Unit 1: newspapers
 
News
Life appears to be a shapeless jumble of events. Journalists each day structure this chaos, so that the public receives it sorted out and neatly packaged into stories, the same day on the radio, television or online and the next day in newspapers. But, how do journalists decide what is news and what is not? How do they distinguish between a big news story and a small one? For example, which do you think is more interesting?
a) A girl going to primary school, to high school, or to university?
b) A man aged 25 marrying a girl aged 20, or a man aged 55 marrying a girl aged 15?
c) A car killing a chicken, a pig or a child
Every one of these events might be news for the community in which it happens, but some are more newsworthy than others.
You very likely answered that the most interesting things were a girl going to university, a man aged 55 marrying a girl aged 15, and a car killing a child. If your answer was different, though, it does not necessarily mean that you were wrong.
The criteria by which news is judged are:
Is it new?
Is it unusual?
Is it interesting or significant?
Is it about people?
 
If it is not new, it cannot be news. The execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is unusual, interesting, significant and about people, but it cannot possibly be reported in tomorrow's papers because it is not new. If some facts about that execution became known for the first time, however, that would be news. The assassination would not be new, but the information would be.
Events which happened days or even weeks earlier can still be news, as long as they have not been reported before. If a newspaper is telling a story for the first time, it is new to the readers or listeners and therefore it is news. News of the death of Mao, for instance, was not released to the world by the Chinese government for several days; when they did release it, however, it was still very definitely news.
 
Newspapers
Though the term 'newspaper' leaves the impression that it contains only news, a typical English newspaper, in addition to news, contains other matter which may not be strictly defined as news: editorials, personal and syndicated columns, letters to the editor, lifestyle, comic strips and cartoons, cross-word puzzles, horoscopes, classified ads, recipes, etc.
Despite the advent of such powerful rival forms of mass media as television and the radio, and more recently the internet, the newspaper still remains a powerful source of news and information and serves as an influential medium in keeping people informed about what is happening in the world and, thereby, in extending their knowledge and deepening their understanding.
Newspapers vary in terms of circulation. Circulation is the total number of copies of a newspaper distributed to subscribers and vendors in one day. Some newspapers are nationally published and have a large circulation; some are published locally with a small circulation.
Newspapers publish with varying frequency. Some newspapers come out twice a week, once a week, once a month, four times a year, or even less often. However, most newspapers are dailies, i.e. they publish every day.
The copies of a newspaper published in a single day are referred to as that day's issue. For example, the newspaper copies published on June 2 are referred to as June 2's issue. Furthermore, in a single day, a newspaper may be published more than once, e.g. once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The copies published for a specific time of the day is referred to as that time's edition, e.g. "Morning Edition", or "Evening Edition". Daily newspapers print at least one edition every weekday. Morning editions, printed in the predawn hours, cover newsworthy events of the previous day. Evening editions are printed in the afternoon and include information about events that happened earlier that day. Most dailies also offer a larger weekend edition.
 
News Production
News production is a staged process in which several people are involved. The first stage starts with the journalist/reporter. Using many input sources, the journalist/reporter produces a story on an event (each news article covering an event is called a news story). He gathers up scattered pieces of information and weaves them into one text, i.e. the news story. The story produced then goes to the editors and undergoes editing. Editing allows an independent expert to assess the content and style and spot the problems the journalist/reporter may have missed. The editors' profession is cutting and modifying the story. To improve the story and increase its news value, the editors may make some changes in the text of the story. For example, they may delete some information as some (background) information, substitute some words for others change the grammatical structure of some sentences, and so on. The final text then goes to a second group of editors. They are superfluous, add responsible for the prominence the story receives in the newspaper and how it is displayed. This group of editors write headlines for news stories, decide on the visual means and devices used in the newspaper, provide captions to the photographs, determine the layout of the newspaper pages and the position of news stories an other items on those pages, select the proper style and size of typeface, and so on.
All news stories, once written, are edited and put in special places in the newspaper. Whether they are published, the length, the prominence, the position on the page, and whether or not pictures appear with them will depend on their importance compared with other news stories to be printed the same day.
 
