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Short Stories in Comparison to Other Readings from Literature
Kimberly Arambul
Outline
Thesis: Since reading Birds of America, I discovered that there are many connections among
other short stories, novels, and prose. Those connections include point of view, the
character and setting development, and conflicting relationships among the main characters
and the usage of symbolism.
I. The characters points of view are always different from the others.
A. What would be different if you put some else in the speakers place?
1. Would the thoughts be the same?
B. The effect of first person and second person -Lorrie Moore-
II. The character development within the story.
A. Description vs. Non-descriptive.
B. Looking beyond the physical features of a character.
1. Agnes.
C. Vivid imagery in novels is important in literature.
III. The detailed settings put in a main focus area.
A. Setting can be the beauty in any story.
1. Descriptions from passed novels to prove my statement.
IV. Relationships in connection to symbolism.
A. Birds, thieves, and pear trees.
1. Symbolism can be used for relation and even foreshadow.
(a). Metaphors.
V. Reflection (conclusion)
A. Combining all our literature.
Short Stories in Comparison to Other Readings from Literature
Pulling towards the end of our winter quarter, and reflecting on all of the literature
up to this point, you can compare and contrast almost every piece of writing we have read
and written over our course. After finishing reading the last of our collection of class
novels or short stories, I have found that Birds of America by Lorrie Moore, my group's
reading assignment, has many different main focuses and interesting viewpoints to depict.
Since reading Birds of America, I discovered that there are many connections among other
short stories, novels, and prose. Those connections include point of view, the character
and setting development, and conflicting relationships among the main characters and the
usage of symbolism. With the short stories there isn't much space to create an in-depth
story line, so the reader gets the chance to think about what is really happening or how
the characters are perceived. The point of view of the characters is one of the most
intriguing elements of writing for me because it sets a certain tone and mood of the
story. I know if the mood of the piece of writing that I am working with is very simple
and dull, the story as a whole isn't very effective. Many short stories and novels use
symbolism to create a better sense of the speaker themselves and the setting. The
characters are some of the best pieces of symbolism of a story because it usually gives an
insight or foreshadow of what could happen to them, someone else, or any relationship.
The point of view of any story can be different with all the characters, so it is
essential to make sure that the writer picks the right speaker for the story. If you were
to take the story "Willing" in "Birds" for an example and put it in
the perspective of Tommy, the best friend of Sidra the main character; you might see her
life in a different way, maybe more sympathetic and compassionate or you could feel that
she is a worthless disgrace to the life she now leads. You could even take the point of
view of the parents of Sidra, and what they now think of her sheltered, torn life, but I
think that would be a whole different story if you ask me. In "Where I'm Calling
From", there is a similar difference in the character views because if you took the
story in the eyes J.P., his story would be so distorted from anyone else's because
"J.P. is first and foremost a drunk" (Carver 278). The attitudes of the
characters is a huge part of the point of views, and using first person, third person, and
even second person, used in Lorrie Moore's stories creates an original inventive way to
write the experience of a character. When the class read There Eyes Where Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston, I paid close attention to the point of view of Janie because a
person can better understand the speaker by the way they perceive life in their own eyes,
"Two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they
got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves" (Hurston 192). I enjoy the point of
view in short stories more than novels because it constantly changes throughout the book
in all different styles and it keeps me hooked to very end.
The characters in the plot is really important in any piece of English literature; in Birds
of America the characters are occasionally not fully developed, or they could be well
described throughout the beginning of the story and then never have anything mentioned
about their physical features ever again. To read one of Lorrie Moore's stories from the
beginning, and all the way to the end, you would have a good idea of what the speaker
looks and acts like. He/she presents themselves through little descriptions and actions
like in "Agnes of Iowa," Agnes is said to be unattractive and well rounded, but
she is a smart and caring person with love and affection. Even though she is a large woman
and maybe somewhat ugly physically, she still has the needs and wants of any other woman.
It's having that courage to notice what she desires in her life that makes her beautiful
inside.
