Compare And Contrast The Destructors And Young Goodman Brown

The short stories “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, and “Marigolds” by Eugenia W. Collier, are all meaningfully connected through peices and feelings that are felt while reading the stories. Each is unique, but they have the same point behind them. All three of the ‘main’ characters in these stories have all destroyed something. Rather it be important to them or someone else.

“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.

Every story has a setting. Whether it is in this world or one that is completely imaginary, the setting of any story is necessary in order to understand the characters. The characters in the following three short stories are shaped by their setting and would not be the same if the setting was different. Over the course of each story it is easy to see how vital the setting is in order for the reader to fully understand the characters and their lives. Therefore, while the reader reads these stories they must analyze how the setting affects the characters, the obstacles that the setting creates, and what it tells us about the characters.

Short stories are seemingly a lost art amongst the literary community. Legendary writers such as Edgar Allen Poe, Flannery O’Connor, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and many more have paved the way for writers such as Ha Jin and Phil Klay who write today. Now, although one could speak on the importance of each of these tremendous writers, the focus in paper will be on two writings being that of Flannery O’Connor’s, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and Ha Jin’s, “Under The Red Flag”. Now, each book contains many short stories that encapture readers throughout them. Flannery O’Connor’s classic short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, will be compared and contrasted with Ha Jin’s ,”Decade” and “The Richest Man”. Just as Greg Orwell

Short stories have fully developed themes but appear significantly shorter and less elaborate than novels. A similar theme found in short stories “Winter Dreams” written by Scott F. Fitzgerald and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner included the social and environmental influences that encouraged and controlled the character’s life and decisions. In “Winter Dreams”, the main protagonist-- Dexter-- fell into a fixation over a young, whimsical blueblood, Judy Jones. His obsession led him to believe that Judy Jones reciprocated his feelings for her, leaving him bare and mortal-- despite prior beliefs. Following her father’s death, Miss Emily fell into a dark obscurity due to the pressure and compulsion of having to carry on the honorable family name. While using a unique point of view (first person peripheral), “A Rose for Emily” followed a mysterious and desirable woman named Miss Emily as her hometown tried to understand her peculiar ways and began to find her disgraceful. By comparing and contrasting these two literary pieces, a similar organization-- including the writers’ purpose and themes-- should become clear. By using literary devices-- such as point of view, dramatic irony, detail, and figurative language-- Scott F. Fitzgerald and William Faulkner conducted two short stories similar in aim and reasoning, probable for contrasting and comparing elements within the parallel writings.

Ever since the invention of language, humans have been obsessed and intrigued with the aspect of storytelling. Each story, whether written or spoken, holds an important theme within its creative words and exciting plot. While each story is special and unique, over the course of history, different periods of literature have formed where authors tend to focus on similar themes and messages. One of which was the American Romantic era, where authors used their stories to challenge the boundaries of society, and delve deeper into what makes people inherently human, both the flaws and perfections. Some of America’s greatest works of literature were born in this period, like those of Poe, and Hawthorne. A very common literary theme during the romantic period was that of good versus evil, in both individual characters and society as a whole; this theme is especially evident in works such as The Tell Tale Heart, The Raven, and Young Goodman Brown.

The short stories “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, and “Bartleby, The Scrivener” by Herman Melville, are about two outcasts and their interactions with society. Moreover the authors use common themes and similar mannerisms bringing their characters to life. Each story has different key details, and perspectives, while they communicate the same overall premise.In both “A Rose for Emily” and “Bartleby, The Scrivener”, they share many similarities, and each have key differences that conversely set them apart.

The new frontier was changing fast, and these literary artists took on some of the newly-arising social controversies by bringing them to the table. By closely analyzing their works, a distinction of their individual styles will be revealed allowing more understanding into why their stories have been preserved for nearly a century.

As humans, we understand the harsh reality that is in our world. In Graham Greene’s short story, “The Destructors,” a gang of young British boys are living in a post-WWII world. They have never known what it is to live in “normal” London—buildings still intact, having enough food, less homelessness. The gang’s harmless delinquency throughout the story deepens the readers’ understanding of the effects of war on humanity by illustrating the loss of innocence in these boys and specifically revealing the damage in the both superficial and embedded in their lives. The theme of emotional damage construed in the story is literary in the sense that it explains a somber truth: World War II initiated the loss of innocence in the youth of the countries involved.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed.

Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe were extremely successful gothic or dark romantic authors of the 19th century. The two authors wrote a plethora of short stories that strayed from the rationalist styles of the 18th century and paved the way for other dark romantic authors. Romanticism focuses on emotions and nature while rationalism focuses on logic and reasoning. Hawthorne and Poe display the darker side of human nature throughout all of their works. Three especially good examples of this particular style are Hawthorne’s “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” as well as Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat.”

Well known playwright, novelist, and short story writer, Irwin Shaw, in his short stories narrates the about the faults of the human condition, and identifies struggles that readers can relate to. In “Girls in Their Summer Dresses” a young man reluctantly confesses to his wife that he looks at other women and intends to cheat on her. In “Second Mortgage” a desperate old woman begs for money she is owed from a family who can not pay her in the Great Depression Era. Then, in “Sailor Off in Bremen” a local battle between Communists and Nazis occurs that proves to be extremely violent and bloody. Shaw’s purpose within all these stories is to impress upon readers the idea that communication and empathy is character flaw all humans have. He creates a dramatic tone in all of his stories in order to convey to his readers the themes of failure of communication, failure to empathize has powerful ramifications. He achieves these themes through the utilization of repetition, dramatic irony, and crisp imagery.

These short stories are meant to represent how the author perceived reality at the time. It is set as real life is set, in a realm of disjointed events, that make sense overall, but for an outsider looking in, they are confusing and disconnected.

The two short stories that I have chosen are The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe and The Storm by Kate Chopin. These two stories in particular doesn't have many things in common as far as setting goes, but they do have some significant differences between the two. The author are from two different background and different eras In this paper I will try to compare and contrast these two short stories and hopefully bring something to the reader's attention that wasn't there at first.

Many compelling authors and writers use literary devices to draw readers into their stories. The use of literary devices is to express the meaning of a story in a deeper way than just stating the theme. Stories with descriptive writing that includes literary components keeps readers engrossed and keep them wanting to read more. A few examples of literary elements are symbolism, irony, imagery, and foreshadowing. One such story that includes many uses of elements such as these is “The Destructors”, by Graham Greene. Strong Imagery is used in many instances throughout the text of “The Destructors” to draw the readers into the story, imply deeper meanings, and provide a description of different parts of the text.