\"Whether openly stated or only hinted at, oedipal difficulties and how the individual solves them are central to the way his personality and human relations fold. By camouflaging the oedipal predicaments, or by only subtly intimating the entanglements, fairy stories permit us to draw our own conclu...

This novel has many symbols and themes that are revealed as the reader follows along. One of the first, and most important, symbols found in Snow Falling on Cedars is the snowstorm that is going on in San Pedro Island. The snow falling outside that begins to pile up represents the tension that is ...

This novel has many symbols and themes that are revealed as the reader follows along. One of the first, and most important, symbols found in Snow Falling on Cedars is the snowstorm that is going on in San Pedro Island. The snow falling outside that begins to pile up represents the tension that is ...

Friendship between everyone is a very big deal in society, but can u trust them? Friends can be tricky, and you don't really know if they are your friend or not. It's their choice to be a friend and be trusted. In the short story "The Hunters of the Snow," it shows how friendship...

The short story, "Hunters in the Snow" written by Tobias Wolff, is a tale about male bonding and a hunting trip that turns disastrous because of secrets. There are three characters, Tub, Kenny, and Frank who are not truthful to each other during the course of their friendship. It is beca...

"To Build a Fire" by Jack London is a short story about a man traveling with just his dog in extreme winter weather. The man is a Chechquo or "tenderfoot" in this environment, meaning that he is new to the area, and is unaware of all the dangers of the Yukon. The main character...

Hemingway's economical writing style and narrative structure often seems simple, but his method is calculated and used to complex effect. In his writing Hemingway provided detached descriptions of action to capture scenes precisely. By doing so he avoided describing his characters' emotions and thou...

There is a story to it the way there is a story to all, never visible while it is happening. Only after, when an old man sits dreaming and talking in his chair, the design springs clear. There was so much we never saw and never knew. --Nanapush in Tracks"We started dying before the snow, and like th...

Raymond Carver's short story "Mine" is the story that most reflects what the dramatic action of the story is about. It also reflects a common way that the story finds its sight, touch and sound. For instance, sight, touch and sound reflect the dynamics between the parents....

Many interesting stories are held within the pages of "Heartland". The stories by Canadian authors including Alice Munro, Veronica Ross, and Roch Carrier, capture the readers interest through plot twists, characters, theme, and much more. As the readers we are led to ask whether or not what is w...

Conflicts In the three stories To Build a Fire, The Use of Force, and A and P there are some different conflicts. A conflict is struggle between two or more objects. In these stories the three different conflicts are man versus nature, man versus man, and man versus self. The three stories th...

Gary Paulsen wrote the novel of Dogsong. The setting of the novel took place in a cold, windy location during a time when the old ways of Eskimos were being forgotten, because of new machinery and technology being introduced into their lives. The area was almost barren except for the few small vill...

Usually writers are remembered for their uniqueness as a storyteller. One reason may be for the story's tension, humor, sadness or other quality. Many writers want to add special elements to their writing that would interest the reader. For example, Mark Twain and his short story, "The N...

A good father is someone that loves his kids and is fun, but plays it safe at the same time. After reading the short story "Powder" by Tobias Wolff I am convinced that the father in this story is irresponsible and not fit for the job of being a father. The love is there but the father puts...

The short story, "The Outcasts of Poker Flat," was written by the well known writer Bret Harte. It is a story about a group of people living in a small town out west who are considered "improper" to live in the town for unjust reasons. As a result of this, a group of vigilantes f...

In almost any story, the setting helps create a distinctive atmosphere and mood, which is conveyed to the reader. This characteristic is very apparent in the short story Chee's Daughter, by Juanita Platero, and Siyowin Miller. The story is about a Navajo named Chee, whose daughter is taken b...

Ernest Hemingway's "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" (reprinted in Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson, Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 8th ed. [Fort Worth:Harcourt, 2002]77), is different than a typical Hemingway story. Hemingway is known for rugged outdo...

"She was so beautiful"(113). In the short story "Long Long After School" the character of Miss Tretheway is well developed, she is a kind and respectable woman. She was important in helping Wes through school and life. I think Miss Tretheway knew what Wes w...

The role of females in today's society is very different from that of the 1950's and 1960's. Women have grown and advanced in the workplace, creating a more equal society. Gail Godwin and Kate Chopin both portray their protagonists as repressed females forced into roles in their lives...

1 Francis Brett Harte was born in the East, but moved west and changed his life to become a writer. Harte's works were said to, ". . . express the matter [humor] briefly but more or less essentially, the power of laughing not only at things, but also with them." (Chesterson 339)...

The Dead" is a story saturated in music. In it, the Morkan women - Aunt Julia, Aunt Kate, niece Mary Jane, all music teachers - are giving their annual Yuletide fete, complete with song and dance. Most of the "The Dead" takes place at a Christmas party in Dublin about a century ago. The annual celeb...

In the short story "Mirriam", Truman Capote does an execellant job portraying Mrs. H.T. Miller's character by showing us the many changes she goes through in her personality, style of apartment, and how she acts under stress. He also foreshadows up coming events by the type of weather that takes pla...

"The Child by Tiger" is not only a wonderful short story but an excellent learning tool as well. Much can be learned from the way the author writes the story. Thomas Wolfe uses characters, setting, and imagery to establish a theme of violence and savagery of the human soul.Characters of young boys...

The House on Mango StreetBy Sandra CisnerosThe main character's name is Esperanza. She is only about thirteen and is telling the story of her life on Mango Street. Esperanza is definitely a dynamic character. In the beginning of the story she does not like their new house on Mango Street or it's ...

The title of a work of fiction is very important because it is the first contact that a reader has with a piece of writing. The title of as story must be effective in that it captures the readers' attention and appropriate in that it tells readers a little of what the story is about. Traplines, by...