News Presentation
Newspapers present news through three kinds of codes: linguistic, typographic, and graphic (code here refers to any kind of system which may be employed for communication). The linguistic code refers to the linguistic signs, i.e. words, phrases, sentences used to convey the meaning, both denotative and connotative, of news stories to the reader. The typographic code refers to typographic devices such as the size and type of font or style of letters (bold, italic, italic bold) used in printing news stories, and the graphic code is meant here to be the photographs, paintings, charts, graphs, etc. which accompany news stories. Given the fact that a growing amount of space is being given to visual images in newspapers, the graphic code need a little elaboration here.
A photo is a medium of recording reality and there are some features affecting the meaning conveyed by it. These include: photo position and size, camera angle of view, gaze direction and facial expression. Each of these features communicates a different meaning and elicits a different response from the reader.
The shot size used in a photo is one of the most obvious factors affecting the meaning of the image. Basically, the size of a photo ranges from a close-up (a shot that shows a character's face in great detail so that it fills the screen or the frame) to a long shot (showing all or most of a fairly large subject, e.g. a person, and usually much of the surroundings). The closer a shot is to an object or a person, the more intimate the viewer/reader is to the object or the person, and the more private the view.
 
The angle of the shot also conveys specific meanings to the viewer. The alternatives here are: high angle (looking down on a person from above) is interpreted as making that person look small, insignificant, unlikely to win, vulnerable, helpless (connoting weakness); low angle (looking at a person from a position lower than the person) is interpreted to make that person look powerful, superior, important, likely to win, and in control (connoting power and authority); and eye-level angle (looking at a person from a position on the same level with the person, neither higher nor lower) is interpreted to connote equality.
Gaze directions and facial expressions of people in photos carry specific connotations. It makes a difference whether the person in the photo is looking in the camera and smiling or looking away from the camera with a reflective pose. Pictures can make a person, a group, or a political party look good, bad, selfish, silly, cruel etc. Which photos a newspaper chooses to use can heavily influence the public's perception of a person or an event.
To elaborate on the issue, we choose two news stories and analyze the three codes used in presenting the stories. The first story is on the murder of a policewoman by a criminal. As regards the typographic code, the story starts with a headline, which has been printed in big-sized typeface to attract the readers' attention to the topic of the story. Bold and big-sized subheadings are also employed to break up the text of the story and direct the reader in making meaning of the text as well as to make clear the points that the newspaper thinks to be of particular significance to the understanding of the news story.
As for the linguistic code, the story begins with a headline reading "SCANDAL OF PSYCHO FREED TO KILL HERO COP NINA." The headline provides a framework on which to build the meaning of the news story. The story uses orally based vocabulary as well as dramatic and sensational language. This can be seen in the first sentence of the news story that reads "A violent cop-hating nut killed brave WPC Nina Mackey after a catastrophic catalogue by Crown prosecutors and police allowed him to roam free." The story also employs alliteration for emphasis as in "catastrophic catalogue" and "scandal of psycho." The colloquial vocabulary items (e.g. cop) used in the story connote familiarity and informality. The story implies familiarity with the victim (Nina Mackey), who is referred to throughout the story as 'Nina' (the alternatives could be her full name or her professional capacity) where as a distance is created between the reader and the killer, who is referred to throughout the story by his surname, Elgizouli. This strategy of distancing the reader from the criminal encourages the reader to have no sympathy with the killer.
As for the use of photos in the news story, two photographs of the killer and the killed have been placed on the upper part of the front page to attract the readers' attention. The size of the photographs of the individuals differs considerably with the killer being represented as significantly bigger than the killed. This bigger size connotes dangerousness and frightfulness of the killer. The photograph of the police officer in her uniform suggests her being a public servant. Also, the police officer's photo is presented in a photograph-like oval frame, which connotes sentimentality, and elevates her position in comparison to the killer. The emotionalism is carried over into the other picture run by the newspaper, which shows the coffin of the police officer carried by her colleagues.
Finally, regarding the gaze directions of the two people the newspaper runs a photo of the offender looking away from the camera. The connotations of the photo would change if the offender was looking directly at the camera and smiling; instead he is pictured Newspapers looking away from the camera with a blank expression connoting arrogance, cold-bloodedness and lack of emotion.
The second story is about the Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz suffering from a skin problem. The story is a product of paparazzi photography. The name 'paparazzo meaning an intrusive photographer was first used in 1960 in Federico Fellini's film La Dolce Vita. Since then, it has been deployed to designate both the impertinent photographer who takes pictures of celebrities at official occasions, as well as the 'stalker' who, armed with a bazooka- like long-lens camera, follows every move of a famous person trying to take shots of him or her in a private or intimate situation. The most distinctive feature of these photos is that the famous people portrayed in them did not pose since they were completely unaware that a picture was being taken. As a result, paparazzi photographs are usually in sharp contrast to the official posed photographs of celebrities.
In order to mark the contrast between the private self and the public appearance of the celebrity, paparazzi photographs are conventionally juxtaposed with official images of celebrities or with the images of the characters they play in, for example, soap operas. Therefore, many stories containing huge shots of celebrities taken by a paparazzi photographer provide also a small-sized posed portrait for comparison. Sometimes, however, the very discrepancy between paparazzi pictures and 'official' photographs might be the main or even sole subject of a news article.
As for the typographic code, the story is headed by a big headline taking up the whole width of the page. Below the pictures there is a sub-headline giving more explanation about the story.
As regards the linguistic code, this story, too, uses dramatic and sensational language. Stylistic devices are employed in the headlines to create special effects (see Unit 2 for more on special effects). The main headline employs intertextuality making a reference to the title of the movie Mask in which Diaz starred. The sub-headline employs alliteration (... beauty is battling ...) and metaphorization (the beauty is battling, i.e. fighting a war against an enemy, the skin problem) to attract attention and emphasize the seriousness of the problem.
As for the graphic code, there are three pictures used for the story. The close-up picture is a paparazzi photograph. It shows her without make-up; she has red spots on her face and does not even look very fresh. The picture is matched with two similarly framed glamour pictures of her, and thus, highlights the difference between the paparazzi and posed pictures. The juxtaposition of the pictures of Diaz wearing make-up and without reveals an interesting fact. The sharp contrast between the real (private) self of Diaz and Hollywood version of her is the sole concern of this juxta -position. These photographs perfectly illustrate the newspaper's attempt to, literally, tear down, the public façade of the celebrity and expose her real self.
Codes sometimes work in conjunction with each other to convey meaning or present information. A story about a plane crash used the headline AND THEY ALL LIVED. This only carries meaning because it was accompanied by a picture of the crashed plane. In the front page on the next page see how the linguistic code works in conjunction with the graphic code as well as the typographic code (note the big headline set against a black background to attract attention).
 
