Comparing The Leap 'And Ambush By Tim O' Brien

Authors use many different aspects to create a story. Sometimes authors decide to copy other authors in narratives when they find something they like. In the two short stories “The Interlopers” by Saki, and “The Trapper Trapped” an African folktale, both stories have many similar and opposite elements. In both stories, the characters, themes, and tones of these two texts are in many ways similar as well as different.

The stories “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket”, “The Leap”, and “The Trip” all explore aspects that are drastic for the characters and are thrilling to the audience to read. Common elements can be found in each story. Even though each story is similar, each story has a unique way of hooking the reader that stays true to the theme and plot.

Traumatized Literary devices are what make the story come alive and give the reader a feeling of actually being there. The literary devices increase a reader’s interest in the story and also helps keep the audience engaged. They help create a more fascinating plot. In the short story “Ambush” by TIm O’brien uses them to develop a character so much more. Mr. O’brien used internal conflict, external conflict, and flashback to put the reader in the character’s “shoes” throughout the story.

Literary elements and writer’s craft are essential to a well written story that gives understanding and meaning to the readers. Authors use these elements to add deeper meaning to a story that otherwise is as dull and same as the rest. The short story Lamb to the Slaughter is about a wife who kills her husband and then tries to cover it up. The Leap, another short story, is about a girl who is telling stories about her mother’s life. Both short stories portray and utilize literary elements and writer’s craft but Lamb to the Slaughter uses them more effectively and clearly.

In the story the author used foreshadowing. The foreshadowing came in when Carolee heard the dogs barking. This foreshadowed that something was found or the dogs found someone so

“Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket”, “Ambush”, and “Sniper” are three short stories that all seem to be different but also have similarities. Each story describes a short period of time in the main characters live that make a significant impact on them. Taking a close look at the literary elements of setting, theme, conflict, and characters show the similarities and differences between the three stories.

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

Have you ever thought that three completely different stories might have something in common? It might seem unlikely, but now you can change what you previously thought! The short stories Contents of a Dead Man’s Pockets by Jack Finney, The Leap by Louise Erdrich, and The Trip by Laila Lalami, all have their similarities and differences on several aspects. This can be demonstrated through the topics of setting, conflict, characters, and theme. These topics help make up the plot of each story. No story is the same, but they can have similar messages or themes meant for the audience. Some can argue that these three short stories are completely different, but other individuals differ. These main elements from each story can be both, depending on one’s point of view.

Source: CAPPELEN DAMM AS, Oslo 2008 – ''Access to English literature, VG3''. Anthony, Burgess, Mikkelsen & Sørhus. Chapter 1, page 23-24.

The stories The Leap, The Trip and Contents of a Deadman’s Pocket share many similarities and differences through various elements of literature. These stories use their themes, settings, conflicts and characters to convey the similarities and differences that are found in each story.

Two of the short stories we have read this year, “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” by Rudyard Kipling and “Three Skeleton Key” by George Toudouze, are suspense stories that have many similarities but also some differences.

In a story there are many things that come together to form a story that we can all relate too with the setting and any given symbol in the story allowing us to relate too as the reader. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, a story that takes place in the summer where the flowers are blossoming and the grass is bright green painting a story of life and prosperity and by the end the story takes a dark and mysterious turn. “Hunters in the Snow” by Tobias Wolff, a story of three men who are on there way to a hunting trip mid winter where the snow is falling and the heater in the truck is not running, though out the story there selfish attitudes changes the lives around them. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, A fifteen year old girl named Connie egger to be older, and gets herself a stalker by placing her self in a dinner, Arnold Friend represents evil in the foot steps of her house.

The basis of any good short story is the ability to grab the reader’s attention and keep it. In order to do this, the narrator must be able to pull the reader into their experiences. Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King both analyze the narrator’s characterization and the first-person point of view in similar fashion. However, they both have different purposes and reliabilities when writing their short stories. The narrators of “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Man in the Black Suit” are similarly characterized, however “The Man in the Black Suit’s” difference of reliability results in a scarier tone.

The stories “The Leap”, “The Trip”, and “The Contents of the Deadman’s Pocket” are all compared through literary elements. The literary elements used are characters, conflicts, setting, and theme. The authors use different elements throughout the texts to reveal different things about the main characters. Through these literary elements the characters have something revealed about th em or they are taught a lesson.

Short stories can share themes, motifs, symbols, consequences, and plot lines, even if there is never any intention to share a common element between the stories. The stories can be written close together or in different decades and still be linked to the one another. They can also be worlds apart with different meanings in the end, but that does not stop them from having similar ideas expressed within them. The following three stories, “Lagoon” by Joseph Conrad, “The Rocking Horse Winner” by DH Lawrence, and “The Lady in the Looking Glass” by Virginia Woolf, are three totally different stories that share common threads that make them the stories that they are.