Literary Analysis Of Two Short Stories
A Literary Analysis of Two Short Stories
Jeannette Ransaw
ENG 125 Introduction to Literature
Instructor: Stephanie Freese
November 29, 2014
A Literary Analysis of Two Short Stories The analysis of conflict in literature can be extremely insightful and at the same time, helpful to an individual. Through analyzing conflict in literature a person can grasp the deeper and underlying theme of a story, while even being able to obtain some life lessons that can be used to help with a person’s own experiences with real conflict in everyday life. This is especially true with short stories because the conflict is introduced so early in the literary experience. Clugston (2014) states, “In short stories, plot captures your …show more content…
4). This means that in order for a person to understand a story fully, they must understand all facets of the conflict that is ingrained within the story. Nadine Gordimer’s short story Country Lovers and Tim O’Brien’s short story The Things They Carried are two pieces of literature that have an abundance of literary wealth that can be used for the exact reasons that were explained above; analysis in order to grasp a deeper underlying lesson or meaning, and life lessons that can be applied toward an individual’s everyday life. This becomes especially evident when one breaks down the central conflicts in these two stories. Once this is done, the literary picture unfolds and the reader is taken to the place that the author wants them to go. While Country Lovers and The Things They Carried both deal with the conflict of individual versus self, Country Lovers also deals with individual versus society. These conflicts are revealed and resolved in both stories with the help of various literary tools, such as exposition, foreshadowing, and omniscient point of view, but what makes these conflicts that much more poignant and heartbreaking is that these internal and external struggles are …show more content…
An example of this is here, “Kneeling, watching the hole, he tried to concentrate on Lee Strunk and the war, all the dangers, but his love was too much for him, he felt paralyzed, he wanted to sleep inside her lungs and breathe her blood and be smothered” (O’Brien, para. 20). This episode is a pivotal moment because it shows just how deep his internal battle with the love of this woman goes. It also shows how it is taking his focus away from the safety of his men, at a time when that focus should be paramount. All of this information and internal feeling and conflict, could not be conveyed to the audience in such a way, if not for the use of the omniscient point of view. Because the audience is afforded the inner most feelings of the characters in this story, greater perspective in regards to the conflict of the Lieutenant is
Jeannette Ransaw
ENG 125 Introduction to Literature
Instructor: Stephanie Freese
November 29, 2014
A Literary Analysis of Two Short Stories The analysis of conflict in literature can be extremely insightful and at the same time, helpful to an individual. Through analyzing conflict in literature a person can grasp the deeper and underlying theme of a story, while even being able to obtain some life lessons that can be used to help with a person’s own experiences with real conflict in everyday life. This is especially true with short stories because the conflict is introduced so early in the literary experience. Clugston (2014) states, “In short stories, plot captures your …show more content…
4). This means that in order for a person to understand a story fully, they must understand all facets of the conflict that is ingrained within the story. Nadine Gordimer’s short story Country Lovers and Tim O’Brien’s short story The Things They Carried are two pieces of literature that have an abundance of literary wealth that can be used for the exact reasons that were explained above; analysis in order to grasp a deeper underlying lesson or meaning, and life lessons that can be applied toward an individual’s everyday life. This becomes especially evident when one breaks down the central conflicts in these two stories. Once this is done, the literary picture unfolds and the reader is taken to the place that the author wants them to go. While Country Lovers and The Things They Carried both deal with the conflict of individual versus self, Country Lovers also deals with individual versus society. These conflicts are revealed and resolved in both stories with the help of various literary tools, such as exposition, foreshadowing, and omniscient point of view, but what makes these conflicts that much more poignant and heartbreaking is that these internal and external struggles are …show more content…
An example of this is here, “Kneeling, watching the hole, he tried to concentrate on Lee Strunk and the war, all the dangers, but his love was too much for him, he felt paralyzed, he wanted to sleep inside her lungs and breathe her blood and be smothered” (O’Brien, para. 20). This episode is a pivotal moment because it shows just how deep his internal battle with the love of this woman goes. It also shows how it is taking his focus away from the safety of his men, at a time when that focus should be paramount. All of this information and internal feeling and conflict, could not be conveyed to the audience in such a way, if not for the use of the omniscient point of view. Because the audience is afforded the inner most feelings of the characters in this story, greater perspective in regards to the conflict of the Lieutenant is