Types of Newspapers
Newspapers are divided into two types: broadsheets (or broadsheet newspapers) are large-sized newspapers, and are printed on a size of paper known as broadsheet, hence this term. They are sometimes referred to as the qualities, or the heaviest (referring to the weekend editions of certain broadsheets which contain so many pages that they are physically quite heavy to carry). Broadsheets are considered to be informative and objective, keeping news and opinion or comment firmly apart. Aimed at higher social groups, broadsheets are often more intellectual in content than their tabloid counterparts, examining stories in more depth and carrying sensationalist and celebrity stories less often. They present the reader with serious news, which is supported with detailed and informed analysis and comment on economic, political, social, and Broadsheets have plainer layout (little color on the front page and smaller typeface) and smaller pictures. Such newspapers in Britain include The Times, the Guardian, the Independent, and the Daily Telegraph, and in the U.S. the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the USA Today.
Tabloids (or tabloid newspapers) are newspapers whose are about half the size of broadsheet newspapers. They are sometimes referred to as the popular newspapers and far exceed the broadsheets in their sales. Typically, tabloids have colorful front pages with many photographs, and attention-grabbing, appealing, shocking, and often very big headlines, sometimes taking up more than half of the front page. They mostly focus on sensational stories, often concerning crime, sex, and scandal involving prominent figures, celebrities, and personalities in the public eye. Aimed at lower social groups, tabloids are considered to be more entertaining than informative in terms of news coverage, so much so that tabloid is frequently used in a pejorative sense when talking about the press collectively. Such newspapers in Britain include the Sun, the Daily Mirror, and the Daily Star, and in the U.S. New York Post, Daily News, and Boston Herald. The following are tabloid news stories.
 
Types of news
News is basically divided into two types: hard news and soft news. Hard news generally refers to news articles covering serious and significant events such as crimes, disasters, wars, etc. Hard news stories may report local, national or international events and cover different topics such as politics, business, sport, health, etc.
Soft News, on the other hand, refers to amusing, light-hearted, less serious articles intended to entertain, inform, or instruct readers on things they will enjoy.
 
