World War I and World II are basically the same, right? If so, Araby, written around WWI by James Joyce, and The Flash, written around WWII by Italo Calvino, are also the same, no? Indeed, these short stories have many similarities. At the same time, both stories have many differences. Thus, it is difficult to compare both stories when considering all the details. If the subject of comparison is more specific, such as epiphany, then more emphasis and effort can be put into the comparison. In Araby, the protagonist falls in love with a girl, but love deceives him. In his moment of epiphany, “[g]azing up into the darkness [he] saw [himself] as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and [his] eyes burned with anguish and anger” (Joyce 1). In The Flash, the protagonist suddenly grasps a reality, but only for an instant: “[He] stopped, blinked: [He] understood nothing. Nothing, nothing about anything. [He] didn’t understand the reasons for things or for people, it was all senseless, absurd. And [he] started to laugh” (Calvino 1). The comparison between the epiphanies of both short stories reveals the relationship amongst the similarities and differences regarding theme, symbolism and setting. Most importantly, comparing the themes of both epiphanies reveals they can simultaneously be similar and different. An important common theme in both epiphanies is facing reality. In Araby, the protagonist realizes “[his] stay was useless” (Joyce 6) since the young lady only “spok[e] to [him] out of a sense of duty” (Joyce 6). Likewise, in The Flash, the protagonist realizes he “accepted everything: traffic lights, cars, posters, uniforms, monuments, things completely detached from any sense of the world, accepted them as if there some necessity, some chain of cause and effect that bound them together” (Calvino 1). Both characters face the reality and randomness of the world. Even so, each epiphany implies each protagonist faces a different sort of reality. The protagonist of Araby faces the reality of love and “[sees himself] as a creature driven and derived by vanity” (Joyce 6). On the other hand, the protagonist of The Flash faces the reality of existence and hopes “[he] shall grasp that other knowledge” (Calvino 2). Therefore, reviewing the theme similar to both epiphanies leads to discovering different themes as well. Conversely, looking at the differences in the symbolism of each epiphany hints at a comparable aspect of symbolism.
Both stories were insightful about the harsh reality of war. They give the reader a view of war. The pieces are filled with visuals and symbolism. I recommend to all readers. Has a true message in both works.
that made him see the world and the people in it in a more realistic
The similarities are prolific in their presence in certain parts of the novel, the very context of both stories shows similarities, both are dealing with an oppressed factor that is set free by an outsider who teaches and challenges the system in which the oppressed are caught.
Betrayal, redemption, and forgiveness are all major themes in The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini. The novel also focuses around the theme of a broken relationship between father and son as well as facing difficult situations from ones past. Amir and Hassan are best friends with two completely different personalities. Each character in the novel faces their own hardships and eventually learns to overcome those difficulties. Beginning with betrayal then the characters have to make their way to gaining redemption and forgiveness from others, as well as their self, is carried on throughout the novel. It is a continuous story of the relationships between Amir and his father Baba and facing their challenges from the past every day of their present.
Joyce, James. “Araby”. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Eds. R.V. Cassill and Richard Bausch. Shorter Sixth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2000. 427 - 431.
In conclusion, both stories display the idea of love and how it can be interpreted. In “The Things They Carried” Lieutenant Cross fantasizes about a girl named Martha, who he loves but she doesn’t feel the same way about him. He finds it hard to focus on his duties in the war because he is constantly thinking about her. When he realizes she doesn’t love him the way he loves her, he destroys everything he has of hers. In “Araby” a young boy is infatuated with a girl who he has never spoken to. He is unsure if he would ever speak to her, and when he finally does he is so excited that he misinterprets the conversation. When his plan for getting her to love him back doesn’t go as planned, he doesn’t attempt to move on like Lieutenant Cross, but he is left disappointed.
John Updike's “A & P” and James Joyce's “Araby” are very similar. The theme of the two stories is about a young man who is interested in figuring out the difference between reality and the fantasies of romance that play in his head and of the mistaken thoughts each has about their world, the girls, and themselves. One of the main similarities between the two stories is the fact that the main character has built up unrealistic expectations of women. Both characters have focused upon one girl in which they place all their affection. Both Sammy and the boy suffer rejection in the end. Both stories also dive into the unstable mind of a young man who is faced with one of life's most difficult lessons. The lesson learned is that things are not always as they appear to be.
