"Blog Assignment # 4-Midterm Practice."

            A successful short story should give us realistic dialogue and believable characters beyond the plot. Do you agree or disagree?

            I agree that a successful short story should give us realistic dialogue and believable characters beyond the plot.  Ordinary characters and setting make the story realistic and allow the reader to feel like they are a part of the story.  The plot usually takes a shorter period of time like, “A Well –Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker.  An important element that makes these two short stories different than other stories is the plot. The plot takes place in twenty- four hours or less in short stories, hence, they are more realistic because they capture a small period of time relevant to readers.  The reader can relate more to these stories and put himself in the position of the characters. This style of writing focuses on everyday people living ordinary lives like” Everyday Use” by Alice Walker.  This short story has very realistic characters and ordinary live styles, like a mom trying to keep her family together.  Most families can relate to this situation.  In addition, dialogue and simple settings make the reader feel as if the story were about their own lives like in “A Well –Lighted Place” by Hemingway.  An old guy goes to a very simple and ordinary bar, a bar most of us have encountered once in our lives, and he is having drinks and we can see a realistic dialogue between waiters and the old guy.  The dialogue that they were having is one we ourselves have had or overheard.