In this particular play, the some of the characters come out at the end of the show and state how they have all changed. Gurney writes:
Greg (to aud...

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...ere is hope in not following a stereotype. The pace effectively shows this because at the points of the novella that they are present, the story picks up; the plot is infused with energy when people break the status quo. This is what pushes a reader through this piece of work. Short length pieces end to drag on a bit more. Jackson’s short story is a large amount of detail, preceding a little dialogue. The dialogue is not necessarily driving the story, but rather, simply adding to it.
Considering how pace and presence of a specific antagonist, full length literally works will more often conquer short length works in tests of their effectiveness on readers. Dividing works into two categories based on length makes it easier to analyze how they will affect the reader. Audiences will hold onto literature longer when it is longer in content and more developed.