A story is powerful when there is meaningful word choice and multiple conflicts that add a deeper message. As the author combines meaningful word choice and conflicts, the story comes together and makes the reader think. The words that are chosen affect the tone, attitude, imagery, and voice of the story. Conflicts are the focal point of the story. There always has to be a protagonist and an antagonist. Throughout the story Holden has many conflicts. “I was sort of crying...then I yelled at the top of my goddam voice, sleep tight ya morons” (Salinger 52). Holden always downplays everything because he is insecure and doesn’t know his place in the world. He also says the word “goddamn” many times throughout the whole story. Goddamn contributes …show more content…
“I’d rather be unseen, and if then shunned by everyone, than to be a pleasant-smelling flower, growing in clusters in the fertile valley, where they’re praised, handled, and plucked by greedy, human hands” (Polanco 13-18). Polanco writes about how he would rather not be seen than to be known by everyone who is materialistic. This shows the contrast of society leaving people out and judging them because of their looks among other superficial reasons. In our generation, more and more people struggle with this problem. They find it hard to see themselves as enough when the media is advertising lighter skinned, youthful, fit, if not borderline too skinny models that are unrealistic and incomparable. Yet, we still find ourselves comparing ourselves to them. In Polanco’s poem he is not talking about literal flowers, but inner beauty and outer beauty and being self content with who you are. In Stanton’s Ted Talk he says everything has a purpose and he gave an example Michael Corleone in the Godfather doing everything just to please his dead father (Stanton). People relate to this and extrapolate that the deeper meaning is to make it relatable to life. Everything we do in life has a purpose, so everything in a story should have a purpose as well because stories are like a reflection of