Moonlight Shadow Yoshimoto

When Zeena is at the kitchen table, the author uses cold imagery. After Zeena leaves for her trip to a doctor, the kitchen seems more welcoming and comfortable because Ethan and Mattie are alone.

In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” the narrator describes the importance of the cafe compared to all the other places that are open to convey the idea of loneliness and despair. Through the use of imagery, symbolism, point of view and, allegory Ernest Hemingway establishes a connection between the older waiter and the deaf guy, as he illustrates the significance the well-lit cafe brings to their lonely night. As the waiters discuss their thoughts on being open so late, the older waiter claims to be one of those who enjoy the aura of the cafe being open so late compared to other places. “With all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night.“ The role the cafe plays to diminish loneliness and despair does not go unrecognized by the older waiter and deaf guy who find their escape in that clean well-lit cafe. Loneliness screams louder at night for those who walk through it by themselves. They look to find comfort in a well-lit place with a calm and pleasant aura. The feeling displayed between the old deaf man and older waiter does not register with the younger waiter who does not understand the search of finding peace found in the cafe. The younger waiter has a wife to go home to as the older deaf man and older waiter have nothing and that is their escape from their dark loneliness, the cafe. Since it is clear that Ernest Hemingway has established that the old deaf man

A horror story should have some elements to grab the attention of audience such as suspense and mystery. However, it is a challenge to achieve this goal especially in a short story, but that did not seem to be an obstacle for Stephen King, who is famous for writing horror fiction stories. Jeffrey W. Hunter, who is editor of Contemporary Literacy Criticism, believes that Stephen King is a marketing phenomenon for the large number of books he has sold. One of his first works was “Strawberry Spring,” which was published along with other short stories in a book titled Night Shift in 1978. In the same manner as other Stephen King’s writings, “Strawberry Spring” is a story loaded of mystery where death is one of the main components. The story begins with a narrator’s memory about what happened eight years ago when he was in college in 1968. The narrator remembers how a serial killer who was called Springheel Jack came into action during strawberry spring which is a natural phenomenon that only happens every eight years. Four young women were murdered in that year. Despite the efforts and investigations of police, the murderer was never caught. After eight years, the strawberry spring has come back and the killer, as well. Without a doubt, first person narrative point of view, setting, and symbolism are crucial elements that make “Strawberry Spring” a fascinating story.

The last line in the poem “and since they were not the ones dead, turned to their own affairs” lacks the emotions the reader would expect a person to feel after a death of a close family member. But instead, it carries a neutral tone which implies that death doesn’t even matter anymore because it happened too often that the value of life became really low, these people are too poor so in order to survive, they must move on so that their lives can continue. A horrible sensory image was presented in the poem when the “saw leaped out at the boy’s hand” and is continued throughout the poem when “the boy’s first outcry was a rueful laugh…the hand was gone already…and that ended it”, this shows emphasis to the numbness the child felt. The poem continues with the same cold tone without any expression of emotion or feelings included except for pain, which emphasizes the lack of sympathy given. Not only did the death of this child placed no effect on anyone in the society but he was also immediately forgotten as he has left nothing special enough behind for people to remember him, so “since they were not the one dead, turned to their affairs”. This proves that life still carries on the same way whether he is present or not, as he is insignificant and that his death

In the beginning of the short story, as Brother reflects on Doodle’s life, the author uses personification and foreshadowing to create a mood of remorse. As he gazes out of the window into his backyard, Brother states that “the graveyard flowers were blooming. ...speaking softly the names of our dead” (Hurst 1). The flowers provide flashbacks of the past, and foreshadow a loss of life. The loneliness felt by Brother causes readers to consider how they would feel if their loved one was gone. As Brother observes the seasons, it is noted that “summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born” (Hurst 1). The personifications of the seasons as stages in the cycle of life and death creates an unsure and uncertain mood. The shift between seasons creates an idea of change and uncertainty of events to come. Hurst creates a mood of remorse through

The young waiter has a harsh view of him as well because on occasion the old man has been so drunk he walks out on his bill. The younger waiter has a different respect for time, it’s precious to him and he values it. “I wish he would go home. I never get to bed before three o’clock. What kind of hour is that to go to bed?” “He stays up because he likes it.” “He’s lonely, I’m not lonely. I have a wife waiting in bed for me.” “He had a wife once too” (153). The older you get, the more time wears down on you, and you begin to now, greater than ever, feel your mortality. This theme is used to help the reader understand the older mans pain and that no matter how young and confident someone is, they will eventually grow old and die.

Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen and Moonlight shadow are Japanese novellas in which the protagonist is followed during their grieving period. In order to accurately depict the nature of significant loss and its aftermath, the stories follow distinct structures to that of western literature. Yoshimoto intensifies unexpected losses in a young woman’s life with the non-linear structure and the deficit of foreshadowing. The structure supports the story’s themes of lack of control in life and the unexpectedness it withholds.