Once Upon A Time is a short prose by Nadine Gordimer; it's about the speaker
of the story, who is inspired to write a bedtime story while an intruder is making noise
on the floorboards of their house. The interesting thing about this story is that the
speaker is described only as "a victim ready" (Gordimer 706) and that's all of
that character; it doesn't even end with the original speaker. In this story it jumps
straight to the conflict of this person instead of introducing them as a character. Then
the story jumps right to the speaker's story, skipping almost all of the plot, and then
right to the point of the story. Only when I used my imagination I could see this scared
person in their bedroom. Sitting there listening, watching, waiting; while they write this
bedtime story of the family and now I could see their situation with having safety
compilations. Even though I liked the viewpoints better in short stories, it's the
complete opposite for characters and that's what I loved in Their Eyes Where Watching
God. Hurston did such a wonderful job with creating all those vivid characters like
Joe Starks, "It was a cityfied, stylish dressed man with his hat set at an angle that
didn't belong in these parts. His coat was over his arm, but he didn't need to represent
his clothes. The shirt with the silk sleeveholders was dazzling enough for the world"
(Hurston 27). That's what makes literature so interesting to read; by the different styles
of writing in books and stories, there is so much to learn from all of the different
descriptions and language.
The setting is described in detail when it comes to Lorrie Moore's book because most of
her stories in "Birds" are around the home or with the family, like "Real
Estate", "The windows of the new house were huge-dusty, but bright because of
their size-and because the shade shop had not yet delivered the shades, the entire
neighborhood of spiffy middle management could peer into Ruth and Terence's bedroom"
(192).
In Their Eyes Where Watching God, Hurston has so many beautiful setting in her
story but my favorite was when Janie was at her house and Tea Cake had just left, "So
she sat on the porch and watched the moon rise. Soon its amber fluid was drenching the
earth, and quenching the thirst of the day" (99). I also really enjoy the process of
adding the setting and character principles of a piece of literature together, like in the
story "Where I'm Calling From." It put you in that setting in the story with two
sentences and this style can be similar in some of the other short stories from Birds of
America and other pieces of writing; "In his chair on the front porch, J.P. keeps his
hands in his lap. I smoke cigarettes and use an old coal bucket for an ashtray"
(Carver 280). When I read that quote I can see the porch and J.P. in his chair and I can
see the ashtray bucket with all the cigarettes; with these stories you have to be right to
the point because if you don't you'll be writing a novel, not a short story. When
comparing Lorrie Moore's short stories with Raymond Carver's, I found that even though
they have nothing to do with each other, but they both have stories with no beginning and
no ending in some of their work; they just leave you hanging letting you decide the
conclusion or outcome, and they both have those realistic trials of life and relationship.
Another writing process used in a lot of novels, short stories, and even poems is the
relationship among the main characters and the usage of symbolism and the conflict of
them. Symbolism can create this sense of importance for any object, like in the story
"Real Estate" Ruth and Terence had all the noises in the attic and they didn't
know what it was. They thought the noise was raccoons or some other animal, but later in
the story it turns out that it was a young boy who was in the attic. The title of the book
Birds of America, the birds were far most some of the biggest symbols for many of the
stories like "Willing" when Sidra flies out the window. There was the
metaphorical usage of birds or there was the word bird in every story in Moore's book and
it fits the title to a tee if you have read it. In the prose, Once Upon A Time the speaker
is used as the symbolic part of the story; with the helplessness of themselves he/she
develops a story about protection from trespassers with a gruesome ending. Symbols and
metaphors was one of the biggest writing elements in Hurston's novel, using everything
from the pear tree to her long black hair to create the imagery of her story. The visions
of the authors are the backbone of any piece of literature that I read, and with this
imagery I find understanding throughout the story.
By reading all of our literature from January to March, I can comprehend more from my
stories now then before when I started because I read for certain elements of writing to
help me understand what's going on. This class has helped me become a better reader; not
to just read the book or novel but read about the author to get a better feel for the
perspective of how they write. "But watching a writer move into full maturity is
always exciting. Flappy-winged take-off is fun; but the sign of an artist soaring lifts
the heart" (BookBrowse 2). I've learned so much from reading Lorrie Moore's Birds of
America alone; the point of view, character structure, and symbolism are all basic
features that make stories come alive.
Work Cited
Carver, Raymond. Where I'm Calling From. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press,
1986.
Gordimer, Nadine. "Once Upon a Time. John E. Schwiebert. Reading and Writing
from Literature. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001. (705-709).
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: HarperCollins
Publishers, Inc., 1937.
Moore, Lorrie. Birds of America. New York: Picador, 1998.
"Free book excerpt from Birds of America by Lorrie Moore. Plus book jacket
summary, reviews & author biography." BookBrowse. BookBrowse. 3 March 2001.
<http://www.bookbrowse.com>.
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