The Front Page
The first page of a newspaper is called the front page. It is the most important page of a newspaper and plays a very significant role in its success since it is the page people see first when they see the newspaper. It can be regarded as the showcase of a newspaper. It sells the newspaper to the people in much the same way as a department store windows sell its merchandise to passers-by.
The newspaper editors are well aware of the importance of the front page, and they select and arrange the information on the front page very carefully. They exercise great discretion in their placement of stories and place the news they consider most important or most likely to sell the newspaper on the top half of the front page. Attention-getting and impressive headlines usually accompany these stories. The editors also use visual effects, typographical devices, i.e. different typefaces and font sizes, and impressive photographs to make the front page as attractive as possible.
Newspapers' editors use different page layouts and arrangements for their newspapers' front pages. In fact, the front page is a newspaper's opportunity to stamp its individuality among other newspapers, However, there are some features shared by the front pages of almost all newspapers.
First, the front page is a précis of the whole newspaper and summarizes the main stories to be found on the inside pages. These stories usually appear partially, and less often in full, on the front page. The reason for this is that there is not enough space for all the major stories to be fully placed on the front page. The common practice is, therefore, to start stories on the front page (to attract people) and then continue them on inside pages.
Second, almost all front pages carry a lead story. To the editors of a newspaper, one of the stories on the front page is more important than others. This story is called the lead story. The lead story is often indicated by heavier, larger headline type than those used for other stories, and is usually accompanied by a photo.
Third, since photographs are informative and attractive devices for wining people's attention, the front page always carries a few photographs which relate to front page stories, specially the lead story. Forth, the front page usually contains hard news stories, i.e. breaking stories having occurred since the previous issue of the newspaper, and soft news stories appear on the front page less often.
The analysis of a newspaper's front page reveals to us a lot of information about the culture, interests, and values of the country in which the newspaper is published. It also provides us with some clues as to the newspaper's political and social orientation. For instance, the news stories selected for the front page, specially the one selected as the lead story, the way they are headlined, the pictures accompanying the news stories, the page lay-out, etc. are all indicators of the newspaper's editors and owners' possible party affiliation or political stance, the approach they take toward social matters, the values they stand up for, and so on.
 
The Structure of a News Story
Different types of texts vary in terms of, among other things, organization or the way they present information. For example, the following structure is used when writing a personal letter:
 
Salutation           the greeting to the reader
Body                    the message of the letter
Closing                 taking leave of the reader
 
The writer starts his letter with such expressions as 'Dear sir, 'Dear Mary' etc. Then he goes to the main purpose for which he is writing the letter. Finally, he would close his letter by such expressions as 'Truly Yours', 'Yours', 'Love', etc.
To write a research paper, the writer would not start his paper with a salutation, i.e. to address the readers as 'Dear sirs', 'Dear students', etc. Rather, he would start his paper with an abstract or summary of his study, then he would write an introduction to the topic under investigation, and then he would review the literature, Le. discussing the previous research that is relevant to the study, and so on.
Likewise, a special structure is used for writing short stories, prayers, scientific papers, political speeches, etc. These differences in structure and organization have been well established over time and are often adhered to in writing.
The news story, too, has its own structure or way of presenting information. Over time and through experience journalists and news writers have found the optimal structure for the news stories they write, one most in keeping with the tempo and needs of our time.
Unlike a normal story that starts at its eginning and proceeds step by step to its coclusion, a reporter starts his news story with its climax, that is, he includes the most important facts in the lead paragraph. He summarizes the story at the beginning and then in the next paragraphs retells the story in greater detail. These characteristics give the news story its unique structure and shape.
In general, a news story as it strikes our eyes on the newspaper page can be divided into three parts:
The headline
The lead paragraph
The Body of the story
The next three units cover each part in detail.

 

An Introduction to Literature

 

The Japanese Quince

By John Galsworthy

 

Setting

 

The story takes place at the start of the 20th century in London. The main character and his neighbor both work in "the city," which is London's commercial area.

 

Characters

 

Mr. Nilson is a London businessman who seems to be in perfect health but has some worrying symptoms.

 

Mr. Tandram lives right next door to Nilson. He is also in business, and his symptoms are the same as Nilson's.

 

Point of View

 

The narrator tells the story from a third-person point of view.

 

Interpretation and Theme

 

The point of the story is that many people live boring, ordinary lives but don't want to change. They are in a routine. Galsworthy says that Mr. Nilson is a person like this.

