Fiction Exam 1 The theme of a story is not only created using the characters, plot and setting but also created through the actual writing style and format that the story is written in. The structure and style of writing can change the way in which the author conveys their message to the reader; sometimes making it very clear in what they are trying to convey while others make it more open for interpretation. The format of the writing can even be used to lead the reader to the overall theme of the story. Both “The Veil” by Marjane Satrapi and “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood are written using their own unique writing style and format, however the scenario formatting of Atwood’s, Happy Endings, was able to give the reader a clearer
…show more content…
Just as in scenario B, all the others end up looping back, at some point, to scenario A. Finally at the end of F, Atwood gives the reader the theme of the story directly, even though through the scenario format of the story the reader can form a pretty well-educated idea as to what the theme is before it is revealed fully. The different scenarios that this story splits up into each represent the magnitude of options that can intertwine with life interrupting the happy ending of scenario A. The reader can see each of these clearly as they are divided into their own sections. With each new scenario, the reader comes to realize that the story is much more complex than scenario A had lead them to believe. Just as in the game of life, nothing is always cut and dry and goes the way it planned. The author notes in the last section that although though details may vary, the ending isn’t very important because you are always going to end with the same result. To Atwood, this is “John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die” (Atwood 98). As humans, everyone will ultimately die at some point, so while the when and how of the death might differ the fact is the end is still the same. Throughout the story, this is revealed each time the other scenarios loop back to A. Atwood thinks …show more content…
A graphic novel format allows the author to give a lot of complexity and emotion to the characters, much more so than in “Happy Endings”. This particular format also enables the author to zoom in on specific important details and events while panning over others. The lack of clarity in identifying the major theme of the story comes from the amount of complexity given off by the design and art of the novel. What the reader gets out often depends on what element they choose to focus in on. For example, one person could read this story and see the veil and the government's rules and conclude the story is about oppression toward women while another reader could read more into ten-year-old Marjane’s belief that she is the last prophet and thus the story could be about self-discovery and religion. Satrapi might have wanted certain things to stand out but with so much complexity given by the graphics, it leaves a very wide margin for interpretation. A reader would probably have to know more about the author in order to narrow what the author’s goal is for the theme of the story. As a whole a graphic novel format really plays into making the emotion of the characters very apparent and relatable, more so
Just as in scenario B, all the others end up looping back, at some point, to scenario A. Finally at the end of F, Atwood gives the reader the theme of the story directly, even though through the scenario format of the story the reader can form a pretty well-educated idea as to what the theme is before it is revealed fully. The different scenarios that this story splits up into each represent the magnitude of options that can intertwine with life interrupting the happy ending of scenario A. The reader can see each of these clearly as they are divided into their own sections. With each new scenario, the reader comes to realize that the story is much more complex than scenario A had lead them to believe. Just as in the game of life, nothing is always cut and dry and goes the way it planned. The author notes in the last section that although though details may vary, the ending isn’t very important because you are always going to end with the same result. To Atwood, this is “John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die” (Atwood 98). As humans, everyone will ultimately die at some point, so while the when and how of the death might differ the fact is the end is still the same. Throughout the story, this is revealed each time the other scenarios loop back to A. Atwood thinks …show more content…
A graphic novel format allows the author to give a lot of complexity and emotion to the characters, much more so than in “Happy Endings”. This particular format also enables the author to zoom in on specific important details and events while panning over others. The lack of clarity in identifying the major theme of the story comes from the amount of complexity given off by the design and art of the novel. What the reader gets out often depends on what element they choose to focus in on. For example, one person could read this story and see the veil and the government's rules and conclude the story is about oppression toward women while another reader could read more into ten-year-old Marjane’s belief that she is the last prophet and thus the story could be about self-discovery and religion. Satrapi might have wanted certain things to stand out but with so much complexity given by the graphics, it leaves a very wide margin for interpretation. A reader would probably have to know more about the author in order to narrow what the author’s goal is for the theme of the story. As a whole a graphic novel format really plays into making the emotion of the characters very apparent and relatable, more so