Fiction Essay - Grade: B PDF

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This is a fiction essay for ENGL 102...

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Fiction Unit Essay ENGL 102:Literature and Composition Spring 2018 Elijah Walters L29225263 MLA

Thesis: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and The Destructors b y Graham Greene are both magnificent works of literature, and the elements of these stories, such as tone and characterization, hold some similarities but in the grand scheme of things are quite different. I. Introduction a. Characterization in literary work is a key element a. Characters can be symbolic a. Tone controls how someone envisions a story and reads it a. Thesis I. The Lottery a. Main Characters: Joe Summers, Tessie Hutchinson, Bill Hutchinson a. Type of Characters: Flat/Static a. Tone shifts, first joyful and anxious, then gloomy and dreadful a. Tone integral part of this story I. The Destructors a. Main Characters: T, Blackie, Mike, Summers, Mr. Thomas, Driver a. Mostly round characters some flat, all static

a. Same tone throughout, overhanging gloom over almost like a constant fog I. Conclusion a. Characterization can make a story a. Tone is a powerful tool for imposing emotion on a reader

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Elijah Walters Professor Saundra Rinehart English 102 12 February 2018

Over the past week of assigned reading, students have been able to delve deep into the anatomy of short stories and what sets apart a good story from a great one. Two key elements of a great story are the characterization and the tone. In literary short stories, characters can play a critical role in conveying a message to the reader. The tone an author uses sets the stage of a story and invokes specific emotions in a reader. "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "The Destructors" by Graham Greene are both magnificent works of literature, and the elements of these stories, such as the ones referred to earlier, hold a small amount similarities but in the grand scheme of things are thoroughly different. Both "The Lottery" and the "The Destructors" contain characters that do not develop at all throughout the story and therefore would be classified as "static" characters. With that being said, this is where the similitude of the two stories end.

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In "The Lottery", there are only three main characters which are Joe Summers, Tessie Hutchinson, Bill Hutchinson. All of the characters have little to no definable attributes so they would be labeled as flat, unlike "The Destructors" characters. The tone of the story holds a more significant role in the story, rather than the characters. Towards the beginning of the story, there is bright and happy tone as people wait to hear the winner of the "lottery" is. When Bill Hutchinson is selected as the winner, the tone begins to begins to change. Tessie Hutchinson, Bill's wife, starts to protest and become very fearful, which projects a tone of fear and anxiousness, as the reader wonders what the winner of the "lottery" receives. Once there is a redraw, and Tessie Hutchinson is the new winner, the tone transforms yet again and becomes one of horror. The reader then comes to find the person chosen by the "lottery" is brutally stoned by the rest of its participants. On the other hand, "The Destructors" has five main characters, and they are T (Trevor), Blackie, Mike, Summers, Mr. Thomas, and the driver. Even though the driver was not assigned a name in the story, the driver had an intricate part to the development of the story. Compared to the characters of "The Lottery", "The

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Destructors" had more types of characters in the story. The boys of the gang that was main characters as well as Mr. Thomas were more "round" characters rather than "flat". The rest of the boys in the gang, who were primarily just fillers for the story, and the driver were "flat". Even though some of the characters were "round" while some were "flat", all of the people in the story did not undergo character development, so they would be considered "static" characters. The tone of this story did not play as significant a role as it did in "The Lottery". The tone of "The Destructors" was more of a dreary and depressing and hung over the story as if there was a thick, gray fog. To the readers, this conveyed the sad lives of the kids in the gang, and the hard times England had fallen into after the war. This tone remained the same throughout the whole story, unlike the tone of "The Lottery" which morphed multiple times during the story. All though "The Destructors" and "The Lottery" held a great many differences; they are both still excellent pieces of literature, and some may even consider them as beautifully written as a fine work of art. Both Graham Greene and Shirley Jackson do an exceedingly good job in using the elements of tone and characterization to convey their purposes for writing the stories. The characterization has the ability to make or break a story, and both authors execute the use of characterization quite well. While not as significant as characterization,

the tone is still very crucial because it can invoke emotion and can make a person feel a certain way when reading a story. The authors again use this powerful tool to stir certain emotions inside the readers of their stories....