Nilson lives in a nice part of London and seems to make a lot of money as an investor in London's financial district. So, he has everything he needs to live an interesting life. He doesn't have the motivation to get more involved in the world around him. He has lived next door to Mr. Tandrum for five years but has never spoken to him until the strange smell brings them together at the quince tree.

Both men are about the same height, have mustaches, carry newspapers, and do business in the financial district. This tells the reader that they are not very different from each other. They are part of the large group of men who live quiet, ordinary lives.

 

Climax

 

When Nilson hears Tandram cough and sees him look out the window at the Japanese quince, this is the most exciting part of the story. At this point, Nilson realizes that he and Tandram are the same and have the same boring lives.

 

Symbols

 

The Japanese Quince

Japanese quince is a small bush or tree with pink or red flowers that bloom in early spring. Mr. Nilson says in the story that they are fruitless... The Japanese quince, which is full of colorful blossoms, is a symbol of rebirth. Its smell tells Nilson and Tandram that they, too, could start a new life if they just tried.

 

The Blackbird

The blackbird is kind of a foil character and contrasts Mr. Nilson/Tandram. The blackbird uses its skills and abilities, but Mr. Nilson and Mr. Tandrams' lives are boring without their skills and individuality. (Maybe it has a negative role because of its color.)

 

The Lottery

 

•      Literary Period: Modernism

•      Genre: Realistic Fiction; Dystopian Literature

•      Setting: A rural small town, mid-twentieth century

•      Climax: Tessie Hutchinson is stoned to death by her neighbors, which reveals the purpose of the mysterious annual lottery.

•      Antagonist: The tradition of the lottery, the human inclination toward violence

•      Point of View: Third Person

•      protagonist: Tessie Hutchinson

 

Characters

 

Tessie Hutchinson is the woman chosen by chance to be sacrificed. At the end of the story, the villagers stone her to death. Tessie gets to the lottery late and says she forgot what day it was. When the Hutchinson family is chosen in the lottery, her pleasant attitude as she jokes with her neighbors changes in a big way. She tries to say that the way the drawing was done wasn't fair.

 

Davy Hutchinson

 

Mr. Joe Summers is the village's unofficial leader and runs the lottery. Mr. Summers does a lot of volunteer work for the community. He plans square dances, teen club meetings, and the Halloween party. The other villagers feel sorry for him because he doesn't have any kids and his wife is mean.

 

Old Man Warner is the oldest person in the village. He is the voice of tradition for the other people in the village. He talks a lot about how important it is to keep the lottery going. He says that if it stopped, society would go back to a primitive state, which would cause a lot of other problems.

 

Mrs. Janey Dunbar

 

Jack Watson

 

Bill Hutchinson

 

Themes

 

THE JUXTAPOSITION OF PEACE AND VIOLENCE

The first part of "The Lottery" is a description of a day with beautiful details and a warm tone. This is a sharp contrast to the story's violent and dark ending. Peace and violence are shown side by side, and the strange and cruel tradition of the lottery is shown in contrast.

 

HUMAN NATURE

In "The Lottery," Jackson looks at the basics of human nature. He asks if all people are capable of violence and cruelty, and he looks at how the structure of society can hide, direct, or emphasize these natural tendencies.

 

FAMILY STRUCTURE AND GENDER ROLES

In the first round of the lottery, one person from each family chooses a folded square of paper. This is a part of the tradition.

 

THE POWER OF TRADITION

In the story, the villagers do the lottery every year because they have always done it. The fact that this is a traditional practice and that the story implies that other villages are breaking with it by ridding of the lottery shows how powerful tradition can be for people.

 

DYSTOPIAN SOCIETY AND CONFORMITY

Jackson's "The Lottery" came out in the years after World War II, when the full truth about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust was known to everyone. Jackson's dystopian society in her story was a clear response to the fact that "dystopia" isn't just something made up in the mind; it can also happen in the real world.

 

Symbols

 

STONES

By doing this over and over, the stones become a symbol of the violence that people seem always ready to do.

 

THE BLACK BOX

The villagers draw the slips of paper for the lottery from the black box. This is a tradition, so the black box has a special meaning for the villagers. Even though it's not the original box used for the ritual, the villagers don't want to "upset tradition" by replacing it.

 

THE NOTATED PIECE OF PAPER

There is only one dark dot on the slip of paper that shows who the victim of the lottery is each year. Spots and marks are often signs of illness, so the appearance of the dot means that a person is marked for death as if he or she were sick and dangerous to others.

