When an individual has to do a compare and contrast for a short story in the realm of literature, I believe that you have to take into account the deeper meaning in a short story. You have to read between the lines, one has to know what the symbols and what metaphors are. “A symbol is something that has a literal identity, but also stands for something else—something abstract—like an idea, a belief, or an emotion. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between one object and another that is different from it.” (Clugston, 2014) The reader needs to know that the author is using figurative language in the short story. Once the individual can understand this, the literature work will be significantly easier to do a compare and contrast essay.
In every short story there is always a deeper meaning to the literature work, any author wants to communicate a multi-layered idea, to their readers, they wants their readers to connect to the short story that they are telling. The authors of these types of literature writings are able to take their readers on a journey within their writings. When a person reads these literary works, they begin to unravel and interpret the symbolic nature of the character’s journey throughout the short story. Also, the journey is
…show more content…
not only the understanding of what you read, but how well can the individual interpret it as well. I will say that the symbolism in a short story can be deciphered differently by each reader, because of their own outlook on life and/or thoughts about the short story. In this paper, in which I have to compare and contrast two literary works that share the same theme, I have selected the symbolism of the journey, and the short stories, “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and, “Good County People” by Flannery O’Connor, and I will analyze theses short stories. This paper seeks to achieve this by comparing and contrasting the main characters, the setting and the diction, interpretation of the theme and the social and cultural context of the two short stories. “A Worn Path”, by Eudora Welty is a short story focusing on a journey by an old woman, Phoenix Jackson, as she takes on a trip from the countryside to the town Natchez, to get soothing medicine for her grandson. According to the short story, she has taken this trip numerous times, as the nurse in Natchez already knows her and knows what exactly she has come for and for who. On the journey, she meets a hunter and encounters different things and adventures. While, “Good Country People”, on the other hand is a short story that focuses on Mrs. Hopewell and her daughter Hulga, who have hired a country lady Mrs. Freeman and she came along with her family including her two daughters Carramae a fifteen year old girl but already married and pregnant and Glynese who was 18 years old. In the short story ‘A Worn Path’ by Welty, the author takes us through the journey taken by an old woman through forests, hills and plains into the town of Natchez to get medicine for her grandson. This can be taken to mean the life of a person, along the way, as a person grows; she encounters different things in her life on her path from birth to the conclusion of her life. We see the old lady, Phoenix Jackson, who when she encountered these detractors early in her journey, she wouldn’t let them get in her way instead she would whisk them away by saying ‘Out of my way, all you foxes, owls, beetles, jack rabbits, coons and wild animals! ... Keep out from under these feet; little bobwhites ... Keep the big wild hogs out of my path. Do not let none of those come running my direction. I got a long way.' (Clugston, 2014) Further, in her journey, she goes through pine tree forests, thorn trees up hills and down hills, through all these, she keeps her determination and always with a good nature, she moves on. Always looking forward with her blue aged eyes and only trusting her legs to take her through the now familiar path to its end. In contrast, in Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “Good Country People”, we see the life of Mrs.
Hopewell’s daughter, Joy who renames herself to Hulga. Hulga who is also like Phoenix, a victim of circumstances, is highly educated, was shot in the leg while young, and thus has a wooden leg and is also sick in that she has a weak heart. Hulga, goes through these circumstances and takes them negatively, she is seen as not only rude but also always cross and insensitive to other people’s feelings or emotions an example of this is when she shouted at her mother, Mrs. Hopewell, at the table “Woman! Do you ever look inside? Do you ever look inside and see what you are not? God!” (Clugston,
2014) The major difference between the two stories is the setting of the short stories, while “A Worn Path” begins it’s setting in the wilderness and moves onwards to the city Natchez, we see that “Good Country People” is set on a tenant farm and moves out towards the woods. In both stories the authors talk in a third person point of view, that not only allows us to look at the characters through a bird’s eye view, and follow them all throughout the journey, but it also helps us know their thoughts and identify with them and their feelings and their desires. In “A Worn Path”, we are to see the beauty of nature through her journey, trees silvered by nature and we are also able to identify with her as nature itself acts as an impediment to her journey as she goes through thorns and the thorns catch on her dress. She takes this warmly and says “Thorns, you doing your appointed work. Never want to let folks pass—no, sir. Old eyes thought you was a pretty little green bush.” (Clugston, 2014) By the same token, in “Good Country People”, we are also led to see the beauty of nature as we are told the hill was sprinkled with pink weeds and we are also told of Pointy, removing roots that might trip Hulga over