How does one tell the difference between literary fiction and commercial fiction? The authors of literary fiction use an artistic approach to writing, and employ stylistic devices to convey their message. Consequently, readers must be familiar with literary terms and devices that can be used to construct pieces of literature in order to aide in deciphering the author’s underlying message. Readers must also have a broad range of knowledge about historical, political, social, world, moral and other issues in order to understand why the author writes what they write. More specifically readers must know about what drives the plot. In literary fiction, internal character conflict drives plot. On the other hand, in a commercial piece of fiction,
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The story is told by the narrator like it is a recipe. “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie” lists the directions for how to date different types of girls. The use of events in the story drive the plot. The story progresses from start to finish by bouncing from one plot point to the next. The reader knows very little about the characters. An example of the telling nature of the story can be seen when the narrator explains how to date a girl. He says,” If the girl’s from around the way, take her to El Cibao for dinner. Order everything in your busted-up Spanish. Let her correct you if she’s Latina and amaze her if she’s black. If she’s not from around the way, Wendy’s will do. As you walk to the restaurant talk about school. A local girl won’t need stories about the neighborhood but the other ones might” (Diaz 394). The reader is continually given the information they need to know in order to progress through the …show more content…
The purpose of “Young Goodman Brown” is for the author to make a statement about the hypocrisy in puritan society. Instead of using plot points to drive his story, Hawthorne uses character conflict to progress the plot. In the beginning of the story, Goodman Brown is a perceived good man until he waves goodbye to his wife, Faith, leaving her and his “literal” faith behind in order to embark upon a journey through darkness. During his journey, he realizes that the people he once thought were pious, including himself, have actually consorted with the devil. When he learns his wife, Faith, has also visited the forest he is devastated, and declares his individual faith is gone. When he sees Faith in the presence of the devil, he shouts: “My Faith is gone! There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name.” (Hawthorne 583). When he returns to his community the next day, he questions the morality of the people he knows, who pray to God at church by day and participate in witch ceremonies at night. Goodman is awakened to the reality of human nature, but this awakening leaves him mistrustful of everyone who he lives amongst. This experience changes him as a person. As a result of his enlightenment, Goodman is rendered a man who is: “a stern, a sad, darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man did he become from the night of that fearful dream. (Hawthorne 587). It is Goodman Brown experiencing this conflict
The story is told by the narrator like it is a recipe. “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie” lists the directions for how to date different types of girls. The use of events in the story drive the plot. The story progresses from start to finish by bouncing from one plot point to the next. The reader knows very little about the characters. An example of the telling nature of the story can be seen when the narrator explains how to date a girl. He says,” If the girl’s from around the way, take her to El Cibao for dinner. Order everything in your busted-up Spanish. Let her correct you if she’s Latina and amaze her if she’s black. If she’s not from around the way, Wendy’s will do. As you walk to the restaurant talk about school. A local girl won’t need stories about the neighborhood but the other ones might” (Diaz 394). The reader is continually given the information they need to know in order to progress through the …show more content…
The purpose of “Young Goodman Brown” is for the author to make a statement about the hypocrisy in puritan society. Instead of using plot points to drive his story, Hawthorne uses character conflict to progress the plot. In the beginning of the story, Goodman Brown is a perceived good man until he waves goodbye to his wife, Faith, leaving her and his “literal” faith behind in order to embark upon a journey through darkness. During his journey, he realizes that the people he once thought were pious, including himself, have actually consorted with the devil. When he learns his wife, Faith, has also visited the forest he is devastated, and declares his individual faith is gone. When he sees Faith in the presence of the devil, he shouts: “My Faith is gone! There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name.” (Hawthorne 583). When he returns to his community the next day, he questions the morality of the people he knows, who pray to God at church by day and participate in witch ceremonies at night. Goodman is awakened to the reality of human nature, but this awakening leaves him mistrustful of everyone who he lives amongst. This experience changes him as a person. As a result of his enlightenment, Goodman is rendered a man who is: “a stern, a sad, darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man did he become from the night of that fearful dream. (Hawthorne 587). It is Goodman Brown experiencing this conflict