OUTLINE

1. Introduction
2. Plot
3. Setting
4. Theme
5. Conclusion

Introduction

            It is a very difficult situation to please everyone. Many at times people act in different ways believing that it is for the good of the person to whom they are doing it for. This has in most cases turned against the doers when the recipients fail to recognize the efforts made by such people. The two short stories, “A Rose for Emily” and Sammy’s Abrupt Behavior at the: “A&P” both explore different kinds of plots building on how the two stories have been developed. Plot is the series of events and how they unfold in a story to bring about a clear understanding of occurrences.

Plot

 The plot clearly initiates the author’s story line, builds a body to it and then makes a substantive end to the whole creation. In the first story “A Rose for Emily” a clear episodic plot is brought out. This was developed clearly when the story as the story was set on a sequential mode in which one event led to the other. Emily, the main character in the story underwent different life advances from belonging to a very wealthy family background, both through character and stature to the loss of the father that brought a new character to Emily, which was different from what people had already known before. In the initial part of the story, Emily’s societal stature was clearly presented in which people believed was of the high class family. The conflict part then came along when the father died and made Emily create a scene from the way she behaved by denying both the locals and friends the opportunity to bury her dead father until after three days when it was made clear to her that law and force are to be used if her arrogance continued. This later transcended to a state of doubt when the father eventually died, leaving people guessing how her future would be when the story came to conclusion (Dickson, 94).

In the other story Sammy’s Abrupt Behavior at the: “A&P”, a unified plot was used by the writer, Updike to the unfolding of event that took place in the story. The story happened within a very short period of time in which many different events occurred that left a defining moment for the future life of Sammy. It was however very important for us to understand that even though the two different authors used different plot structures in their writings, the main objective of plot development in the stories which was to bring a clear understanding to the reader on the sequential unfolding of events had been achieved. The author introduced the story with Sammy trying to play the good man part. This later shifts though within a very short time, to a state in which the good practices he did, land him into problems that kept his future uncertain on what next would befall him (Updike, 737).

Setting

The setting too of the stories occurred on very different grounds as could be seen in the two different stories. Setting is the place and time under which the background of a story is developed.  It may have involved looking at the characters, events surroundings as well as their occupations. In the first story Emily was seen to have been brought up in a wealthy background in the south which brought about some clear view of discrimination especially when the author states that it was not an easy occurrence for Emily to accept charity as this would have lowered her class or stature in the society. It was also evident when the author brought the picture of how impossible it would be for Griersons especially from the north to have had her hand in marriage as that would be some sort of abuse to their stature (Dickson, 94). The surrounding in which Emily lived was indeed that of the wealthy class. In the second story however, much of the background information about Sammy was not given by the author though it was very clear that the whole story took place around the beach. The author however made clear the occupation of Sammy who was a part-time cashier at a grocery store near the beach from where most of the people who come to the beach especially during summers could book for accommodation.

Theme

Theme which is another important aspect to be looked at in the two stories is the fiction that controls the insight of the whole story. It is the insight central through which a particular story has been developed (Lecture Notes, 2). One particular story might have many different themes depending on how the author builds on them. In a rose for Emily, one theme that could be deducted was that of racial discrimination. Emily being from a rich and wealthy family was seen not to be associated with things that were of the poor or those that were lower in their class. The author pictured that when he tells of how Emily was choosy when it came to husband choice. A possible suitor who came her way was judged by the background from which the person came from, and she was not ready to do the things that the people lower her class did such as accepting charity with the belief that it degraded her stature both at home and in the society (Dickson, 91). It was however clear that destiny has its own ways and the story came to a conclusion with the death of Emily’s father, who must have been the bread winner, leaving her life in the balance, nobody sure of what would have happened to her next. That portrayed the theme of fate in the story.

In the second story however, no very clear theme was seen though, lust and desperation are portrayed as possible themes which the author expanded on well. Sammy known very well that he totally depended on the job he did, and would not have given less attention to what would have happened to him while trying to please the girls his boss had issues with. Even though the boss made it clear for the girls that the kind of dressing they had on was not acceptable in the place, Sammy still went ahead and tried to please them while putting his job at risk (Updike, 734). The author even made it clear when he stated that he could quit his job when the truth of the matter was that the girls he had tried to defend had no idea of even how they would benefit from such an action. That then ended when the future of his job hang on the balance.

Conclusion

            From the above essays, it was very clear that the authors had used very different styles in how they developed their stories. One very important thing was the fact that in each story, the reader could clearly understand the message and the story progression as the authors had intended them to be. That was very important as the basic concept behind every story was to capture the reader’s attention as well as bring the resolution to all the drawn up conflicts.

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Dickson, Emily. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9^th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 2085. Print.

Lecture Notes, Microtheme English 102.

Updike, John (1932-2009). “A&P.”  “The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9^th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 2085