 

 

The Guest

By Albert Camus

 

Setting

 

In the early 1950s, after a snowstorm, the story takes place on a deserted plateau in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria.

 

Characters

 

Daru was born in Algeria to French parents. He teaches in a school. As a French citizen, he has to work with the colonial government in Algeria. But as a resident who was born in Algeria, he feels it's against his honor to turn in the Arab villager who is accused of killing someone. This situation makes him feel as alone as the empty land where he lives. Daru shows how the author felt. He loved both France and Algeria and hated that they were at war with each other.

 

The Arab: Algerian villager accused of killing his cousin.

 

Balducci is a Gendarme who takes the Arab from El Ameur to the school where Daru teaches. He thinks that the Arab is the one who killed the person.

 

Type of Work and Narration

 

 Camus uses an omniscient third-person point of view to show what the main character, Daru, is thinking, and he uses a limited third-person point of view to hide what the other two characters are thinking.

 

Themes

 

Self-Determination

Before Balducci and the Arab came, Daru did what the French government told him to do. Daru refuses to help when people in El Ameur tell him to take an Arab prisoner to the police station in Tinguit. He decides to go against authority because he has become aware of his independent spirit. Daru must start making his own decisions based on what his conscience tells him to do.

 

Isolation and Loneliness

Daru's life forces him to be alone and isolated in the following ways:

1. His place in society as a French citizen who lives in Algeria.

2. His choice to not follow the French order to turn over the Arab prisoner at the Tinguit police station.

3. His lonely environment. He teaches at a school high in the Atlas Mountains, on a plateau. He doesn't live next to anyone. Nearby, there are no bars, theaters, or stores.

 

Injustice of Colonialism

Between 1500 and 1900, European powers dominated and governed other countries to use them for their own political, economic, and military benefit. The Algerians violently rebelled against the French. "The Guest" criticizes the French occupation of Algeria.

 

Climax

 

The story's climax happens when Daru decides to let his prisoner go. This decision shows that he is no longer under the control of the government. It also gives the Arab a chance to choose his fate. It also gives the Arab a chance to choose his fate.

 

Symbols

 

French colonialism is shown by a blackboard drawing of the rivers of France. The picture shows that learning about the rivers of France is more important to Algerian children than learning about the geography of their own country (situational irony).

 

Untying the prisoner's hands is a sign that Daru is taking a step toward being free of other people's ideas. When he frees the prisoner, Daru starts to rebel against the French government on a philosophical level.

 

Desolate mountain plateau, which represented Daru's isolation as a Frenchman born in Algeria who was stuck between two warring groups. The vast, empty landscape could also represent the author's emotional emptiness after he stopped believing in God.

 

 

Clay

•      Literary Period: Modernism

•      Genre: Short story; modernism; realism; symbolism

•      Setting: Dublin, Ireland

•      Climax: Maria places her hand on a lump of clay in a Hallow Eve game

•      Antagonist: Maria’s loneliness and insecurity (There is both internal and external conflict in the story.)

•      Protagonist: Maria (static and round character)

•      Point of View: Third person limited

•      Tone: Nostalegic, Tragic

•      Style: Easy, Understandable

 

Characters

The protagonist in "Clay," Maria, is a middle-aged woman who has never married and works at a laundry in Dublin. Even though she is liked at work and known as a "peacemaker," her relationships with other people are superficial and sometimes painful. Joe Donnelly is her only close friend. She nursed him when he was a child, and he is now married,  While he asks Maria to stay with him. Throughout the story, Maria says or thinks one thing but feels another. When other people make her feel uncomfortable, for example, she often makes herself laugh to hide how she feels.

 

Joe Donnelly, Maria's best friend, and a static, flat character, is the host of the Hallow Eve party at the center of the story. He is Mrs. Donnelly's husband and the father of several kids. Maria has known Joe his whole life because she cared for him and his brother Alphy when they were young. Joe sees Maria as his "real mother," and he tries to help her. Joe sees Maria as his "real mother," and he tries to help her.

Mrs. Donnelly is Joe's wife. She is always kind to Maria. On Hallowe'en, Mrs. Donnelly agrees with Maria that Joe and Alphy should get back together, and she yells at the girls next door for bringing the clay that makes Maria look bad during the game.

