Every author of fiction uses certain literary methods; tone, setting, plot, theme, characterization, point of view, and irony to develop the story. Each method is a layer to the story that effectively moves the narrative along. Tone is what the mood of a story is and shows how the author’s attitude toward the characters, places and events of that story. Plot is the make up of the story; it is the story’s progression, the series of events that lead up to the climax of the story. Characterization is the process of developing the characters of the story. Their background and what makes them act the way they do.
Setting tells where, when, why, and how the events took place in a story. It may include what the culture is, the time period and the place of where a story takes place. Point of View is who is narrating the story. Whether it is first, second or third person, and whether or not the narrator is a reliable narrator. In other words can he/she be trusted to tell the story as it actually is, is he/she believable. Irony is the difference between what is meant and how or what is actually said. Theme is the underlying idea of a story; usually the moral or the general idea that the author is trying to convey. (Literature the Human Experience, Reading and Writing Shorter, pp 6-10 2007)
When taking a look at the stories The Lottery (pp 350 – 356 by Shirley Jackson) and The Yellow Wallpaper (pp 729 – 741 by Charlotte Perkins Gillman); one can analyze how two different authors and themes can be both similar and dissimilar. Each story makes use of the same literary methods and devices yet they both tell a completely different story.
The Lottery’s overall theme suggests that in order to have good times and prosperity that you must endure suffering. There may also be the idea that holding on to tradition is vital to keeping a community or family together. This theme is reinforced through the author’s third person unreliable point of view, setting and tone. The opening tone and setting shows that this is a quiet peaceful little town where nothing out of the ordinary happens. Her unreliable narration deceptively hides the horrendous nature of the seemingly innocent town lottery.
The setting paints a scene of a picturesque small home town where everyone knows each others name and their kids run and play all day. All the while this despicable act lies at the center of their town. Toward the end the plot reveals that this lottery is not what it appears. That a member of their community is about to be stoned to death; all this is done to keep the prosperity of the town and due to some misguided sense of tradition.
The theme of The Yellow Wallpaper suggests that when a person is treated as if she is incapable of doing anything and is treated like a child she will slip into insanity. This also suggests that marriage can lead to feelings of being trapped and loosing sense of self. This story also demonstrates the use of an unreliable narrator with one difference, it is told in the first person point of view. The story really stresses setting as it is all about the yellow wallpaper and how it affects the narrator. However there is an underlying element the yellow wallpaper represents the narrator’s dissent into insanity.
The tone of this story is one of fear and instability. The tone portrays the narrator in her fear and nervousness in having to stay in this room with this yellow wallpaper. As she explores the wallpaper it becomes increasingly evident that she is becoming more and more unhinged. As the plot progresses you see her change from dislike of the yellow wallpaper and the feelings she gets from the room to becoming obsessed and morbid about it. By the end of the story she is full into her madness. Mostly brought on by the room and the wallpaper but also contributed by the fact that her husband treats her as an invalid unable to take care of herself or to withstand any outward stimulus.
When we analyze these two stories we see how much the literary methods and themes contribute to the development of the story. Both are deceptively dark and frightening and tone, setting, and point of view play a big part in making them so.
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