Every story is unique, different plots and different characters. However, with a keen eye, one can find some kind of literary commonalities when comparing stories. This tactic is more important than it sounds. By hunting for similarities, the reader is dissecting the stories, and through which the reader can find greater meaning behind each story. Reading literary work can be more than just to pass the time, one could gain insight into one’s own life, simply by comparing stories. A great example of this could be when comparing Karen Russell’s “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” and A.S. Byatt’s “The Thing in the Forest”. Although very different stories on their own, both Russell and Byatt’s stories use magical realism at the front …show more content…
Russell's use of magical realism has readers question if werewolves could be real and living amongst us. Russell's description of the girls and their schooling is almost believable in the sense that this isn't the first instance in history that children were sent off to become real "humans". This dehumanization of people and the need to educated them to be “real people” is not unheard of in American culture. So, this humanization schooling isn't a new concept and makes it very believable. Russell’s use of the common forest archetype and the use of make believe werewolves as magical realism created a fun, puzzling picture for readers. Byatt also used this magical realism to cause her readers question if her story could happen in real life. The Thing in which Penny and Primrose stubble across in the forest is an imaginary personification of World War II. Everything from the way the Thing moved to the sounds it was making reflected a state of war. Through a psychological lens, these girls knew their country was at war and that was the reason they were sent away and their fears manifested into this being. With this in mind, it is absolutely believable that Penny and Primrose really saw this Thing, just maybe not literally. Also, just the use of the forest archetype and use of “griffons and unicorns” on the mansion stairs, Byatt used magical realism to paint a fairy tale like picture, similar to
Comparing Little House on the Prairie, written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Sarah Plain and Tall, Written by Patricia MacLachlan
The key to characters, and by proxy good writing, is an appeal to these universal struggles, these emotions which manifest themselves in many forms and conflicts. This is why we can sympathize with both a story about a down on his luck middle class American, and a fictional hobbit on a mystical quest, even if the former is probably a scenario we closer relate
The two pieces of writing that will be compared are The Yellow Wall Paper and The Bell Jar. Both these two pieces of writing are very similar yet very, different. The two main characters being compared are Jane from The Yellow Wall Paper and Esther from The Bell Jar. Both of the women in these stories let the expectations of society get the best of them. The expectations of society drive both these women to the point of becoming almost insane. Both these women just want to be as good as everyone else but it just isn’t possible for them. Also these women let others control their fate. These two characters can be very different as well. As society changes Esther from The Bell Jar has more flexibility of what choices she wants to make, then Jane
Theim, Jon. "The Textualization of the Reader in Magical Realist Fiction." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham; N.C.: Duke UP, 1995. 235-247.
...story telling traditions. All storytellers are children of the ones, which came before them and stand on the shoulders of those who have told the tales in the past. Marquez and Anaya did not hesitate to make liberal use of magical realism, both as a way to create tension in their stories and to contact the deeper hearing of their audience. Magical realism was just another tool in their literary boxes, to be used with skill and discretion for the greater benefit of the tale being told. It worked well for the cantadora, sitting in the doorway weaving her basket as she wove her tale and it works equally well today as we pause from our lives, quiet our souls, and prepare to listen as the story unfolds.
Three different stories, 3 different characters, 3 internal and external conflict yet one major theme. Upon recently reading the selections, “The Censors”, “The story of an hour”, and “The open window” the reader immediately starts off with the characters facing an internal conflict among them that affected those around them. Causing them to end up in a very situation when the story ended, leaving the reader bewildered and full of questions. Upon reading each of the selections I have come up with the conclusion that the major them amongst them is “Appearance vs. Reality”. Generally speaking, all of the stories made the reader think that one thing is happening when in reality it was something other than what was predicted. It appeared to its
Another interesting aspect the reader might recognize in these stories is the theme of acceptance and integration to something either known or unknown to them. Most of these stories deal with having to change who they are or what they would become like Nilsa, the boy, and others, they have all had to choose what they wanted for there life and accept the fact that if they did not take serious measures they would not be integrated into society prosperously.
Compare and Contrast! Well, you use it on a daily right? The stories “The Lottery” and “The Landlady” are two stories that you can compare and contrast. Some examples of comparisons are that both of the stories use violence, and that they both end with a plot twist no one was expecting. One example of a contrast in both of these stories is that they use their imagery differently. How are these stories alike and how are they different?
Close to everything in our world is either compared or contrasted. People like to use these methods in order to; figure out which subject is better or worse, to see how similar topics are to one another, and to enhance our understanding on certain issues. Comparing and contrasting work best when someone uses these methods to find similarities or differences of unlikely sources based on unique factors. By finding similarities between unlikely sources, one would have to analyze deeper to find interesting results. Two unlikely sources that one can compare are the two books The Summer Tree and Journey to the Centre of the Earth. The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay, is about five University of Toronto students named Kevin, Paul, Dave, Kimberly, and Jennifer. At the beginning, the five attend a lecture by Professor Lorenzo Marcus. After the lecture, Professor Marcus reveals that he is secretly a mage associated with the first world of Fionavar. Later he brings the university students to his world and their adventure begins. The five believe that they are being brought to this world to celebrate the fifty-year anniversary of the king’s reign. Before they know it, they each develop their own problems and experiences. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne is about a group of three adventurers, consisting of Professor Otto Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel, and their tour guide Hans Bjelke who decide to fulfill the mystery of the center of the earth. The three enter the center of the earth where they encounter many interesting species and types of nature. The three end up getting separated at one point in the novel. In the end, they end up struggling to get out through volcanic chimney. Both of these books have m...
In comparison to “The Flowers” by Alice Walker and “The Sniper” by Liam o’flaherty the story “The Dogs Could Teach Me” by Gary Paulsen contained the most description. The reason of this is because the way the author, Gary Paulsen, explains in greater detail how he himself had felt physically and mentally. The other stories, The Sniper & The Flowers, do describe how the way the atmosphere has affected the plot, these authors do not properly explain
From a different narrator, such as an adult, it may be harder to accept certain components. Also, considering the narrator’s coolness toward the fantastical elements (which can be found in many of Russel’s stories and all have
Giants and Angels roam the pages of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s stories, “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings”, and “The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World”, creating the perfect scene for magical realism. Many of the elements within these stories coincide with each other; this has everything to do with the overall component of magical realism, which binds together similarities and sets apart differences. The theme of each story can be found within the other and can stand by itself to represent the story it belongs to, the settings are similar in location and the ability to change but different in their downsides and the writing style is so similar it is complicated to find any differences. Marquez is a master story-teller whose works of art can only be compared with each other.
through the actions of their characters. One of the most common themes is the idea of nature versus
In “Hills like White Elephants” and “A Clean, Well-lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway the reoccurring use of the thought of death is found in both stories. His minimalistic style of writing makes it difficult to see at first, but toward the end, the importance of understanding the impact of the characters’ thoughts of death becomes clear. The characters in both stories are completely different, but there feelings on the thought of death are very similar. In “Hills like White Elephants” the antagonist Jig and the antagonist the older waiter in “A clean, Well-Lighted Place” have similar feelings of sorrow and despair on the thought of death. On the other hand, both protagonist the American and the younger waiter both feel burdened and have a
... Each story has its characters, each character is given its unique personality, identity, and destiny. They are like us, but they live in books. To me, we can now read their stories and use what we read to connect them to what we already knew. Manny, the main character in “Crossing”, was being compared to a monkey tied up with chains, which resembled the loss of freedom for both of them.