Joe Donnelly's brother is Alphy Donnelly, with whom Joe no longer talks for unknown reasons. Maria took care of both Alphy and Joe when they were young, and she tries to "put in a good word for him" with Joe at the Hallow Eve party, which suggests that she still talks to Alphy.

Next-Door Girls

 

Themes

LONELINESS AND ESTRANGEMENT

In "Clay," a middle-aged woman named Maria who isn't married has trouble connecting with other people. Maria works with a lot of people and talks to strangers when she's out in the city, but most of these interactions aren't deep.

 

SADNESS AND REPRESSION

By describing what Maria is thinking, Joyce shows a woman who is trying to see the good in things. Maria tries to be happy, but it's clear that her life is hard, especially since she's not married and lives in a society that thinks marriage is the best thing for a woman.

 

PARALYSIS AND STAGNATION

Maria's life stays extremely unchanged throughout "Clay." Her job at the laundry is boring, but she'll never leave it. She won't even move in with her best friend Joe Donnelly because she's "used" to living the way she does.

 

Peace and Understanding

 

Symbols

 

 RINGS

In "Clay," the characters play games on Hallow's Eve where they pick objects that are supposed to tell them about their future. In these games, picking a ring means getting married, but for Maria, rings represent a future that she wants but can't have.

 

CLAY

In the story's Hallow Eve game, finding a lump of clay means that the player will soon die. But for Maria, this might not mean death in the literal sense. Instead, it might mean the end of her hopes for the future and the total stagnation of her life.

 

BLINDFOLD

In the Hallow Eve game at the Donnelly house, players have to put on blindfolds and choose an object that is said to tell their future. Because of this, blindfolds are linked to knowing the future, and they show that a person has no control over their fate.

 

The family represents Ireland. And the fighting between the two brothers is a symbol of the civil war between Northern and Southern Ireland.

 

 

That Evening Sun

by William Faulkner

 

•      Literary Period: Modernist

•      Genre: Southern Gothic

•      Setting: Jefferson, Mississippi, a fictional town in the fictional county

•      Climax: Nancy, convinced that her husband Jesus is waiting in the ditch outside her house and plans to kill her, persuades the Compson children to come home with her; the group waits anxiously in Nancy’s cabin as footsteps approach outside. These footsteps belong to the Compson children’s father, however, who takes them home, leaving Nancy alone in her cabin.

•      Protagonist: Nancy (who is a static and round character)

•      Antagonist: Jesus

•      Point of View: First person limited; the story is narrated by the adult Quentin Compson, who is looking back on his childhood

Characters

 

The narrator of "That Evening Sun," Quentin Compson, tells the story as an adult looking back on his childhood memories of Nancy, the black servant who worked for the Compson family and was fated to die.

 

Nancy is the Compson family's black servant who fills in for Dilsey when she is sick. Because of her race and social condition, Nancy is very poor and has to work as a prostitute. Nancy is scared that her husband, Jesus, is waiting in the ditch outside her house and wants to kill her. Nancy is pregnant with a baby from a white man, and she feels like she can't protect herself from Jesus.

Caddy Compson

 

Jason Compsson is the youngest of the Compson children. He is only about four years old when the story takes place.

 

Mr. Compson is Quentin, Caddy, and Jason's father. He is a rich white man, and Nancy and Dilsey work for him as servants. Even though Mr. Compson is kind to Nancy (he lets her stay in the house one night and walks her home when she is afraid of Jesus), he treats her with rudeness and disregard.

 

Jesus, Nancy's violent husband, is a threatening character throughout the story. Jesus, who carries a razor, says he will kill the man who got Nancy pregnant, and Mr. Compson has told Jesus to stay away from their property. Even though Jesus was violent, the reader does feel some sympathy for him.

 

Mrs. Compson

 

Mr. Stovall

 

Themes

 

RACISM AND SEGREGATION

In "That Evening Sun," the story takes place in the fictional town of Jefferson, Mississippi in the early 1900s. Even though slavery ended in 1862, black people still didn't have civil rights and faced a lot of racism at the time of the story. They often worked as servants for the same white families who had owned their grandparents as slaves. The tragic way Faulkner writes about Nancy, a black servant who works for the white Compson family and also as a prostitute, shows how racial segregation hurts people. Faulkner's story shows how the effects of slavery continued for a long time after it was abolished. It also shows that racial segregation is bad for everyone, including white people.

