The Elements of Fiction

The Elements of Fiction

Daniel Faller

An Assignment for English 150-61

Dr. James Hepworth

Lewis-Clark State College

The assignment called for the student to choose four elements of fiction out of the six elements, and to choose four assigned short stories out of seven assigned. The student (me) then had to take an original photograph to illustrate the chosen elements for each story. The stories I chose are, "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, "Greasy Lake" by T. Coraghessan Boyle, "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, and "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" by Ernest Hemingway. Below are the results of my photographic efforts.

"A Rose For Emily" by William Faulkner

1. Setting: The photo to the right is a representation of Emily's house. Most of the story takes place in and around Emily's home that she inherited from her fathe

2. Symbol: Since "A Rose For Emily" winds up with her death and the discovery of a dead man in her house, a gravestone seemed to be a photograph that would symbolize death.

3. Character: When Emily was young, she was said to be very attractive. Her father drove away many suitors. This photograph represents the young and attractive Emily.

4. Theme: The story winds up with Emily's funeral that takes place in her house, so I used a photograph of a funeral home to illustrate the climax of the story and the mystery that was revealed.

"Greasy Lake" by T. Coraghessan Boyle

1. Setting: I could think of no better photgraph to use than one of a lake outside of town that could easily be Greasy Lake.







2. Symbol: In the story, the narrator's mother's Bel Air was a central part of the story. Try as I might, I could not find a Bel Air to photgraph, but I did find a 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

3. Character: This photograph represents the narrator, a young confused man at the time of the story.

3. Theme: The theme of "Greasy Lake" seems to be about young men conducting activites in the rites of passage to manhood. I thought a fist might represent the fighting that took place.







"Cathedral" by Raymond Carver

1. Setting: This photgraph is the apartment building in which the narrator's apartment is located.






2. Symbol: The narrator must learn to deal with a blind man who is an old friend of his wife's. The blind man comes to stay at the narrator's home. This photograph represents learning to communicate with a blind man for the first time.







3. Character: This photograph represents the narrator himself.

4. Theme: The narrator and the blind man connect on the topic of describing and drawing a cathedral. This photograph is the only cathedral locally that I could shoot.

"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" by Ernest Hemingway

1. Setting: Behold, a cafe that is clean, and well-lighted.

2. Symbol: The brandy that was being consumed by the only customer in the cafe seemed to be a reasonable symbol. However, I had no brandy in my cabinet so I had to photgraph a bottle of whiskey.

3. Character: This gentleman represents the young waiter. He is looking concerned because he does not understand the older waiters hurry to close the cafe.