from her way as well as swaying blades of thorns vine until she passed. By the writer’s use of the third person point of view, we are also able to see what Hulga feels about the kiss from Pointy and how what she thinks of Mrs. Freeman calling her by the name Hulga. In this story, “A Worn Path” we also note that the main character, Phoenix, named symbolically after a bird that is believed to be cyclically reborn, is depicted as a persevering and enduring woman that faces her life positively even though faced with hardship or death. She has to endure the cold, keep her footing on frozen ground, pass under a barbed-wire fence, find her way through the maze of a cornfield, and also watch out for dangerous animals such as wild hogs. An unfriendly dog comes at her, and she falls into a ditch. This is only part of her story as it is also evident that she is struggling through poverty, judging by the fact that she had worn a bleached apron made of sugar sacks, and used a cane made from an umbrella. In contrast, Mrs. Hopewell in “Good Country People” is depicted as living an elegant kind of life as we note when Pointy enters her house and start gazing around ‘He came into the parlor and sat down on the edge of a straight chair and put the suitcase between his feet and glanced around the room as if he were sizing her up by it. Her silver gleamed on the two sideboards; she decided he had never been in a room as elegant as this.’ (Clugston, 2014) Similarly, we also see Flannery O’Connor’s symbolism in naming her characters, we see Hulga named Joy, but is a sulky character and rude never bringing happiness to those around her, changes her name to Hulga, a deed in which she finds great reward from and a name, which her mother describes as the ugliest name. Also, we also see Mrs. Hopewell named like so after character in which she see the good in people and always try to use the people constructively. We also note that Mrs. Hopewell has to endure living with Mrs. Freeman as the story says, she settled for her because there were no more applicants. We see Mrs. Hopewell though having clichés that guide her through life such as “It is life” and that’s how the world is, finding it hard for her to accept her daughters situation as is we see this when Hulga tells her that she should take her like she is “If you want me, here I am – LIKE I AM”. (Clugston, 2014) Noticeably, we see the symbolism in Mrs. Freemans name in that though she is hired by Mrs. Hopewell and not necessarily free so to speak, we see that her mental perception of reality is not enslaved by ideologies and clichés like her employer Mrs. Hopewell is. We see Christian symbolism in both stories, Phoenix Jacksons’, selfless concern for her grandson can be interpreted as signifying the true spirit of self-sacrifice and giving as preached in Christianity. In the story the author also brings in the theme of greed and cynicism as we see the hunter who pointed a gun at the lady phoenix and who prejudiced her as going only to town to see ‘Santa Claus’ continues shooting animals even though he has already caught his catch. In addition, we also see that the story is set during Christmas time a holiday celebrated by the Christians. We also see Christianity in “Good Country People”, story as depicted by the salesperson coming to sell Bibles. Though he sells Bibles, he is not a Christian and the author also uses him to depict the vices of greed and cynicism as well as corruption in society. We see that he say he has stolen from many people and has also always been dishonest about his name “I hope you don’t think,” he said in a lofty indignant tone, “that I believe in that crap! I may sell Bibles but I know which end is up and I was not born yesterday and I know where I am going... I have gotten a lot of interesting things,” he said. “One time I got a woman’s glass eye this way. And you need not to think you will catch me because Pointer ain’t really my name. I use a different name at every house I call at and don’t stay nowhere long.” (Clugston, 2014) We see that both authors address the theme of love in their short stories, although in different ways. In “A Worn Path”, love is addressed through Phoenix’s love for her grandson where she walks the long journey just to get him his medicine for his throat, her determination through the cold winter weather demonstrates her true love for her grandson. However, in “Good Country People”, we see that the concept of love has not only been brought out as deceitful but also forceful. We see Pointer saying that he loves Hulga and forcing Hulga to admit say that she loves him too, despite that he takes her wooden leg with him as he leaves the barn, leaving Hulga more vulnerable and disillusioned than before. “A Worn Path”, touches on the concept of redemption when a wild dog threatens Phoenix Jackson and when she falls in a ditch we see that a white man comes over and lifts Phoenix out, we also see that when Phoenix reaches the town, she asks a woman to come help her tie the lace on her shoes. The woman goes ahead, keeps her package aside, and helps her tie her laces. In addition, we see that whereas at the doctor’s office the, nurse treats her rudely but later offers her a nickel as a Christmas present. We also see this concept of redemption in Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People” although symbolically presented, the opportunity for Hulga to achieve redemption occurs when Pointer leaves her in the loft after putting her artificial leg in his bag. We see that O’Connor uses color as symbolism to show to his audience the opportunity of redemption. Hulga can see Pointer walking across the fields “struggling successfully over the green speckled lake”. (Clugston, 2014) Green as many people would be aware of is usually associated with regeneration, redemption, or rebirth. It is through Pointer’s act of betrayal by taking the leg and leaving Hulga that the reader sees a new possibility for Hulga. Whether she will actually achieve redemption is left unclear as ‘the girl was left, sitting on the straw in the dusty sunlight.’ In conclusion, when you have to do a compare and contrast for a short story in the realm of literature, I believe that you have to take into account the deeper meaning in a short story. A comparison of Welty’s “A Worn Path”, and Flannery, “Good Country People”, we see that both authors addressed similar themes in their stories although, in different ways, we see both touched on love, perseverance, and redemption. We also note that a common message emanating from both stories is a warning to not only take and trust people easily just by how they look but to also remove the ignorant cover that blinds our perception of reality. We see that Hopewell blinded herself by the cliché’s she always used and Hulga fell victim of Pointers’ thievery by trusting him simply because she believed him really innocent ‘She decided that for the first time in her life she was face to face with real innocence. This boy, with an instinct that came from beyond wisdom, had touched the truth about her.’ Similarly, Phoenix Jackson though old, stole the nickel from the white man when it fell and used a cunning way to distract his attention and give her time to pick it and drop it in her pocket. We also see that the hunter who was kind at first would later turn and point a gun at Phoenix. The reason for him doing that is however not stated. A major contrasting feature is the love for the main characters love for family. In “A Worn Path” we see the sacrifices that Phoenix goes through for the sake of her grandson whilst in “Good Country People”, it is noticeable that Mrs. Hopewell sees Mrs. Freemans daughters as nice and continuously praises them whilst looking at her daughter as still childish and always criticizes her decisions such as her choice of clothes, her name change and also her attitude.
...she has also lost the foundation of her identity, her leg. She is faced with the realization that she has been naïve all along. In her pattern of being quick to make assumptions to build her own self esteem, Joy-Hulga has not used her intelligence in a socially beneficial way.
Throughout this story it appears that there are two distinctly different sides of Hulga Hopewell. One side is that of Hulga large, brooding, and rude. The other side however, is softer and much more vulnerable. That side is Joy Hopewell. By using these two names together O’Conner creates a unique picture of this character. The revelation that Hulga’s real name is Joy gives the reader some insight and helps the reader to see the softer side of Hulga more easily. By using something as simple as a name in this story the author creates deeper meaning for each character.
Last but not least, O’Connor confirms that even a short story is a multi-layer compound that on the surface may deter even the most enthusiastic reader, but when handled with more care, it conveys universal truths by means of straightforward or violent situations. She herself wished her message to appeal to the readers who, if careful enough, “(…)will come to see it as something more than an account of a family murdered on the way to Florida.”
...He is still anchored to his past and transmits the message that one makes their own choices and should be satisfied with their lives. Moreover, the story shows that one should not be extremely rigid and refuse to change their beliefs and that people should be willing to adapt to new customs in order to prevent isolation. Lastly, reader is able to understand that sacrifice is an important part of life and that nothing can be achieved without it. Boats are often used as symbols to represent a journey through life, and like a captain of a boat which is setting sail, the narrator feels that his journey is only just beginning and realizes that everyone is in charge of their own life. Despite the wind that can sometimes blow feverishly and the waves that may slow the journey, the boat should not change its course and is ultimately responsible for completing its voyage.
Most of Flannery O'Connor's stories seem to contain the same elements: satirical and regional humor, references to God and Christianity, violent similes and metaphors, lots of stereotypical characters, grotesque humor and often focuses a lot of description on character's clothes and faces. However, one of the most important elements of O'Connor's "Good Country People" is the relevance of names. Her choice of names seem to give indications about the personalities of the characters and seem to be more relevant to the story than what the reader would commonly overlook as simply being stock character names. Mrs. Hopewell losing her "joy" (both her daughter and her happiness) and the Bible salesman's own attempt to satisfy his own "manly pointer" proves to the reader that, by coincidence or not, the names of "Good Country People" are indeed very well selected.
Some short stories are designed to teach lessons to the people who read them. They teach lessons about life, love, and growing up. People can learn lessons by reading short stories where the main characters discover something about life and about themselves. Also, the Characters and the way they use actions, words, or thoughts carry throughout the story can relate to many realistic personas as in Toni Cade Bambara 's short story “The Lesson.” Bambara’s narrative diversifies any reading list with some authors, who are not so familiar, where she presents a lesson to be learned with the story of young children growing up in
The ironic quality of each character’s name is apparent immediately. Joy Hopewell, a woman crippled in a gruesome hunting accident, is depicted as bitter, sullen, and nihilistic. She is anything but well-whishing or Joyful. Her mother named her daughter because she expected her ch...
