Through the author’s use of diction and tone, one will find that the short stories “The Spider and the Wasp” and “Longitude” are both of the expository sort. Though the two stories are of two different topics, they fulfill the same purpose, to inform one of a certain topic. In the short story “The Spider and the Wasp”, Petrunkevitch utilizes descriptive diction to aid in the portrayal of the two types of insects. The diction effects the story, changing it from a purely nonfiction text to an expository story with subtle opinions. He compares both the spider and the wasp, stating that “the insects and spiders exhibit… some crass examples of blind instinct.” (465). Though Petrunkevitch writes based off of facts, he includes his own opinions.
