Jamaica Kincaid
Plot is an element of fiction that if narrated well, can shape a character and intrigue a reader. Susan Minot and Jamaica Kincaid demonstrate in their respective short stories, "Lust" and "Girl" that this component is not necessarily required in order to create a character. Moreover, in these two cases the creation of the main character is stronger through the abstinence of this feature. Through explication of the text, we can see how the overpowering strength of the characters makes up for the lack of plot. Plot, according to Ann Charters in "The Story and its writer", is "the series of events in a narrative that form the action, in which a character or characters face an internal or external conflict that propels the story to a climax
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This deviates from the definition of plot in the sense that the organization of phrases does not provide a direct link between ideas. For example, "this is how to make ends meet; always squeeze bread to make sure it's fresh" (840), are two separate sentences that in a typical story would not be acceptable to link together.
Another interesting thought about the style of writing is that the girl only interrupts her mother twice within the story. The first instance is when the mother scolds her, "don't sing benna in Sunday school" (839) to which the girl interjects, "but I don't sing benna on Sunday's at all and never in Sunday school" (839). The second conflict starts with the mother to which her daughter interrupts in italics:
Always squeeze bread to make sure it's fresh; but what if the baker won't let me feel the bread?; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won't let near the bread? …show more content…
In "Lust", instead of interrupting the narrative, the flashbacks compose the narrative. This deviates from plot in the sense that the story does not have a central conflict that must be resolved; the main character merely reflects upon her experiences. Using the flashbacks, the reader gets a sense that the main character sees her past as a series of sexual encounters as oppose to real relationships. She retrieves these scenes from her past so vividly and reflects upon them
This deviates from the definition of plot in the sense that the organization of phrases does not provide a direct link between ideas. For example, "this is how to make ends meet; always squeeze bread to make sure it's fresh" (840), are two separate sentences that in a typical story would not be acceptable to link together.
Another interesting thought about the style of writing is that the girl only interrupts her mother twice within the story. The first instance is when the mother scolds her, "don't sing benna in Sunday school" (839) to which the girl interjects, "but I don't sing benna on Sunday's at all and never in Sunday school" (839). The second conflict starts with the mother to which her daughter interrupts in italics:
Always squeeze bread to make sure it's fresh; but what if the baker won't let me feel the bread?; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won't let near the bread? …show more content…
In "Lust", instead of interrupting the narrative, the flashbacks compose the narrative. This deviates from plot in the sense that the story does not have a central conflict that must be resolved; the main character merely reflects upon her experiences. Using the flashbacks, the reader gets a sense that the main character sees her past as a series of sexual encounters as oppose to real relationships. She retrieves these scenes from her past so vividly and reflects upon them