 

Lack of Understanding

 

NAIVETY, IGNORANCE, AND NOSTALGIA

Faulkner uses the innocent views of the children to show that racial categorization is childish and to criticize the nostalgic way that many white people, including Quentin, came to see the south as black people won more rights in society.

  

FEAR AND VULNERABILITY

In "That Evening Sun," Nancy is shown to be a weak character in several ways. Because black people did not have civil rights at this time, no one can help her. She is physically more vulnerable to men's threats because she is a woman, and she is also vulnerable because she is poor and has to make a living any way she can.

 

Symbols

 

 THE DITCH

The ditch in front of Nancy's cabin comes to represent the difference in race between the black and white characters in the story. The ditch divides the part of town where white people live from "Negro Hollow," where black characters like Nancy and Dilsey live.

 

DARKNESS

In "That Evening Sun," the darkness is a symbol of Nancy's fear and the unspoken horror of death that lies behind what happens. Nancy is afraid of the dark, especially the dark road outside her cabin, which she thinks is where her husband Jesus is waiting to kill her.

 

 

Young Goodman Brown

 

•      Genre: Short story, allegory

•      Setting: 17th century Salem, Massachusetts

•      Climax: When Goodman Brown calls on Faith to resist the devil

•      Antagonist: The devil, the hypocrisy of the Puritans

•      Point of View: Third person

 

Characters

 

Goodman Brown:  Goodman is a young man from Salem, Massachusetts. He is married to Faith, whom he thinks is the best and pure person in the world. He wants to meet the devil, so he goes into the woods in the middle of the night. The devil shows him that all the respected Puritans Goodman has looked up to are actually hypocrites and devil worshippers and that Faith is also tempted by the devil. Even if Goodman's adventure is just a dream, it ruins his life and makes him doubt his faith, his family, and his community. He lives to be old and dies a very unhappy person.

 

Faith: At first, Faith, Goodman Brown's young wife, seems to be the picture of innocence, as shown by the pink ribbons on her cap. Goodman thinks she is an angel and that her name, "Faith," fits her well.

The Devil: The devil first appears as Goodman's grandfather, carrying a staff that looks like a snake. He later comes back as a dark figure. He meets Goodman Brown in the woods and shows him how all the Puritan leaders he admires are lying.

The father of Goodman Brown, died before the story began. Goodman Brown thinks he sees his father's face in the smoke at the devil's conversion ceremony, telling him to worship the devil.

 

Themes

 

THE HYPOCRISY OF PURITANISM

Hawthorne sets "Young Goodman Brown" in the New England town of Salem, where the infamous Witch Trials happened and where the Puritans tried to make a religious society with strict morals and religious norms. The Puritans thought that God chose some people to go to heaven and that those people can be recognized by how moral and religious they are. People can't earn their way to heaven by doing good things, but if they are part of the elect, they will naturally do good things.

 

LOSING FAITH AND INNOCENCE

In the story "Young Goodman Brown," a young man named Goodman Brown loses his innocent faith in religion. Goodman Brown loses his innocence when he has a vivid dream in which he goes into a dark forest and sees all the faithful people in his life gathered around a fire for a witches' conversion ceremony, with the devil watching from above.

 

NATURE AND THE SUPERNATURAL

Hawthorne uses the forest to show how wild and scary nature is, which is very different from the religious and orderly town of Salem.

 

SAINTS VS. SINNERS

The Puritan religion said that everyone on earth was either a bad person who was going to hell or a good person who was going to heaven.

 

FAMILY AND INDIVIDUAL CHOICE

Young Goodman Brown talks about many generations of the Brown family, including both Goodman Brown's ancestors and his children and grandchildren. Goodman Brown has to decide if he wants to do what his ancestors did, for better or for worse, or if he wants to do things his way and break with family tradition.

 

Symbols

 

FAITH'S PINK RIBBONS

In the first few paragraphs of the story, when Faith tries to get Goodman Brown to stay home, Hawthorne draws attention to her pink ribbons. The pink ribbons are a sign of faith and purity.

 

THE DEVIL'S SERPENT STAFF

When Goodman Brown meets the man Hawthorne later says is the devil, Hawthorne points out that the man's staff looks like a black snake and almost moves like a real snake. The man's staff strongly suggests that he is evil and supernatural. It also connects "Young Goodman Brown" to the Bible story about how a snake tried to get Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge.