Introduction
The short story is one of the most common genres of literature. It is a fully developed story that takes just a single sitting to read. Basically, the short story focuses on incidents that evoke strong feelings from readers. Besides, there are always few characters in the plot. Short stories can not only impact readers, but also inspire them because they are emotionally packed. Readers can easily get attached to the short stories based on the mood generated. This is because the characters in the short story often share their innermost motives and thoughts with the reader. It is important to realize that moods are an essential element in literature. Mood refers to a literary element evoking particular feelings in readers. The authors of short story normally utilize setting, plot, characters, and diction to create mood. The main objective of creating mood in short stories is to evoke a variety of emotional responses in readers. Thus, the short story seeks to create mood in an attempt to leave readers with a vivid sensation rather than a number of memorable facts. The emotional intensity associated with the short story makes it’s a popular genre of literature, as readers can connect emotionally with the events, characters, and themes. The paper will explore how mood has been created by the authors of three short stories; Ernest Hemmingway’s Hills Like White Elephants, Ambrose Bierce’s An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge , and Ralph Ellison’s A Party Down at the Square . The paper seeks to demonstrate that short stories refer to emotionally packed stories aimed at creating mood rather than plot.
Hemmingway uses characters to create a mood of confusion in the short story, Hills Like White Elephants . The conversation between the American man and her girlfriend, Jig, evokes a disturbing feeling in the reader. The story is told almost entirely through dialogue, letting the reader into the lives of the two young lovers. Although much about the personalities of the lovers is revealed, a lot about their relationship is hidden. From the dialogue, it seems that the two are worlds apart, as they seem not to understand each other. When the girl remarks that the distant hills look like white elephants, the man discounts the remark. The communication between the two seems to be unclear, with each thinking a long a different plane. Although the two appear to e having some sort of disagreement, the subject of disagreement is hidden from the reader, generating a mood of confusion. It is also apparent that the girl does not understand Spanish like the American, further creating confusion. Although the reader learns that the girl is pregnant and the man wants it removed through abortion, there is no information as to whether the issue was finally resolved. By utilizing the personalities of the characters in the story and dialogue, Hemmingway succeeds in creating a mood of confusion.
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Bierce also utilizes the plot of the story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge to create a somber mood. The author describes the execution of Peyton Ferquhar, a civilian accused of attempting to burn down Owl Creek Bridge. The man has a noose around his neck and is about to be executed. Farquhar is executed but the hanging is suspended in mid-process and the reader is given an explanation of what led to his hanging. Apparently, Farquhar was tricked into attempting to burn down the bridge by a soldier. The reader is later informed that he died after his neck was broken. Taking into consideration the fact that Farquhar was deceived, the reader is really saddened by his demise. By creating a somber mood, Bierce manages to let the reader share in Farquhar’s predicament. By allowing the reader into the mind of the main character, the author succeeds in evoking a feeling of sympathy in the reader. Therefore, creation of mood is central to the short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.
Ralph Ellison creates a disgusting mood in the story A Party Down at the Square through the story’s plot. The events in the story serve to create an atmosphere of disgust and misery. The story A Party Down at the Square is set in an unknown small town in Alabama during the mid-twentieth century. The narrator is a young white boy from Cincinnati. The boy witnesses a lynching of a young black man. The white boy is staying at his uncle’s house in the Deep South when he sees a group of men announcing that there would be a party down at the square. Unknown to the young man, the party is all about the lynching of the young black man. What shocks the boy further is that his uncle says that there is actually nothing wrong about the lynching. The boy finds it disturbing. For instance, the uncle asserts that the lynching is necessary to keep other blacks in their place. By creating a mood of disgust, the author seeks to evoke a feeling of distaste about lynching in the reader. The author demonstrates how evil lynching of blacks is through the perspective of the white boy. Therefore, mood is a critical component of the story.
In conclusion, it is evident that mood is a central feature of the short story. The authors of short story utilize mood to achieve emotional intensity in the story, leaving readers with a vivid sensation. As such, the readers are able to connect effectively with the characters. Mood helps the authors to achieve their objective by ensuring that readers understand and appreciated the message in the story.
References
Bierce, A. (2008). An occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and other stories . Courier Corporation.
Ellison, R. (1997). A party down at the square. Esquire , 127 (1), 90-94.
Hemingway, E. (1927). Hills like white elephants. Men without women , 39-44.
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