Different techniques in a text can help the reader gain insight on the characters in a story. Each character displays different characteristics which can aid in the creation of their identity. In the story “The Whole Town’s Sleeping”, written by Ray Bradbury, female and males characters both reinforce gender stereotypes, helping to create their notion of identity. “The Whole Town’s Sleeping” constructs women as weak, fragile and foolish. Although the character of Lavinia Nebbs is portrayed as strong and independent, underneath this façade of confidence she portrays the same characteristics as the other woman featured in the text. When she and Francine discover Eliza Ramsell’s dead body, Lavinia pretends to appear strong by rejecting an escort from one of the police officers and encouraging Francine that they should continue to the show and forget about the recent murder, however on the inside Lavinia’s female nature is weak, although she never admits it to her friends and when she reacts to the death, “Lavinia felt her heart going loudly within her and she was cold too.” Ironically, it is Lavinia’s foolish ways of acting “confident” and “independent” that lead her to be murdered, reinforcing the idea that women are foolish and that they must accept and remain in their vulnerable position in society. The other female characters in the text do not appear in any other form and they are represented as fearful and weak. This is apparent through Francine’s reaction to the discovery of Eliza’s dead body, “Hold me, Lavinia, please hold me, I’m cold. Oh, I’ve never been so cold since winter eyes shut against Lavinia’s shoulder.” Francine becomes shaken up about the death and finds it extremely difficult to move past it. These representations of the female characters allow the text to reinforce notions of gender stereotypes. The text constructs men as violent, stupid and sexually driven, reinforcing