The settings of two very similar stories can make them seem completely different. In a similar way, Sonia and Anne from the novel I Promised I Would Tell by Sonia Weitz and the play The Diary of Anne Frank by Albert Hackett are Jewish girls in the Holocaust who are struggling to survive. Both of their lives are at risk each day and throughout both of the stories, the girls are put in many difficult and dangerous situations and settings. Although these girls are both living in fear of losing their lives, Anne lives in a somewhat comfortable room for the first couple years of her struggle while Sonia is living in a horrifying Concentration Camp.
This essay showed the similarity and difference of the endings in these two masterpieces, and how they shared morals.
The narrator of both stories did an outstanding job in setting the scene for the readers. The theme of both stories to me is about lessons learned. In Araby the young unnamed protagonist makes a promise to bring back a gift from a bazaar and was unable to purchase the gift leaving him disappointed and angry. “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger” (Joyce, 1914). To me the young man is angry because of all the trials and tribulations he put himself through to get a gift to impress a young lady who really was not interested in him anyway. And Sammy from A&P although a little older than the unnamed boy from Araby also shared a fixation with a female character. Sammy thought because he quit his job to make a statement to his boss Mr. Lengel that she (Queenie) would be outside waiting for him. “I look around for my girls, but they're gone, of course. There wasn't anybody but some young married screaming with her children about some candy they didn't get by the door of a powder-blue Falcon station wagon” (Updike, 1961). Sammie assumed that this act of solidarity would place him in an advantageous position with the young lady. Sammy who was surely disappointed when his expectations were not met did learn a valuable lesson. According to Sammy “I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” (Udike,
You ever heard anyone say they experienced an epiphany, however appear completely off? They think they found a truth about themselves –not really. You try to tell them the truth, but they cut you off. So far in denial, nothing you say can make them change their mind. The short story “The Epiphany Machine” written by David Burr Gerrard provides great depth of characterization to develop the theme, adding figurative language to enhance secondary meanings to different situations and objects. These two elements come together to prove the theme the truth may not set you free but, make you more in denial.
John Updike's A & P and James Joyce's Araby share many of the same literary traits. The primary focus of the two stories revolves around a young man who is compelled to decipher the difference between cruel reality and the fantasies of romance that play in his head. That the man does, indeed, discover the difference is what sets him off into emotional collapse. One of the main similarities between the two stories is the fact that the main character, who is also the protagonist, has built up incredible, yet unrealistic, expectations of women, having focused upon one in particular towards which he places all his unrequited affection. The expectation these men hold when finally "face to face with their object of worship" (Wells, 1993, p. 127) is what sends the final and crushing blow of reality: The rejection they suffer is far too great for them to bear.
Alice Munro’s “How I Met My Husband” and James Joyce's “Araby” are two stories where the reader believes they know the outcome of the story. Until the plot of each stories turn in different directions. The two stories parallel in structure and share a common theme of courtly love. The main differences come at the ends of the two stories. Where both characters experience their own epiphany and wake up smell the roses.
In Conclusion, Maus and Anne Frank are similar in certain ways but they still have their own unique differences. Some of the differences were that Maus uses animal figures instead of real people, whereas Anne Frank uses real people, also Maus jumps back and forth in time, whereas Anne Frank remains constant. There were many similarities between these two books, such as; they both are true stories, they both involve struggle and suffering, and a major similarity between the two books was the main characters facing conflicts with one or both of their parents. In comparison reading both of these books exceeded my knowledge on the holocaust and taught me what it feels like to survive the most terrifying event in history, the Holocaust.
In reading Hemingway's "Indian Camp" and Joyce's "Araby", about 2 young boy's not so ceremonial passage to life's coming of age. The protagonist Nick in "Indian Camp" witnessed in one night the joy of going on a journey to an unknown destination with his father and uncle Charlie. Later, Nick receives an expedited course in life and death. Joyce's "Araby" protagonist whis friends with Mangan but has a secret desirable infatuation with his sister. The young protagonist in this short story eventually come to terms with being deceived by a woman's beauty into doing something naively rash.