Compare And Contrast The Color Purple And The Thing In The Forest

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

of their plots and internal conflict that affects their characters’ development and traits.
Both Russell and Byatt slightly altered the way in which we view reality with their use of magical realism at the forefront of their plots.

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

Russell.
As Russell and Byatt’s characters developed, conflict began to arise and both authors used internal conflict as their main focus throughout their stories. Throughout Russell’s story, she continued to talk about how the girls, especially Claudette and Mirabella, repressed and resented the change being forced onto them. Within their new home, the girls in Russell’s story were being taught how to be “normal”, which the girls did not completely understand. The girls thought they were already normal when they acted like wolves in their pack; then they were being told that they must change in order to become “real people.” Mirabella responded to this pressure with agitation and eventually failure as she never became a real human. Claudette responded differently with her slight resistance to the change but she eventually allowed this, which also ended up changing who she thought she was as a person. The girls collided with themselves, questioning whether they should change or stay true to themselves. This sort of internal conflict changes the character development throughout Russell’s story. In Byatt’s story, the internal conflict is not as clear. Penny and Primrose combat their internal conflict when they see the Thing in the forest. When the comes across the Thing, the girls believed it was a real thing, a monster. This caused some psychological problems for the girls later for the rest of their lives. It caused the girls to question reality and also influenced how the girls went on to live. Penny lead a scientific unattached life, as she tried to scientifically analysis what the Thing could have really been. Primrose lead a scared and cut off life as she more feared the Thing rather than being curious about it. All of which was caused by the trauma from seeing the Thing. The girls battled with themselves their entire lives and this internal conflict was a large portion of the meaning behind Byatt’s story.
Through the dissection of Karen Russell’s “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” and A.S. Byatt’s “The Thing in the Forest”, not only can one see the clear commonalities that both stories use magical realism and internal conflict; the reader can also notice the similarities in the author’s take away message. Both authors wanted the reader’s to experience whimsical fantasies that challenge their look on reality and how internal conflict can affect personal’s traits. Both Russell and Byatt, although wrote very different, unique stories are still very similar to each other. And by dissecting their commonalities, students are able to understand the meaning behind the stories better, improving their critical skills and reading comprehension.