Isabel Clostre
Professor Perez
English 318
Short Story Analysis
“Gorilla, My Love”
Choose a short story from THE ART OF THE SHORT STORY. Perform the following: A. Choose 2-3 elements of fiction and write 1-2 paragraphs about how each of these elements operate in the work you are reading: character, POV, setting, plot, description, dialogue. Describe how the author is using the element to convey feelings, elicit responses, or create meaning. B. Write 1-2 paragraphs about how these elements work together to demonstrate the writer’s voice. C. Write 1-2 paragraphs about how reading this short story can be helpful in studying craft. In other words, what is useful in this short story for your own fiction writing practice? FORMATTING: 2-4 (double-spaced) …show more content…
I saw many elements operating in the work. The two main ones that interested me are character and setting. With Bambara’s characters I feel that their emotions are important and she uses them to portray it. Overall even to elicit responses it means a lot to different characters. The main character in the short story is Hazel Vale, the narrator and protagonist of the story. She's an outspoken girl who gets upset when her uncle Hunca Bubba announces that he's getting married. One of the other characters is Hunca Bubba, Hazel's uncle. Years before, while babysitting Hazel, Hunca Bubba promised to marry her when she grew up. He claims he was just “teasin”. Granddaddy Vale, who asks Hazel to be his navigator or "Scout." Big Brood, Hazel's brother, who leaves it to her to start trouble at the movie theatre. Finally, Baby Jason, Hazel's younger brother, who likes putting chips in Hazel's hair. Bambara uses each of the characters to convey different feelings and emotions for Hazel. Just like when Hunca Bubba says he is going to get married, Hazel gets upset because she is young and she gets angry when his promise to her is …show more content…
The writer crafts her work by creating these characters to write her story. The sense of character and names is very evident in her writing. You can tell that to the author a name is important. Even one of the characters say, "That was the year Hunca Bubba changed his name." It soon becomes clear that the speaker is a young person, but not until the story is nearly over is it revealed that she is a girl, and that her name is Hazel. The reason the author does this is because Hazel has nicknames throughout the short story : Scout, Badbird, Miss Muffin, and Peaches. We learn these nicknames even before we learn her given name. This choice the author makes allows the reader to first understand Hazel through the way others perceive her. All of these names have a childish air to them, revealing that Hazel is far more inexperienced than her strong voice and confidence suggest. The choice also indicates that the moment she insists Grandaddy Vale call her Hazel is meant to be a strong assertion of her identity. Her youth is belied by her strong voice, and yet the final scene in which she cries alongside the baby Jason reminds us without question that she is inexperienced and
Professor Perez
English 318
Short Story Analysis
“Gorilla, My Love”
Choose a short story from THE ART OF THE SHORT STORY. Perform the following: A. Choose 2-3 elements of fiction and write 1-2 paragraphs about how each of these elements operate in the work you are reading: character, POV, setting, plot, description, dialogue. Describe how the author is using the element to convey feelings, elicit responses, or create meaning. B. Write 1-2 paragraphs about how these elements work together to demonstrate the writer’s voice. C. Write 1-2 paragraphs about how reading this short story can be helpful in studying craft. In other words, what is useful in this short story for your own fiction writing practice? FORMATTING: 2-4 (double-spaced) …show more content…
I saw many elements operating in the work. The two main ones that interested me are character and setting. With Bambara’s characters I feel that their emotions are important and she uses them to portray it. Overall even to elicit responses it means a lot to different characters. The main character in the short story is Hazel Vale, the narrator and protagonist of the story. She's an outspoken girl who gets upset when her uncle Hunca Bubba announces that he's getting married. One of the other characters is Hunca Bubba, Hazel's uncle. Years before, while babysitting Hazel, Hunca Bubba promised to marry her when she grew up. He claims he was just “teasin”. Granddaddy Vale, who asks Hazel to be his navigator or "Scout." Big Brood, Hazel's brother, who leaves it to her to start trouble at the movie theatre. Finally, Baby Jason, Hazel's younger brother, who likes putting chips in Hazel's hair. Bambara uses each of the characters to convey different feelings and emotions for Hazel. Just like when Hunca Bubba says he is going to get married, Hazel gets upset because she is young and she gets angry when his promise to her is …show more content…
The writer crafts her work by creating these characters to write her story. The sense of character and names is very evident in her writing. You can tell that to the author a name is important. Even one of the characters say, "That was the year Hunca Bubba changed his name." It soon becomes clear that the speaker is a young person, but not until the story is nearly over is it revealed that she is a girl, and that her name is Hazel. The reason the author does this is because Hazel has nicknames throughout the short story : Scout, Badbird, Miss Muffin, and Peaches. We learn these nicknames even before we learn her given name. This choice the author makes allows the reader to first understand Hazel through the way others perceive her. All of these names have a childish air to them, revealing that Hazel is far more inexperienced than her strong voice and confidence suggest. The choice also indicates that the moment she insists Grandaddy Vale call her Hazel is meant to be a strong assertion of her identity. Her youth is belied by her strong voice, and yet the final scene in which she cries alongside the baby Jason reminds us without question that she is inexperienced and