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Montana DeCamp Mrs. Wickett/ Shayer Period 7/8 30 November 2011 Literary Elements Laura Bush once said, Reading will give you lasting pleasure. Bush probably enjoys reading a lot. People who read a lot can appreciate good literature. Three good fiction stories are Charles, Ransom of Red Chief, and Harrison Bergeron. Good literature uses elements such as character, conflict, and theme to make a story memorable. Interesting characters make a story fun to read. Authors use several techniques to reveal a character. Authors use several techniques to reveal a character. In the story Charles, by Shirley Jackson, the character of Laurie is mostly revealed by speech and actions. Laurie talks to his dad insolently and calls his dad dumb. When a P.E. teacher told Laurie to touch this toes, Laurie kicked him in the shin! The character of Laurie made this story fun and interesting to read. Conflict in an important part of the plot of a story. Conflict is the problems or struggles between characters. In the Ransom of Red Chief, by O. Henry, a lot of the conflict is between Johnny and Bill. Some conflicts are when Bill went after Johnny for throwing a piece of brick at him, or when Johnny tried to scalp Bill. Bill never really fought back at Johnny because Johnny was too precious to hurt. Conflict is so important, that most times it shapes the story. Good authors write a story to do more than entertain; they write with a theme in mind. The theme of the story is the lesson or main point the author wants to make to the reader. In the story Harrison Bergeron, for example, Kurt Vonnegut tries to convince his readers that people

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should be admiring the great abilities of others rather than trying to make everyone the same to spare feelings of average people. In Harrison Bergeron, no one was better than anyone else. If you were more attractive than the ugliest person, you would have to wear a red nose, like Harrison, or have your voice changed, like the poor ballerina. Also if you were more intelligent than anyone else, like George, you had to wear a mental handicap in your ear, which went off every twenty seconds to stop your thought process. According to Vonnegut, people will never be equal and should not even try to be; otherwise there would be no leaders, no real heroes. In conclusion, character, conflict, and theme help to make memorable literature. Stories with interesting characters are enjoyable to read. Using several techniques, authors can reveal the character. Conflict is an ideal part of the plot of the story. Conflict is the problems between characters. Good authors write stories for more than just the pleasure and amusement. Good authors write a story trying to get theme or message across to the reader. Elements of fiction work together to give the reader lasting pleasure.