In the story’s that we have read in class each has specific characteristics of storytelling in them. In the story Prom, by Hasan Minhaj he writes about how he was told by his teacher that he had to go to the prom. After agreeing to go with a girl who he was friends with at the time and secretly loved, he tells the story of him sneaking out of his home and getting his bike after putting on his new suit and cologne he bought for the prom. Peddled his way to the girl’s house where he found himself rejected at the door because her parents had her go with another guy because Hassan was Indian and not white. He was told that he would not fit into the picture, so at this point, he left the house where he went back to his home to play video games and did not go to the prom.

When we read a story like this one, we overlook the details of what the author is doing in his or her writing. Firstly, Hasan brings us into his home when he is working on his homework with this girl explains the details of what things smell like or the conversation his father and mother are having in a different language. Later on, he was also able to use the element of transporting the character and reader into his calculus classroom twice. When his teacher first decided to make all the kids go to the prom, Hasan went around and gave details of most of the kids in the room and how they were not going to be able to get a date or be able to ask someone to go to the prom with them. The second time is when the next day after the prom, and everyone is mad at him that he was the only one who did not go to and he also did not take the other girl who he was initially supposed to take.

Another two elements were the raising tension regarding him pedaling on his bike and going to her house. As well as him attempting to sneak out of his house without his father realizing it, “I climb out the window and my trusty Huffy to the left of the house.” Hasan brings the reader along with him as he is getting ready to go to her house and also as he explains in his essay that he was trying to peddle a specific speed in order to get there on time, but also not sweat, “I made sure I was biking fast enough that I’d get to her house on time, but slow enough that I wouldn’t get pit stains”. Writing like this creates a more lifelike experience to the reader, and it creates an atmosphere where we can relate to the writer in some way at some point in our lives. The tensions also build up until the point when the girl’s mother opens the door and Hassan sees the other guy putting the corsage on the girl. The mother continues to say how he would not fit in the picture, “See, we have a lot of family back in Ohio, and we’re going to be taking pictures tonight, so we don’t think you’d be a good fit.” At which point he gets back on his bike to go home, that was the climax and the point at which he gets to see the other guy is where it falls. We as the reader followed him along this process of being excited for him riding there to feeling remorse for him as he went home. With these elements, they make for a much better and exciting read rather than just giving the details and the overarching storyline. When writing it is important to keep the reader’s attention though the entirety of your writing. Doing this means that you have to bring in the element of storytelling into your writing to keep it exciting and interesting for everyone.