The author’s tone used in short stories can be used to casually persuade an audience towards a certain view. In both “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury and “Puppy” by George Saunders, the authors’ tones towards parenting seem to be that parents really need to connect with their children in order to have a healthy relationship with them. Literary techniques, language, and theme development are commonly used by authors to develop the tone in a story. There are many literary techniques that can be used in short stories. In “Puppy”, the author shows the perspectives of both parents so that readers can see both points of views on the matter of parenting. “God, she would have killed for just one righteous adult to confront her mother, shake her, and …show more content…
In “The Veldt”, the author uses foreshadowing to show that the current parenting techniques are going downhill fast. “They were awfully young, Wendy and Peter, for death thoughts. Or, no, you were never too …show more content…
In both “Puppy” and “The Veldt”, the themes develop through character actions and dialogue. “‘All right—all right, if they'll just shut up. One minute, mind you, and then off forever.’ ‘Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!’ sang the children, smiling with wet faces.” (Bradbury). This action of leniency in the discipline of the children, followed by the death of the parents, shows that the author thinks that parents need to be strict and stick with it, or there will be consequences that follow. “... he would reach back with his non-controlling hand and swat at her affectionately, and yesterday they’d shared a good laugh when he’d accidentally knocked off her glasses. (Saunders). This action retold by the mother shows that “well loved” kids, may actually be spoiled kids. The mother had an unrealistic ideology of how kids should be raised because her childhood was so dark, so she could not see that her kids were being rude to her. The theme development in both stories is closely related to the author’s tone that loving a child is no excuse for a lack of