Salmon Rushdie's Short Story 'In The South'

Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose is one of the only literary pieces that reveals the dark truth of America post-WWII. This is a play depicting a jury of twelve white men deciding if a sixteen-year old defendant is guilty of the murder of his own father. In addition, knowledge versus ignorance is the strongest theme in Twelve Angry Men. Rose uses a set of character foils with static characters, a specific time and place, and the archetype of darkness versus light to convey this idea.

In "The Wall," Jean-Paul Sartre uses many literary techniques to convey irony. Jean-Paul Sartre, an existentialistic writer, states through his characters and symbolism that life has no value. Through Pablo's decision to "trade' his life, Sartre furthers the irony in the story. Symbolism provides authors with a way to convey an underlying theme or to portray the meaning in an event without explicitly outlining the incident. Sartre employs the symbol of a graveyard to express meaninglessness and nothingness. Emotions can express more than a character's feeling at a particular moment, they can also set a tone for a whole story. The conclusion of laughter brings another example of irony through its contradictory nature to the tone at the end

“Ain’t many guys travel around together...I don’t know why. Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other” (Steinbeck 35). In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the main characters George and Lennie trudge through innumerable challenges, including trying to find a spot in the world of migrant workers. Tiny, yet quick witted George has a loyal counterpart, Lennie, who is quite humongous, but he is not exceedingly intelligent. Throughout their travels and troubles they come across countless different people. Steinbeck uses narrative pacing and irony to show that people tend to want and need the presence of others to feel fulfilled.

As I read this short story in the beginning, the gist of what I have captured the narrator writing is whether the man with a strange habit does really exist or not. Or, if he did exist who was the man that was hitting the narrator in the story on the head without stopping. It sticks in my mind wondering who the strange man was to the narrator. Somehow, despite the agony of trying to understand the motive underlies the story; I was at first wondering what was the strange man had gone through

The short story Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff depicts three men that go on a hunting trip that changes the course of their lives. Each character lies to himself to accept his actions in his life. Kenny, Frank, and Tub need to successfully fool themselves before they can deceive anyone else. Each of the men are immature and selfish. They don't realize how their decisions impact other people's lives. They justify their lies with their own insecurities about their lifestyles. Their lies impact the situations they encounter and change their lives forever.

People are considered to be social beings, yet, again and again, they seek to falsify the claims of civility, and show themselves as the detached individuals they tend to be. In his novella, “Of Mice and Men,” John Steinbeck designed several faulty pairings that display the true disparity and detachment that are proven to be a part of every relationship in the story. Through the associations of the main characters, Lennie and George, along with several other characters within the narrative, Steinbeck exposes the root of 1930’s relationships in promises, loneliness, and a basic need for companionship, rather than any true fondness- a junction that can easily be nullified.

Solidifying the theme of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the protagonist George expresses his significant loneliness despite a strong kinship with his friend Lennie, “’I ain’t got no people… I seen the guys that go around the ranches alone. That ain’t no good’” (41). Published in 1937, amidst the horrific turmoil of the Great Depression, Steinbeck’s novella struck a sensitive chord with readers. Set in the heart of California’s Central Valley, this story follows two men, George and Lennie, as they run from old shadows to a new farm for work. Clinging to the distant dream of owning their own piece of land, the men imagine life outside their present difficulties. Illustrating that life is varied by emotional complexities beyond black and white, George’s longing for companionship and family seep through in conversations with his new co-worker Slim. Despite Lennie’s sheer physical strength, his mental abilities are limited to that of a naïve, innocent, and very young boy; the result is a relationship akin to an uncle and nephew. Lennie, with primal-like behaviors and a gold-fish memory, struggles to adhere to George’s words of wisdom. In the end, tragedy strikes them both as George is forced to kill Lennie due to an accident with the son of the landowner’s wife – a woman who looks for trouble at the onset. Consequently, George’s state of loneliness is bequeathed to a new level as he begins to imagine life without Lennie in tow.

This gives the reader the ability to elicit something meaningful from the book. The reader may pull from the story that life is not simple for everyone in the world, and that they should realize that some people have a hard time growing up because of the situation they are in. Children who grow up with a substantial amount of money in a stable home have opportunities that the Walls children did not. Some may wonder what they are having for dinner, while children in situations similar to the Walls may wonder if they can afford food for dinner. Despite all of the negativity and hardships in Walls’s life, she still turned out to be a successful women. After visualizing the terrible circumstances the Walls family was under, the reader can pull from the story that one may defy an inferior situation and build a better

As sentimental tone becomes evident frequently through the story, the author uses determination to display the struggles and growth that the author experiences. One of the major quotes that shows determination through a sentimental tone can be displayed as the hotel burning down where the Walls currently lived. Walls stated, “I wonder if the fire had been out to get me. I wonder if all fire was related . . . I didn’t have the answers to those questions, but what I did know was that I lived that at any moment could erupt . . . It was the sort of knowledge that kept you on your toes” (Walls 34). This excerpt explains that the author and her family struggle through life to find a decent home--that they can afford. Jeannette spills her emotions through this quote; her struggles become strengths, as she narrates her childhood. The author displays the theme of struggle and the sentimental tone when “. . . the whole family stretched out on the benches and the floor of the depot and read, with the dictionary in the middle of the room so [the] kids could look up words [they] didn't know. . .” (Walls 56). This quote really tears at the reader’s heart strings, as the family copes with their living situations. Jeannette exceeds with describing the story; adding imagery to the situation creates the sentimental tone. The idea of struggle and growth portrays the main point of the overall

*Who is the narrator of this story? What special insight does that provide the reader? What would you understand differently if the narrator had been another character?

"Of Mice and Men" is a book about two men and their struggle to achieve their dream of owning a small ranch through their companionship. The two men are completely different, one being a retarded fellow (Lennie), and the other, a typical ranch hand(George) who travels with him. On the path to achieving their dream, they run into obstacles, but stick together, stressing the importance of true friendship. Steinbeck wrote this book to tell us how important it is to have a friend to share your life with.

novel. The way men saw them, the way they saw themselves, and the way they were struggling

For purposes of character and plot development, the men in the story are superfluous for the most part. Their major contribution to the story is their good-natured contempt

‘Of Mice And Men' by John Steinbeck is a classic novel, tragedy, written in a social tone. The authorial attitude is idyllic, however, as the story develops it changes into skeptic. It is evident that Steinbeck knew the setting and places he is writing about.

When reading a short story many people take the details given to be the unconditional truth. This is probably why so many of these people are confused or repulsed by a story like “The Black Cat.” Throughout the story, the narrator makes numerous contradictions. These contradictions, combined with his actions make me doubt the legitimacy and truth of what he says.