LIT100 2-2 Journal_ Plot and Characterization (1)
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Southern New Hampshire University *
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English
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Apr 3, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by schoolcool246
Tatiana Diaz
LIT100-23EW2
SNHU
November 5, 2023
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Discuss the basic plot elements that occur in “Barn Burning” by Faulkner. For example,
did you think the climax/rising action was effective in this story? What impact do these elements have on you as a reader?
"Barn Burning" follows 10-year-old Colonel Sartoris "Sarty" Snopes, who witnesses his father, Abner Snopes, stand trial for setting Mr. Harris's barn on fire. Despite his nervousness, Sarty avoids taking the stand as a witness, and his father's case orders for a dismissal due to lack of evidence. As a result, Sarty and his family are pushed to leave the country immediately. The rising action begins when Abner and Sarty visit their new landlord, Major de Spain, whom Abner calls "the man that aims to begin tomorrow owning me body and soul," who owns a lavish
house. Abner walks into the house and deliberately steps on an expensive rug, leading to a lawsuit against Major de Spain. Abner is found at fault due to his lack of response and ordered to
pay 10 bushels of corn. As sundown approaches, the climax grows suddenly once Abner's behavior after the trial seems oddly quiet as they eat lunch silently and send his wagon for repairs. Following these events, Abner demands kerosene and sets de Spain's barn on fire. Sarty is warned to be truthful
about his father's tactics and is restrained by the servant. He escapes and shouts "Barn" before sprinting into the woods, hearing three gunshots in the distance. The text made a central character like Abner unlikeable yet predictable, which hints at him and his family moving 12 times in the past ten years.
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Discuss characterization in “Boys and Girls” by Munro. You have several characters from which to choose, but focus your discussion on one character with whom you identify or one who reminds you of a character from another story you have read or watched. Explain how characterization helped you understand those being described using examples from the short story.
The young girl trying to find her identity is who I most identify with in "Boys and Girls." Growing up as the youngest of my generation but the oldest of all the children in the family was hard, especially trying to find my identity. I relate to the girl and her enjoyment of working with her father. Growing up, I was close with my dad, and we always did sports whenever he could take me and my brother. The story revolves around a young girl who struggles to find her self-
identity and is split between her father and his work not made for girls and her mother, who expects her to keep up with societal expectations of young girls and women. The young girl's character develops throughout the story, and she learns the difference between girls and boys and
what society expects of her. The gender role comes to her realization when she explains, "The word girl had formerly meant to be seen as innocent and unburdened… A girl was not what I had
supposed, simply what I was; it was what I had to become. It was a definition, always touched
with emphasis, reproach, and disappointment." Her dreams are crushed and are concluded with a stereotypical depiction of how her life may end.
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Reflect on the literary elements you learned about in this module. Select at least one literary element (plot or characterization) and discuss the portrayal of this element in either “Barn Burning” by Faulkner or “Boys and Girls” by Munro using terminology from your textbook.
The characterization of the girl in "Boys and Girls" portrays her as a protagonist of the story as we follow a young girl whose innocence of the world is lost when she comes to realize boys and girls have specific gender roles due to societal expectations. The antagonist seems to be her mother as she intends to implement the role of a girl onto the young girl, but her fear of her father also puts into perspective their relationship as long as she listens and obeys him.
References
Mays, K. J. (2021). The Norton Introduction to Literature (Shorter)
(14th ed., pp. 710-
711).
W.
W.
Norton
&
Company.
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780393886214
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