Epiphany In Short Stories

Authors of great stories often use good technical writing skills. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast two short stories: Where Are you going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates and Hills Like White Elephants by Earnest Hemingway. The comparison and contrast will be done based on their use of plot, point of view and character development.

John Updike is considered one of the greatest writers in modern American history. He is known for the idea that seemingly ordinary aspects of American life are actually quite fascinating. He wanted readers to see the beauty and magic of life, so he tried to describe everyday things using the most clear but beautiful language possible. Many of Updike’s pieces are drawn from his own life such as his marriage and his boyhood, as shown in three of his short stories: “A&P”, “Ace in the Hole”, and “Pigeon Feathers”. Updike’s narrative technique is explored through the analysis of plot structure, thematic patterning, and irony in these three short stories.

In his short story "A & P" John Updike utilizes a 19-year-old adolescent to show us how a boy gets one step closer to adulthood. Sammy, an A & P checkout clerk, talks to the reader with blunt first person observations setting the tone of the story from the outset. The setting of the story shows us Sammy's position in life and where he really wants to be. Through the characterization of Sammy, Updike employs a simple heroic gesture to teach us that actions have consequences and we are responsible for our own actions.

Life is always about making important decisions that could change your life completely. Like the story A&P, Sammy made a huge decision to quit his job due to his boss being rude to three young girls wearing bathing suits. John Updike used several literary elements to make the story stand out and for people to relate to Sammy. The most important elements that is used in this story is setting, point of view, and characters.

There are three principal sources of interest in narratives: suspense, mystery, and irony. In the narratives “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Ronald Dahl, irony is a primary source of interest. Irony is defined as a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result. In both of these cases, the use of irony by the authors greatens the impact the pieces have on their audience. In both “A Rose for Emily” and “Lamb to the Slaughter”, the authors have numerous pieces of irony throughout their respective stories; this use of irony creates a better reading experience for the reader.

Epiphanies are central to the plots of many novels. In the novel The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingslover, the main character, Taylor Greer, has an epiphany that changes the course of her life. After Turtle is traumatized in the park, Taylor withdraws from her and the rest of the world, believing that no nothing she does truly matters. As Turtle improves, Taylor realizes that her positive actions do make the world a better place. When Turtle begins to talk again, Taylor has an epiphany and realizes that every small compassionate action is important and that even she can help make the world a better place. As a result of her epiphany, Taylor is more willing to help others. The positive results of Taylor’s epiphany are first shown when she decides to fight for custody of

The setting of the short story, “A&P” by John Updike is a key factor in understanding why Sammy decides to quit his job as a cashier. Sammy know’s that this will only make his life harder, but he continues to reject the A&P in this story. In the story, there are also things that symbolize Sammy and the store. This story also has a dramatic end. In John Updike’s short story, “A&P,” he uses the setting, symbolism, and dramatic irony to support the theme that there are consequences to a person’s actions.

John Updike was a very unique writer. This man mastered many things. He lived a very interesting life what I enjoyed learning about. Updike’s life includes much success. He took learning to a new level, and he did what he loved and did a wonderful job, earning many awards. While researching, it also came clear to me some of the connections between Updike and his story, A&P. His life from beginning to end is a very remarkable life.

A strong essay goes beyond the explicit and makes logical inferences about the psychological and literary elements of the stories

To all the characters in the story, they truly found themselves through their epiphanies. Most of the stories heavily depended on the character’s epiphanies throughout a story, as a story should. Each character had these crucial moments in order to further develop and grow. I interpret having an epiphany as a sudden realization or understanding of an essence or larger meaning to something impactful.

In the short stories “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver and “A + P” by John Updike the protagonists experience an epiphany that change their restricted way of thinking. The main character, “Sammy” in John Updike’s, “A + P” is a teenage boy working in the town grocery store. Sammy experiences an epiphany when he decides to quit his job at the grocery store. He quit because he believed that it was wrong of his boss to treat customers poorly due to any pre-conceived notion that was determined by what the customer looks like. Raymond Carver’s main character named “the husband” in his story “Cathedral” experiences an epiphany

“A Rose for Emily,” “A Worn Path,” and “The Lottery” by William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, and Shirley Jackson all have similar writing styles in their literature. In these three short stories the authors all use contrasting nature within their literature to predict the outcome and to learn for the upcoming events in the readings. The authors take subliminal phrases and subliminal symbolic text to have the reader become more attached and understand more of what the characters, setting and theme of the story has to offer. Using these three stories the reader of this essay will understand and grasp the symbolic meanings in text of each these short stories.

The critical essay by Lawrence Jay Dessner explains the importance of the themes of irony and innocence in John Updike’s short story “A&P.” The essay begins with a short summary of the story, and introduces the character of Sammy. Dessner argues that the story depends on irony. The reader expects a certain action and reaction from Sammy, but instead he does the opposite. This irony provides an innocent air of humor due to Sammy’s lack of world knowledge and youthful outlook on life. The remainder of this literary criticism analyzes Sammy’s interactions with the other

An epiphany is the sudden realization or manifestation of understanding, and in the "Story of an Hour," by Kate Chopin, a woman experienced an epiphany that ultimately had tragic results. The tragedy was foreshadowed in the first line when the narrator informed the reader of Mrs. Mallard's heart trouble and the problems it could bring when informing her of her husband's death. But instead of being the cause of tremendous sorrow, the death of her husband brought about a sudden realization of the freedom she would now have because she is no longer married and under the control of her husband. But Mrs. Mallard's epiphany, her realization of the freedom she'll now possess, became the cause of her tragedy. Just as she was beginning to enjoy the fruits of her epiphany, her heart trouble, which many believed would cause her trouble when the news of her husband's death reached her, actually caused her trouble when she suffered a heart attack brought on by joy.

A&P, a short story by John Updike, would best be analyzed by using the school of New Criticism and analyzing the journey Sammy, the narrator, experiences throughout the story. The school of New Criticism believes that the work’s overall meaning depends solely on the text in front of the reader. This is the primary way that students are taught to analyze literature in high school, or early in college. Using this school, there are many different elements to evaluate or interpret; including theme, allusion, and point of view. When analyzing the hero’s journey, a reader should look at seven characteristics. By looking at these seven characteristics of the story, the reader will be able to see into the mind of narrator and see what he/she is going through emotionally and physically. The point of using these two techniques to analyze this story is to gain insight into the writers’ and characters’ minds and see what drives them to do what they do.