Narrative Techniques
This narrative technique in Hills Like White Elephants relies on what is left unsaid to reveal conflict.
What is subtext?
In Araby, this setting symbolizes illusion, exoticism, and the promise of transcendence.
What is the bazaar 'Araby'?
Each of these works explores disillusionment—the collapse of this human expectation.
What is romantic fulfillment / idealized meaning?
Hemingway’s pared-down style reflects this theory of storytelling.
What is Iceberg Theory?
The boy in Araby goes to the bazaar hoping to win this.
What is Mangan’s sister’s affection?
Araby uses this point of view to heighten the gap between youthful idealism and adult reality.
What is first-person retrospective narration?
The rocking horse in Lawrence’s story comes to represent this distorted value system.
What is materialism / capitalism?
The Metamorphosis interrogates the conditional nature of this human bond.
What is family loyalty?
Joyce’s lyrical imagery mirrors the narrator’s internal movement toward this realization.
What is disillusionment?
Emily keeps this in her house after Homer Barron’s disappearance.
What is Homer Barron’s corpse / a strand of gray hair?
Faulkner’s non-linear structure in A Rose for Emily forces readers to reconstruct this.
What is the true chronology / Homer Barron’s fate?
Emily’s house functions as a symbol of this broader cultural condition.
What is the decay of the Old South?
Joyce and Hemingway both depict adolescence as a moment when this illusion fractures.
What is romantic idealism?
Faulkner withholds key facts to force readers into this interpretive role.
What is active reader inference?
Gregor’s family reacts to his transformation primarily with this emotion.
What is revulsion?
In Heart of Darkness, this framing device distances the reader from events while complicating reliability.
What is frame narrative?
The river in Heart of Darkness doubles as a symbol of both exploration and this psychological descent.
What is a descent into the self / the unconscious?
Conrad and Faulkner reveal how societies attempt to mask this moral decay.
What is corruption?
Although it may seem counterintuitive, Kafka’s deadpan tone heightens the absurdity of Gregor’s condition by making it seem this way.
What is normal? 😐
The American’s repeated word in Hills Like White Elephants signals pressure and avoidance.
What is "Fine"? 🥴🙄💅
Kafka’s choice to open The Metamorphosis in medias res reinforces this existential condition.
What is alienation / absurdity?
The “hills” in Hemingway’s story subtly evoke this life-altering choice.
What is abortion?
Across these texts, material success often replaces this more authentic human need.
What is connection / love?
Conrad’s layered narration creates ambiguity about this central moral question.
What is whether civilization restrains or merely disguises savagery?
Paul’s frenzied riding is meant to reveal this hidden truth.
The winning horse