The short story A Christmas Memory, which is written by Truman Capote, is a story about a small child and an older person celebrating Christmas together. They have many rituals that they complete every year, and the beginning talks about them. But, in the end, the 2 characters get separated, never seeing each other ever again. This invokes sorrow in the reader, knowing that the 2 best friends will never see each other again. Truman Capote structures the story in a way to creates an effect of sorrow.
Capote structures the story in a way that the happy part is in the beginning, and the sad part is at the end. This structural technique that he is using gives the reader a feeling of happiness at first, but that quickly transitions into sorrow. On the second to last page, the author says, “This is our last Christmas together.” This immediately makes the reader feel sad. They talk about the struggles Buddy goes through at Military school and the struggles the lady goes through at home. He then describes Queenie the dog’s death. This increases the intensity of the sorrow felt by the reader. Then, the old lady back home starts to become weaker and weaker and stops making fruitcakes altogether. Then, she dies. This is the climax of the story, which makes it even sadder. Buddy then goes on to say that he was severed from an irreplaceable part of his heart. The plot structure was a vital component of the story and the effect it created on the reader. The way the author structured it was very important in making the person feel sadder and making the effect stronger. The reason the plot structure played a huge role in the effect was that the reader would subconsciously compare the beginning and the end of the story to come to an emotional conclusion. Putting the sad part after the happy part was so that in comparison, the sad part would seem a lot sadder and would leave the reader with a feeling of sorrow
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Truman Capote utilized plot structure and its versatility to his advantage to create a feeling of sorrow in the reader. Sorrow plays a big part in the overall tone and mood of the story. The way that he put the happy part in the beginning and the sad part in the end helped to amplify the effect of sorrow.
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Essay on ‘A Christmas Memory’ Theme.
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