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2: The Short Story and the Mystery(Enigma)

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    Essay 2: The Short Story and the Mystery(Enigma)

    Prompt:

    To what extent does a narrative’s use of subtlety and omission(enigma) enhance and/or undermine your experience as a reader?

    Purpose: In Essay 2, we will hone our critical analysis skills by considering how subtlety, enigma, and omission impacts the reader’s experience of the short story. Do you like enigma or do you dislike it? Why?

    Required Texts: Your essay must incorporate Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants,” and at least ONE additional short story, AND at least ONE of the essays listed below (either L’Heureux, McPhee, or Wickham).

    • Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Norton Introduction to Literature. Portable Edition.
    • L’ Heureux, John L. “Talk that Walks: How Hemingway’s Dialogue Powers Tell a Story.” The Wall Street Journal.
    • McPhee, John. “Writing by Omission” The New Yorker. Sept. 14, 2015.
    • Wickham, Forrest. “Against Subtlety: The Case for Heavy-Handedness in Art.” Slate. 1, 2015.
    • Poe, Edgar Allen. “The Cask of Amontillado.” Canvas. Retrieved from www..
    • Kincaid, Jamaica. “Girl.” Norton Introduction to Literature. Portable Edition.
    • and any of the Short Stories that we have read in this section

    Background: Do you like mystery in a story? Why or why not?

    Taking Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” as your starting point, consider the positive and negative effects of the story’s subtlety and omission on your experience as a reader.

    Theoretical Background:

    For John L’Heureux, a former Director of Stanford’s Writing Center, a writer’s use of subtlety and “silence” when presenting dialogue in a story has advantages because it places a greater emphasis on characters’ actions as opposed to their words. In “Writing by Omission,” John McPhee interprets the purpose of Hemingway’s Theory of Omission, which is to allow “the creative reader [to] silently articulate the unwritten thought that is present in the white space” and to let “the reader have the experience” of the characters in the narrative. In contrast, in “Against Subtlety: The Case for Heavy-Handedness in Art,” Forrest Wickman asserts bluntly that “subtlety sucks” because “People feel things, strongly, and creators that underplay that are making it harder for their audiences to connect purely and viscerally to their work.”

    Writing Task: After carefully reading the required texts and assigned short stories, write a 4-6 -page thesis-driven essay that thoughtfully responds to the following prompt:

    To what extent does a narrative’s use of subtlety and omission enhance and/or undermine your experience as a reader?

    In other words, your essay should consider your experience as a reader of “Hills” and then take a focused position that defends or argues against Hemingway’s use of subtlety and omission in the short story.

    Consider how subtlety and omission work in communicating elements of the story’s plot, narration, and characterization. Do these slight mysteries and subtleties make the story more interesting or less interesting? Why? Use specific examples from “Hills Like White Elephants” and ONE additional short story of your choosing to support your argument.

    Essay Format: Essay must be typed and double-spaced with one-inch margins. Use Times New Roman 12-point font and include the proper heading, a title, and last name and page number on every page.

    Essay 2 Requirements:

    • 4-6 pages(FULL PAGES)
    • MLA Format
    • Use "Hills Like White Elephants"
    • Use an additional Short Story
    • Use one of the Scholarly Articles(L’Heureux, McPhee, or Whitman)

    YOU ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO DO PEER REVIEW ON A COLLEAGUE'S PAPER.

    2: The Short Story and the Mystery(Enigma) is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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