William Dean Howells: Short Stories Literary Elements

Short stories.

"Worries of a Winter Walk" is set in East river during winter, whereas "Summer Isles of Eden" is set in Summer Islands during the summer.

"Worries of a Winter Walk" is narrated by William Dean Howells using the first-person perspective.

"Summer Isles of Eden" is narrated using a third-person point of view.

Worries of a Winter Walk”: Thoughtful and bewildering.

"Summer Isles of Eden": Dynamic and naturalistic.

"Worries of a Winter Walk": Howells portrays aged females as protagonists. “Summer Isles of Eden”: Nature is depicted as the protagonist.

“Worries of a Winter Walk”: There is no conflict; Howells acclaims females’ resilience.

"Summer Isles of Eden": A conflict is lacking. Instead, Howells dwells on illustrating the beauty of summer ambiance.

“Worries of a Winter Walk”: The encounter with old females striving to survive.

“Summer Isles of Eden”: The depiction of similarities between Biblical Eden and Summer Islands.

“Summer Isles Of Eden”
Howells foreshadows what will ensue after summer: "All this seems probable and natural enough at the writing; but how will it be when one has turned one's back upon it? Will it not lapse into the gross fable of travellers, and be as the things which the liars who swap them cannot themselves believe?" This foreshadowing implies that the magnificence and ambiance of summer are temporal.

“Worries Of A Winter Walk”
Howells understates the implication of the boy's likely behavior: "I do not say he was a bad boy, but I could see in his furtive eye that she was a sore temptation to him. The chance to have fun with her by upsetting her bucket, and scattering her coke about till she cried with vexation." Upsetting the girl by districting her from her core task is not 'having fun'; it amounts to hurting her.

“Worries Of A Winter Walk”: Howells appeals to humanism when describing the females' behaviors.

"Summer Isles Of Eden": Howells employs biblical allusions by mentioning "the scriptural Eden."

“Worries Of A Winter Walk”: Howells braves the "abominably cold" weather, which is typical of winter, while carrying out his walk.

“Summer Isles Of Eden": Howells portrays the Summer Islands magnificently due to the various forms of nature, including flora and fauna that thrive there, particularly during the summer.

“Worries Of A Winter Walk”
Howells underscores the paradox of sacrifices: "Should I have something very pathetic, like the old grandmother going out day after day to pick up coke for her sick daughter's freezing orphans till she fell sick herself?" This paradox is instrumental in Howells' art of writing. The grandmother's sacrifices are paradoxical because they wind up imperiling her health.

“Summer Isles Of Eden”
Howells wonders, "How come they all here, seven hundred miles from any larger land? " Here, Howells refers to birds of various kinds that would not be expected to be found here. The paradox demonstrates how nature accommodates creatures sufficiently, even the ones that are least expected.

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“Worries Of A Winter Walk”
Cold denotes the wintry weather. Cradles denote childhood.

“Summer Isles Of Eden”
Bloom refers to growth. Green denotes natural vegetation.

“Summer Isles Of Eden”
Royal palms are personified, and their royalty is equated to Philip of Macedon's sovereignty.