Anthology of literary works by multiple authors

¶ … Zora Neale Hurston's story "Sweat" the development of the characters is the most important element of this particular story. Delia, the main character, is a woman who is presented as a victim who has to put up with the constant domestic violence from her husband Sykes. It is those two characters that make up the entire story and it is them who define the meaning of this story. I debated whether the point-of-view would be an element of importance, but decided that without the character's introduction into the story, their point-of-views would not have made a difference. The ending of the story the irony of the characters development since Sykes death was in a sense his own fault. "Delia's work-worn knees crawled over the Earth," shows her hard dedication to whatever it was that she had to do. Regardless of her social situation, she worked hard because she knew she had to. She had to deal with things during her time, and her strength is to be admired. He got what he deserved for treating Delia the way he did.

In the "Gilded-Six Bits," by Zora Neale Hurston, the most important element in the story is the theme of what appears to be true and what actually is true. I chose this element because I believe that it is what defines in the entire story and therefore leads to the plot and character development. It shows the happiness of the life of many, but also shows how much cheating, lying, and betrayal was actually going on. My favorite passage is "Joe said nothing. He fooled around the house till late in the day, then, just before he went to work, he went and stood at the foot of the bed and asked his wife how she felt. He did this every day during the week," as this is what brings resolution to the story. Regardless of everything that occurred, a happy ending is what finished this story, and although it was not implicitly implied, forgiveness is how everything ended.

The setting in "Babylon Revisted" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the element most important to this story. Because of the setting, because of the time period that this story takes place, the entire plot develops and makes sense in accordance to the time. Taking place right after the Crash of 1929, was of great significance to the overall theme of this story. What made this story good was the way that the character changes from the beginning to the end and is all understood by context of the setting. The writer uses reality to depict his story. My favorite passage of the story was "I heard that you lost a lot in the crash.' 'I did,' and he added grimly, 'but I lost everything I wanted in the boom.' This line refers to the monetary loss in the crash, but shows that what was important to him was not money, but the loss of love and happiness, which is an overall theme for how life should be.

The most important element in the story "Hills like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway is the conflict in the plot. Jig, the main character is debating about the current conflict in her life, whether having an abortion would be the best action given her current situation. While the character sitting next her tells her that it would be best, it is the conflict in general that makes the development of the short story possible. The fact that the issue of abortion is a dilemma is a reflection of the times and gives the character strength for even thinking about this during this time. The most important quote of this story is the very last line of the story, "I feel fine.' she said. 'There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.'" This line sums up the entire story in just ac couple lines. It shows that although her thoughts of getting an abortion were worrying to her, in the end, they really were not because she had already decided on what her decision would be. It shows her tenacity and adds to the plot development as it demonstrates how so much internal conflict resolved in a couple of lines.

In the story "In Another Country" by Ernest Hemingway, the most important element is that of style. By personifying the machines in this story, the author gives the sense that machines have a mind of their own and adds to the development of the story. The characters in this story have both gotten injured during a military pursuit and have actually been injured to the point that the only thing helping them is machines. They express their disbelief in the efficacy of the machines. The most important quote throughout this story was, "The major came very regularly to the hospital. I do not think he ever missed a day…" Although the men were very hesitant about believing in the power of the machines, they knew that in the end, if they ever wanted to get better, it was through them that this would be at all possible.