Contrast of Antagonists in "Goodbye, My Brother" and "Powder"

No mention of a character within a story can be unintentional. Every word counts and contributes to an image of the character both directly and indirectly. In the short story “Ray” by Guy Vanderhaeghe, protagonist Ray Matthews is an example of how no word goes unused to maximize a character. Ray is an average, middle aged man, with an average wife, an average accounting job, and an average life. Nothing sticks out that is unique to him, and his inability to understand anything without others explaining it to him creates issues throughout his life. Vanderhaeghe develops Ray's character through his physical description, how others speak of him, and his social interactions to exemplify how important characterization is in a story.

In conclusion, Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm,” as well as “New York Day Women” by Edwidge Danticat are good examples of fiction that show how plot, setting, and point of view are used or seen within a story. 2. A story’s plot consists of four parts; an exposition, a crisis, a climax, and a resolution. 3. A story’s setting is not only the time and place of the story, but the setting also “encompasses a wide variety of physical and cultural elements” (Kirszner and Mandell 171). 4. There are three different points of view; first, second, which is rarely used, and third. 5. First person uses words like “I, me, or my”, second person uses “you”, and third person uses words such as “he, she, or it.” 6. Kirszner and Mandell said that point of view is “the vantage point from which events are presented” (198). 7. Plot, setting, and point of view are only three of several parts of what makes fiction. 8. Although fiction means false, some works of fiction may have factual elements within them, but for the most part, are false. 9. Fiction is a large part of today’s society because it is seen everywhere, such as books, movies, theater, and so on. 10. Without fiction, life would be much less exciting and duller. 11. Yes, there would still be books, movies, etc., but fiction gives artists a way to express their imagination with no

The character in the fictional book is what makes a great story and brings it to life to the reader’s eyes. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” by author Joyce Carol Oates, the fifteen-year-old protagonist Connie is an interesting character who seems to be obsessed with wanting to grow up so fast. However, Connie seems to act differently when she is at home and when she is away from it. When she is away she seems to be a tad sexual with her appearance and tries hard to prove she is maturing. In this story, Connie is a tragic hero, who teaches us that even a great quality can be our doom. A tragic hero is usually a character who has a flaw that leads to their downfall at the conclusion. This happens when she tries so hard to act mature and finds out that maturity was not what she expected. Next, the narration is a key factor to the story that makes it what it is. The third person limited narration has Connie’s point of view which indicates that she somewhat thinks she knows what other characters are thinking throughout the story, sometimes the point of view seems to shift,

He, obviously, is the narrator, and the person whom we see the story through. He gives us his opinions on the matters at hand, and we see the book through his viewpoint. The traits described above allow him to be such a great narrator, for he can get people to confide in him, and relay this information to the reader.

The author utilizes a narrator with an omniscient point of view. This allows the reader to get an insight into the thoughts and feelings of Tom. The use of this type of narrator also allows the author to control what and how much is revealed to the reader in building suspense. The point of view used influences the effectiveness of suspense as the narrator reveals the various thoughts and feelings of Tom at the correct point in the development of the story to keep the reader absorbed by the developments. The narrator's perspective affects your understanding of the story. The tone in this story is seemingly neutral and factual, but on closer assessment it becomes clear that the author, Jack Finney, portrays a sympathetic view towards the character Tom Benecke.

The story is written as a second person narrative. This style puts the reader in the position of the main character. We are never told the main character’s name, making it easier for the reader to relate to the character. Writing in the second person also challenges the reader, putting them in the position of the main character.

This story also paints the picture of a father who would not give up on regaining his time with his son. It shows the father desperately trying to rectify the mistrust issues he created because he stated to the boy when they were sitting in the diner after the highway patrol redirected them away from the snow-covered route home that she would never forgive him if he did not get the boy home for

At the beginning of the story, the narrator provides a brief description of himself that allows readers to reflect upon his character and morality. He introduces himself as someone who believes that

The son at first calls his father “baba”, a symbol of both mutual respect and a childlike viewpoint of his father, suggesting he looks up to him as a person. However, he later mockingly calls him a “god”, making fun of his so called authority as his father. Then, right at the end of the poem, he reverts back to his childish ways, calling him “baba” once more, even begging him to “please” read him another story. This shift from respect, to anger, then back to respect represents the circular nature of growing up. While one learns to rebel as they get older, their anger and hostility is replaced with that same wonder and admiration as there existed in the beginning. Even though the son loses respect for his father, he is able to gain it back through his life experience in growing up, furthering the fact that with maturation comes both positive and negative reverberations hand in hand.

Having each story been written in a third-person narrative form, the reader knows the innermost feelings of the

He promised to take good care of their son and to have him back in time for the Christmas Eve dinner. After they had finished their last ski run the son was not very happy and wanted to be home. He says,”…I swayed from foot to foot, clapping my mittens and wishing I was home. I could see everything. The green tablecloth, the plates with the holly pattern, the red candles waiting to be lit.”(Wolff, 1) You can tell that the son was not too happy with his father in the beginning of the story. He even tells his dad;”We should have left before, Doctor.” (Wolff, 1) The reason why he was not happy with his father was because it seemed like they were not going to get him home in time for the Christmas Eve dinner. His father also seemed very concerned about his son. After they started driving on the snowy road he told his son, “Don’t ever try this yourself….. You need, I don’t know—a certain instinct.” (Wolff, 2)

He almost made it so that the reader had to infer the characteristics of each character. Once a new character was introduced, the author would include small tidbits about them, but mainly focus on how they reacted to certain events, which allowed the reader to think about the kind of person a specific character is. For example, when James’ mother first talked about her father, she just said what his occupation was and how he treated her. She talked about how he would get sexual pleasure through her and always kick her around like a piece of dirt. Without Mrs. McBride having to saying anything about her father’s character, the reader can already assume that he is a selfish, rude old man who only focuses on what benefits him. Also, when James McBride personally introduces his mother, he gave copious examples of how she always put her children before herself and avoided negative influences. This makes the reader think that she is a kind-hearted, loving woman who wants the best for people who deserve it, especially her children. Therefore, without giving a legitimate introduction of each character, the author is able to hint at their characteristics, while still allowing the reader to have their own personal thoughts of them.

Writing from different viewpoints allows the author, Tim O’Brien, to express himself in a more comfortable manner. Written in this viewpoint, the story is read as a tale instead of an autobiography and the author becomes more distant with the story like he is looking into it rather than writing it.

In ‘Chemistry’, author’s written the story in the word of narrator, mixing both the perspective of adult and young boy’s. Line” My father’s death was a far less remote event than my grandfather’s but no more explicable, I was only seven.” can be a good example. Almost the whole story was written in past tense, added to the effect of recalling. He’s shown a grown up man recalling memories when he was back in 7-10 years old. This kind of writing style makes readers felt more personal, because the subject is ‘I’, when reading out the story, readers will feel like they’re experiencing the narrators’ life, as if they are the narrator. Also, another interesting fact about this kind of writing style is that if I were to look at the same events in other character’s perspective, it might be another whole different story because

because through his first person narrative, the reader is drawn to his sensitive nature, his