Vonnegut uses literary devices to develop his unique style. His own style helps bring out the tone of “Harrison Bergeron”. In the beginning of the story the author used a lot of repetition sentences to really emphasize on the layout of the story when stating multiple times “nobody was” or “they were/weren’t”. Throughout the story there are plenty of negative sentences speaking of what people used to be like and what they weren’t allowed to do now. Hazel and George’s dialogue were made up of several sentences that are all really simple and random and illustrates to the reader that to them there is not too much to talk about.
"The intellectual part of his nature was already effected; he had power only to feel, and the feeling was torment (Bierce)." When the narrator says this, a reader can conclude that emotions are not present throughout the story, regardless of what the reader might feel. There are only physical descriptions. One might believe Bierce takes this approach to show readers that war brings nothing but pain. Bierce also uses figurative language to display the tone to his readers.
In fictions there are two levels of interaction. The lower level of interaction is the one between characters, where messages can be passed to either direction, while the higher level is the interaction between the author and the reader, where the passage of message is one-way (Leech & Michael, 2001: 253). Making use of interaction between characters, the author realizes the interaction with readers. In Hills like White Elephants, Hemingway creates implicature on the lower level through characters’ violations of Maxims of the Cooperative Principle. The implicature can be sensed fully by readers on the higher level, providing room for Hemingway to omit things and give a full play of the Iceberg Theory.
However, it is my belief that she chose to follow her heart and not get the abortion. Hemingway sets the story environment at a train station, with two very different sides of the tracks. This setting is interpreted as a metaphor for the choice at hand, an interpretation of life or death. One side reflecting a dry harsh area, with no trees, and devoid of life, on the other side of the
While Maria’s story helps the audience understand events and circumstances she went through and how she felt, but the readers didn’t truly get any powerful imagery of what she was seeing. Greg’s anecdote does help readers be able to see through his eyes as if they were their own eyes, and also understand the events that are playing out in the story. Moreover, Greg’s story doesn’t just help the audience understand certain events but also be able to walk through events in his shoes. In addition, Greg is able to do this by writing with an almost life-like description that compares to certain objects and imagery that explains exactly he is
When he starts off saying that "this is one story I 've never told before" signals two points to the reader. First, the story builds a confessional tone and creates an immediate empathy between the reader and the O 'Brien character. Second, in the context of the next chapter, the reader knows that this is an unresolved story, perhaps a fragment of memory that, given O 'Brien 's attitude of storytelling, is being crafted into a story as a means for understanding the events of the past. But the story isn 't abruptly moving
“Hills Like White Elephants” may be a short story about two people just talking in a bar of a station, but behind every word Hemingway uses lies a deeper meaning. It is necessary to point out that omitting further information is something that is typical to Hemingway’s writing style. The reader has to contemplate what the author wants to portray in his story in the first place. Although the author probably had one meaning in mind, the metaphors can be interpreted in many ways. While reading the story, what came up to my mind was whether the author’s personal life had to do something with it or not.
It also provides the reader the ability to question their own views on revenge as well as compare it with Poe’s. However, with most readers having no major revenge experiences such as the one in the story or some extreme cases in general, it is somewhat hard for the average reader to relate
One of the most important qualities within a story is whether or not the narrator is reliable. In most cases, the reader never takes this “narrator” into question as it is some omniscient being who is easily forgotten. The cases, in which the narrator comes into play in the reader’s mind, are typically when the narrator is of homodiegetic narration. This is a common device in more narrative texts and can even be used as a tool to make the reader feel a more personal touch to the story. If this trust between the narrator and the reader is breached the whole story it can take a different look towards the reader.
If taken literally, Hemingway’s story is one in which very little happens. The story takes place in a train station in Spain where a couple argue about a vague event over drinks. From the very start of the short story, there is an overbearing uneasiness felt in the text as the unnamed male and the girl, Jig, hold what seems to be—on the surface—an innocent conversation. By using a limiting third person point of view that consists mostly of dialogue, Hemingway creates an obstacle in the way of understanding as there is no clear insight to what is going on inside of either party’s head. The conflict that the pair seem to be discussing is never named and it becomes the metaphorical elephant in the room much like the white elephants that Jig sees in the mountains.