For instance, he remembers clearly what happened now that “summer has long since fled and time has had its way." Brother expresses how summer is taken away from him too soon. Even so, this particular event sticks vividly in his mind. This hints that Brother is feeling responsible for Doodle’s death, as he looks back and replays it in his mind, thinking how this fatal outcome could have been prevented. Not only is Brother upset with himself, but also at time because it went by too fast, seeming like this was done to him on purpose. These emotions felt by the narrator shows how guilty he feels. Likewise, the use of flashback is shown when Brother looks out the kitchen window thinking of Doodle as “the grindstone begins to turn, and time with all its changes is ground away-.” A relationship can be detected between the grindstone and Doodle. Right outside the kitchen window was where the bleeding tree once stood, and the grindstone now stands. The bleeding tree is also where the scarlet ibis dies, and through symbolism, it is shown that the scarlet ibis represents Doodle. Additionally, Hurst describes that instead of grinding away Brother’s past, the grindstone reminds him of his memories with Doodle. For instance, “time with all its changes” refers to Doodle dying. This is a heartbreaking event, causing a feeling of guilt in Brother. Using flashback, Hurst has clearly conveyed the guilt Brother feels when Doodle

In the novella Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto uses light and dark imagery to develop realistic characterization and to support her fantastical style, while effectively projecting pathos upon the readers. Throughout the story, Mikage unveils that life is a process of healing where grief and sadness are needed to truly appreciate happiness. Such abstract ideas and emotions are detailedly brought about by Yoshimoto’s usage of the four seasons of the year to provide a main timeline of the events concerning Mikage’s encounters with death, as well utilizing cosmos as a form of pathetic fallacy during the more miniscule experiences. In the grand scheme of the story, there

A soul in distress is always looking for a mean to escape through a difficult situation. In the story Like Water For Chocolate, Tita De La Garza who suffered like no other, isn’t the exception. This young woman since birth was instilled with a very deep love for cooking. When the people who she loved most betrayed her, cooking eased her pain. All of the intense emotions that she felt while preparing food, were unknowingly added to the recipes. The author, Laura Esquivel through the use of symbolism, she demonstrates that the role of food in the story isn’t there just to sustain life, it also transmits strong emotions such as desire, sorrow and healing felt by the

With the use of narrative strategies, Laura Esquivel was able to portray tone, mood, and purpose throughout the novel, “Like Water for Chocolate”. In this passage, he protagonist Tita is described cooking Ox-Tail soup and recalls to the times with her best friend Nacha who passed away. Nacha was Titas true mother figure in her life, she was the one who taught Tita how to cook, clean, and everything else. Through Esquivel's style she presents a wistful tone by reminding the reader of the memories Tita shared with her friend Nacha. Titas cooking is now a tribute that Nachas soul is alive within her food.                                 Esquivel's notion of Tita and Nachas memories she creates a reminiscent mood because of the sadness she felt

Esquivel guides the reader through the novel and makes the story enthusiastic to develop an open minded setting. She brings us to the next chapter and incorporates magical realism in which she talks about the feelings of the guests when they had ate the cake Tita made for Pedro and Rosaura’s wedding. Esquivel states “but the weeping was just the first symptom of a strange intoxication- an acute attack of pain and frustration- that seized the guests and scattered them across the patio and the grounds and in the bathrooms, all of them wailing over lost love (pg.39). These symptoms the guest had were all he feelings Tita had inside her when making the cake, they were being transmitted to them. Further on Lam states “while “Tita was preparing it, she was frustrated, sad, an angry about the wedding. Her sister was marrying her love of her life and she was crushed. This scene represents the power of Tita’s emotions and how she can negatively affect others through her cooking”. Her emotions tell a lot in this novel and makes us feel what the author is trying to portray.

She goes from a mellow, passive, or almost barely speaking, to an aggressive and advocating tone against her mother and her sister Rosura. She is quick with her response, and raises her voice when arguing with them. The figurative language in the story depicts the transformation that Tita has to go through. The figurative language shows the sturdy connection between human’s feelings and food or women and their bodies. Poison is being used as a metaphor to indicate how the old society is being corrupted by new society. The magical realism, gives us the blend of an ordinary life with magic. Things that would never happen in reality, but is imported from the beginning to the end of “Like Water for chocolate” to make it enchanted. The story help us readers predict by delivering a hint of something that’s going to occur in the future. It foreshadows with in the lines and the ingredients that is listed at the beginning of every chapter. In the beginning of the chapter the setting of the story indicates the tradition of a girl being raised in the kitchen. Tita is the first in her family to make a different to go beyond the “status quo” and discontinue the oppression of women. She gives women a passage to have to make their own decisions, follow their hearts, but to never forget where they come from.

Losing someone is something that everyone will experience: whether that is someone that is close to you or a friend of a friend. Furthermore, death is something I have been associated with on a few occasions, and when I was reading the end of chapter five. I could feel my stomach drop and see the goose bumps form across my skin. The author began to describe the scene of Nana and then ended the description ”The rope

1 . Throughout the book, the food would help us understand the state of emotion that each family member was going through. It starts off with Tita, when she made the cake, she cries into it with her sadness and emptiness, and because it went into the cake, it spread to all the wedding guests. Another time that the food brought out the emotion present with the characters was between Pedro and her. He gave her a rose, which she uses to make quail and rose pedal sauce, and for anyone that ate it, they would feel the same heat and passion that Pedro and Tita feel for one another. The bathroom is on fire, the feelings are so strong. The food