First-Person Narrator This story is told with a first-person narrator who refers to himself or herself as ‘‘I’’ several times. This technically makes the narrator a character in the story, even though readers are never given any details about who this person might be. The narrator can, for the sake of simplicity, be identified with…
Tag: Literary Devices
A Day Goes By by Luigi Pirandello – Literary Devices
Point of View The use of first-person point of view in this story is critical to creating the nightmarish, surreal feeling of a man completely adrift, without identity. The reader must have access to the main character’s thoughts and feelings to experience his bewilderment and horror at the strange events that occur. In addition, if…
Beware of the Dog by Roald Dahl – Literary Devices
Partially Omniscient Narrator ‘‘Beware of the Dog’’ is told by a partially omniscient narrator. The narrative voice clearly knows facts of which Williamson is unaware, and it can tell the audience Williamson’s inner thoughts and experiences, but it is nevertheless generally limited to telling the story from Williamson’s viewpoint. This device provides the greatest interest…
The Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie – Literary Devices
Mystery Fiction and the Whodunit Like most of Christie’s stories, ‘‘The Witness for the Prosecution’’ is best described as a mystery. Mystery fiction usually centers on a crime or transgression that has been committed, with the bulk of the plot devoted to determining who is responsible for the crime. This type of story is also…
The Treasure of Lemon Brown – Literary Elements
Dialogue Much of what we learn about Lemon Brown emerges from the conversation that he and Greg have before and after they chase the thugs away from the abandoned house. Myers uses dialogue to deliver the words of the characters as people might actually say them in real life. This helps the reader observe the…
Tears of Autumn by Yoshiko Uchida – Literary Devices
Historical Fiction ‘‘Tears of Autumn’’ was published in 1987 but the story takes place more than a half a century earlier. When the story was published as the opening chapter of Uchida’s novel Picture Bride , Uchida inserted the dates 1917–1918 to identify the story’s exact historical setting. Because the story dramatizes the experiences that…
A Retrieved Reformation – Literary Devices
Protagonist and Antihero In ‘‘A Retrieved Reformation,’’ Jimmy Valentine is both the protagonist of the short story and an antihero. The protagonist is the central character of the story and also serves as a focus for its themes and incidents. An antihero is a central character in a fictional work who does not possess traditional…
An Outpost of Progress – Irony – Literary Devices
Omniscient Point of View ‘‘An Outpost of Progress’’ is told through an omniscient, or ‘‘all-knowing,’’ point of view. With an omniscient narrator, the reader can be given insight into the thoughts of many different characters, rather than just a single viewpoint character. For example, the story begins by providing a glimpse of the world through…
The Jewels by Guy de Maupassant – Literary Elements
Denouement De´ nouement is a French word that means ‘‘the unknotting.’’ In fiction or drama, it denotes the resolution of conflict. The de´ nouement follows a story’s climax and provides an outcome to the primary plot situation as well as an explanation of secondary plot complications. The de´ nouement often involves a character’s recognition of…
Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants – Literary Devices
Narration ‘‘Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants’’ is written in first-person as one individual’s account of her experiences. Because there is no objective or omniscient viewpoint, the narrator is the reader’s only source of information—the reader knows only what the narrator knows or chooses to tell. This narrative device enhances the sense of mystery surrounding the character…