-The Sad Conflicts In "A Story"-

A) "A Story" is a short poem that develops alot of emotions between the speaker and the reader, but also develops a tension of the main characters in this story. The poet of the poem "A Story" helps develop his poem through the central tension of the main character who has issues coping with himself resulting in an internal conflict, but he also helps develop the central conflict through different types of literary devices such as binary opposition and foreshadowing.
       The main character in this story faces a conflict not only coping with his son, but also with himself. The issue is that he is too "boring" and he has a fear that his son is going to leave him some day due to this issue. An example that supports this is," In a room full of books in a world of stories, he can recall not one, and soon, he thinks the boy will give up on his father." Other than some of the given examples, conflict is emphasized in this story by binary opposition. An example of binary opposition in the story is," Not the same story, Baba. A new one." This example shows the differences of his son having a reason to leave him, and his son being unable to leave him. The last thing in this poem that helped the speaker develop the main characters conflict was his use of foreshadowing. It his foreshadowed that the boy would leave his father due to the lack of stories the father had. This lead to the emotional break down of the main character with lead to the realization of the internal conflict; coping with his lac of stories.

Central Tension of "A Story" by Li-Young Li

A) In the poem/short story, "A Story", by Li-Young Li, a central tension begins to form around the father and son. Portrayed by metaphor and foreshadowing, a central tension  rises through the  disappointment the father thinks he is giving his son by not knowing a story to tell him. In this poem, an extended metaphor arises about the story his father can't deliver to his son. This "story" is really the idea that his father can't provide the right ways to bring up his son as a man and his father knows this. In this poem an extended metaphor grows from the idea of the story and how it could also symbolize the teachings a man needs to give his son for him to become a man. The father looks ahead and sees that, "...the boy is packing his shirts". Through this you directly see the tension forming within the man himself that he is not good enough for his son. Also,  an element of foreshadowing conspires in the second stanza with, "... he thinks, the boy will give up on his father". This idea of the boy not believing in his father and getting given up on, wrecks the man on the inside. The central tension of the father not being good enough for his son is backed up in, "A Story", by metaphor, foreshadowing and even symbolism.

Tension and Literary Devices in "A Story"

What is the central tension in Li-Young Li's poem, "A Story", and what are at least two literary devices or strategies that help develop this tension? Be as specific as you can, and use textual evidence to support your points.

In "A Story", the father's internal and central tension is depicted through foreshadowing and metaphor, so that the reader can not only understand the poem, but connect with it on a personal level. The poem's central tension is an internal conflict in the father's mind as he debates and looks into the future to understand his son and the impact of a story. When the father cannot think of a story, he "lives far ahead, he sees the day this boy will go. Don't go! Hear the alligator story...the spider story...Let me tell it!" The conflict is developed through the father's fore

Unable to Tell Stories

In "A Story", Li- Young Lee creates a central tension using the method of foreshadowing to show the father is fearful that his son will be ignorant of him when he grows up. The speaker compares the fathers inability to provide childhood experiences with a negative future relationship between the father and the son. She also uses a metaphor to show the father's deep disappointment: "Are you a god, the man screams, that I sit mute before you? Am I a god, that I should never disappoint?". By applying these techniques, she encourages that the father is scared for his future, where he imagines that he is uselessly begging his son to not leave him. The two techniques help create an emotional understanding of the central tension in the story.

Four Skinny Trees, One Skinny Girl

           In "Four Skinny Trees", the speaker uses an extended metaphor comparing herself to flimsy trees to prove the theme that everyone has someone or something to help them. The speaker, known as Esparanza, states, "Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine." She used a simile in that statement, which is just a variation of a metaphor. She is clearly comparing herself to the trees, and this continus through the poem, helping her. Later in the play, Esperanza says, "When I am too sad and too skinny to keep keeping, when I am a tiny thing against so many bricks, then it is I look at the trees." The trees are the only things that can help her, but there is something that can help her. She's comparing herself to the trees, so she is saying that she can understand and help herself. This develops the theme that everyone has someone or something for them, even if it is themselves, represented by four skinny trees.

"A Story" by Li-Young Li uses Forshadowing and a metaphor to show tension with the father and him self also showing us an insight on the imporantce kids are in some parents life. The main idea in this poem is that the father can't think of a story to tell his son but the father can't think of a story and is afraid his son will be disapointed in him. The metaphor in the begaining "Sad is a man who is asked for a story and can't come up with one." (stanza one) This is a lead into the tension between the father and him self. The tension is basily given then goes on in depth using foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is used to show what the father is afraid of if he can't tell his son a story. "Already the man lives far ahead, he sees the day this boy will go. Don't go! heaer the Aligator story!...but the boy is packing up his shirts."

Similarities Over Differences

Similarities Over Differences-

In "Four Skinny Trees" the speaker uses an extended metaphor to compare herself and the trees; which works by showing the similarities between them, and it develops the theme through the connotation of the word "tree." The extended metaphor is how she describes the trees and compares the qualities to her own. For example she says, "Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine." this demonstrates one of the many metaphors between the speaker and the trees. The way this extended metaphor works is that is uses the similarities instead of the differences to make the reader believe that the speaker and the trees are similar. The theme is developed through the word "tree" by its connotation and the emotional way the author makes the people feel about them. The theme is there are more similarities than differences. "They  grow up and they grow down and grab the earth between their hairy toes." This quote demonstrates how even thought a human does not grow up and grow down, it shows how the trees are semi-human because of how she describes the roots as their toes. This is why even within the differences the author uses similarities to appeal to the reader