Analyze two short stories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analyze two short stories - Essay Example Connie is a fifteen years old girl, a typical adolescent, lover of music, theater and boys. Like all teenagers she is in revolt with the existing norms and is in search of independence. The fact that she is unaware of is that, independence brings with it maturity and responsibility and her tender body and mind are not yet prepared for both. While Arnold Friend on the other hand stands for harsh and brutal realities of the world. He is rough and tough. Might is right for him. He personifies lust in its purest form. Connie is impressed by his modern looks and shinning car, forgetting that all that glitters is not always gold. When dragged forcefully into the bitter realities of life by Friend she loses self-control and confidence. Structure of the story The theme is well developed into a unified story. The scene of the story is set in 1960, the period when women have begun their struggle for independence. The concept of modern woman is not yet very common. The naive fifteen years old C onnie sees the whole world from her own point of view. For the rebellions adolescent the life inside the house is very boring. Her mother is always scolding her and comparing her to her elder sister who â€Å"was so plain and chunky and steady that Connie had to hear her praised all the time by her mother and her mother’s sisters.†(Oates 23) Fully aware of her seductive powers Connie is determined to conquer the outside world with her beauty and charm but she is unaware of the forces that are beyond her control. . Exalted in her new discovered power to attract others, specially the high school boys, she finds it easy to control the whole world and lead a life according to her own wishes. She is a perfect epitome of fantasy with her rosy ideas of romance. Appearance is reality for her and everything that exists is real and lovable she â€Å"sat with her eyes closed in the sun, dreaming and dazed with the warmth about her as if this were the kind of love, the caresses o f love.†(Oates 33) The conflict comes in the form of Friend who is powerful, dominating, vicious and ruthless. Connie resists with all her might but she is forcefully dragged into the bitter realities of the mature world. So the whole story becomes tragic. The end is vague like the real life itself in which so many things are unexplainable and hard to understand just as we are told that she sees â€Å"so much land that Connie had never seen before and did not recognized except to know that she was going to it†(Oates 50) Symbolism in the story Symbolism also plays important part in the development of the main theme. The whole story is the symbol of human life; we start our life in such an enthusiastic manner like Connie and want to conquer the whole world. We are euphoric about our energies and power. Then suddenly the bitterness of the hard realities of life shakes us, shattering our belief and faith on ourselves. We are crushed by the burden of life which is often gove rned by the evil forces. Life itself is as vague as the ending of the story. It can be interpreted in so many ways but none of the interpretation bears a happy ending. Music is also used as a symbol in order to develop the theme of the story. It is always there in the fore front or in the back ground leaving its effect on all that is going on. Connie loves music and it is present in her head all the time turning her surrounding into an imaginary world where everything is beautiful and