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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page essay that argues that characterization is a crucial factor in the creation of superb short stories. To substantiate this position, the writer looks at "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver; "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather; "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber; "King of the Bingo Game" by Ralph Ellison; "Gimpel the Fool" by Isaac Bashevis Singer; and "Babylon Revisited" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khchass.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
action. However, within this format, a talented writer can create a verbal portrait of what a particular person. In short stories where the characterization is the principal focus, the action
of the story serves to support the characterization by demonstrating how the protagonist reacts to a given situation. The following examination of some world-famous short stories demonstrates that the importance
of characterization remains consistent, despite the tone, setting, or other literary devices employed. In "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, the crux of the story revolves around the personal growth of
the protagonist. The protagonists wife asks a blind friend, Robert, to have dinner with them. At the beginning of the story, it is clear that the husband does not "see"
how to relate to Robert as a fellow human being, and considers him only in terms of his handicap. As the evening wear on, however, the protagonist begins to change.
When Robert places his hand over the protagonists so that he can "see" the cathedral that the husband draws, the man, at last, truly "sees" Robert as a fully-fledged person.
As this suggests, it is the superb characterization of this story that gives it meaning, as the protagonist learns to include a handicap person within his own personal perception of
humanity. The action is the medium by which the man learns, but it is the learning that makes the story fundamentally interesting. Similarly, in Isaac Bashevis Singers "Gimpel the
Fool," it is not the action that is important but the way in which the protagonist, a gullible man, reacts consistently to a lifetime of betrayal, misery and deception with
a childlike acceptance and a total faith in the goodness of humanity. While Gimpel is labeled "foolish" by a materialistic society, the characterization of this simple man demonstrates that it
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