Surviving Life and One’s Conscience

Survival of the fittest has been used in biology to explain the evolution of creatures on earth. However, this term relates to humans at a greater level because their survival is based on their emotional and physical conditions. No matter how noble a person is, his or her natural instinct in case of an emergency is to save his or herself. However, the choice, which the person makes at that time, follows the person subconsciously throughout his or her life. Therefore, a person’s action at the time of crisis is what defines the person’s true nature, and the development of that person through time. “The Shawl” and Dubus’s “The Curse,” the theme of survival plays an important role, yet whereas “The Shawl” is concerned with the survival of one’s physical self while the “The Curse” relates to survival of one’s honor.

The main idea of both stories deal with surviving, and even though the main characters in both stories outlive their circumstances, a piece of them has died along the way. The settings of the story have much to do with this, for example, in Cynthia Ozick’s story “The Shawl,” the story takes place during a death march to a concentration camp. As Darryl Hattenhauer, Shay McCool, and P.K. McMahon argue in their article, “Ozick’s ‘The Shawl’,” the characters’ main objective in this story is to not be killed by the Nazis. Even though not all the characters survive, Magda’s death can be taken as beneficial because her death saved her from further suffering, which is survival in itself (elec. pg. 1 of 1). However, in “The Curse” the story takes place in a small town in Massachusetts in a bar where a rape has just occurred. In the aftermath of the incident, the protagonist, Mitchell Hayes is left feeling old and helpless. This is ...

... middle of paper ...

...ody, GA. 19 Feb. 2014. .

Levitsky, Holli G. "The Shawl." Masterplots II: Women's Literature Series (1995).

GALILEO. Literary Reference Center. GPC Library, Dunwoody, GA. 26 Feb. 2014. .

Miner, Madonne M. "'The Seirenes Will Sing His Mind Away': Andre Dubus's `The

Curse'." Studies in Short Fiction 31 (1994): 397-407. GALILEO. Literary Reference Center. GPC Library, Dunwoody, GA. 2 Mar. 2014. .

Ozick, Cynthia. "The Shawl." Literature An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Eds.

Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 5th Compact ed. Boston: Longman 2012. Print. 223-225.

Rush, Irene S. "The Curse." Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004).

GALILEO. Literary Reference Center. GPC Library, Dunwoody, GA. 2 Mar. 2014. .