The Great Leapfrog Contest and The Good Corn written by HE Bates

A detailed Summary of The Great Leapfrog Contest and The Good Corn written by HE Bates

In the short stories, "The Good Corn" written by H.E. Bates and "The Great Leapfrog Contest" by William Saroyan techniques such as characters, point of view, setting and structure work together to explore the issue of personal conflict and establish tension between the main characters in each story. An examination of these techniques allow a more enhanced reading of the texts and in turn evoke a particular response from the reader.

In the short story "The Good Corn" there are three main characters which are portrayed in such a way as to allow a tension and personal conflict to be created but only after the reader is positioned to respond favourably to the characters initially. Joe Mortimer and his wife are introduced to the reader first and the relationship established between them is a warm and caring mutual love. At the beginning of the story Joe Mortimer is portrayed as a loving and caring husband who worries about his wife and reassures her about her infertility saying "Don't say that. Don't talk like that..." This response initially evokes a positive response from the reader towards the character Joe. Similarly, Mrs. Mortimer is portrayed as comforting, kind and gentle and this womanly nature is conveyed when she say

Both short stories employ third person point of view to enable the reader to see into the lives of all the characters presented. While this doesn't allow a more personalized insight into the main characters mind it does give the authors freedom to explore all of the characters emotions, although in both cases more insight is given into the characters of Rosie and Mrs. Mortimer which serves to highlight their dilemmas. The character Mrs. Mortimer for example is the main focus as the author continuously makes reference to her inability to conceive by stating that she "drew more and more into herself" and that she "stood one morning in the small cow-shed at the back of the house and watched a calf die in her arms." Joe's actions however are not as meticulously documented. The character Rosie is also built up through the use of third person narrative and it is her actions in the fight that are drawn attention to as she "bumped Rex's head a real powerful one" and "Rosie, with great and admirable artistry, finished the job." In addition to this, third person narrative also allows the reader to see that the neighbourhood children are cheering for her as it states "It was the first time we had ever seen him fuming. By God, the girl was taking advantage of him!" Therefore, the use of third person enables the characters and their situations to be dramatised that little bit more as insight is given into the minds of other characters as well and is not limited to just the main ones.

The story "The Great Leapfrog Contest" also develops a tension between the main characters but this is not done with the aid of another character. Rather, the characters personalities emerge through the leapfrog game which places Rex and Rosie in opposition with one another. As the story progresses the reader is positioned to form new opinions of Rex as he is conveyed as cold, cruel and brutal when he says "It grieved him deeply to have to make a girl exert herself to the point of death, but it was just too bad." His actions further perpetuate the notion of him as cold hearted and cruel when he "gave her a very effective kick that sent her sprawling". In contrast to this Rosie's persistent and defiant manner in the contest is illustrated when she "jumped up and smacked Rex in the mouth". The fact that she was the winner of the contest and emerged triumphant while Rex was "deeply humiliated" positions the reader to admire Rosie's ste

Some common words found in the essay are:
Rex Rosie, Rosie Mortimer, Leapfrog Contest, Frog Contest, Elsie Mortimer's, William Saroyan, Joe I'm, Joe Mortimer, Joe Don't, Due Elsie's, main characters, reader positioned, short stories, personal conflict, tension main characters, tension main, third person, introduced reader, frog contest, leapfrog contest, leap frog, leap frog contest, story leapfrog contest, third person narrative, leapfrog contest develops,

Approximate Word count = 1639
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English