These timeless tales relate a message that readers throughout the ages can understand and relate to. While each of these tales is not exactly alike, they do share a common core of events. Some event and or character flaw necessitates a journey of some kind, whether it is an actual physical journey or a metaphorical one. The hardships and obstacles encountered on said journey lead to spiritual growth and build character. Rarely does a person find himself unchanged once the journey is over.
In the end, the journey the speaker embarked on throughout the poem was one of learning, especially as the reader was taken through the evolution of the speakers thoughts, demonstrated by the tone, and experienced the images that were seen in the speaker’s nightmare of the personified fear. As the journey commenced, the reader learned how the speaker dealt with the terrors and fears that were accompanied by some experience in the speaker’s life, and optimistically the reader learned just how they themselves deal with the consequences and troubles that are a result of the various situations they face in their
When reading a story or a poem, readers tend to analyze, and develop their own opinions. Any content an author or poet produces is up to the reader to question, and identify what the story is trying to say. The point that I am stating is that, stories are like maps that we readers need to figure out. We have to find the starting point, and get to the destination of our conclusion, and the thoughts we have about the story or poem. In the stories that we have read so for throughout the semester, they all have different messages of what they are trying to convey to the reader in a way that can be relatable. Among all the author’s and poet’s works we have read, I have enjoyed Theodore Roethke’s poems. Roethke has developed poems that explore emotions that readers can relate to. I would like to explain and interpret the themes that Theodore Roethke expresses in the poems “My Papa’s Waltz”, “The Waking”, and “I Knew a Woman”.
That journey means that every day is a new change or a new transformation of who she is, and where she is going. She also highlights the idea throughout the text that the journey is one that everyone must take in order to discover themselves. Thus, the essay or story is about self discovery at its most basic. Understanding this allows the reader to see the importance of curiosity, of asking questions, and of heading into the unknown without questioning the journey
...of a minor character in the story but she is referred to as having two emotions, “forward and reverse”. This is important because when a person is forced to go in reverse they must face something or learn something they don’t want to know about themselves. This seems to be what happens during the course of the story for Joy-Hulga. Although all the characters in the story are stuck in reverse, the only character that is forced to realize her weakness, which destroys the façade that she created is Joy-Hulga. It seems that in this story as in life the most high and mighty suffers the greatest fall. Joy-Hulga was the one who perceived herself to be the high and mighty of the characters. This attitude is displayed with many of her comment to Mrs. Hopewell. Perhaps when Joy-Hulga remarks to Mrs. Hopewell, “Woman, do you ever look inside?” she should’ve taken her own advice.
Some of the characteristics of Modernism are: a desire to break conventions and established traditions, reject history, experiment, remove relativity, remove any literal meaning, and create an identity that is fluid. The rejection of history sought to provide a narrative that could be completely up for interpretation. Any literal meaning no longer existed nor was it easily given; essence became synonymous. Narrative was transformed. Epic stories, like “Hills Like White Elephants”, could occur in the sequence of a day. Stories became pushed by a flow of thoughts. The narrative became skeptical of linear plots, preferring to function in fragments. These fragments often led to open unresolved inconclusive endings. This echoes in the short story’s format. The short story functions in fragmented dialogue. Focusing on subjectivity rather than objectivity. Creating characters with unfixed, mixed views to challenge readers.
Mrs. Freeman wants to be an authority on everyone else's personal business. She is never shy of sharing the details of her daughters' lives with Mrs. Hopewell. I get the impression that she tells anyone that she meets the intimate details of the lives of Glynese, Carramae, Mrs. Hopewell, and Joy-Hulga. Being a poor tenant farmer's wife, her only weapon is her speech (Enjoiras 36). In order to compete with Mrs. Hopewell, she must be constantly on the look-out for ways to subtly one-up her in the course of their conversations. Asals describes their conversations as "hackneyed one-upmanship" (99). For example, the way they speak to each other one rnorning goes like this:
.... The other is a journey of self-exploration and learning about the challenges a woman must face just to live her life and help her grandchild. You can feel not only her struggles during her physical journey, but also the mental struggles she has faced in life and along her path. Through both styles of writing, you can emerge yourself into the theme of the story or poem and emotionally connect on some level with each character. As a reader, you can enjoy different styles of writing and allow your personal imagination to take away from it what you choose. Short stories and poems each have their own styles and differ in the way they are actually constructed, but ultimately, the reader is still taken into the life of the character that is depicted. The goal is to unite the reader and the characters and allow the reader to become one with the literary work on some level.