Comparing and Contrasting Country Lovers and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Essay

These elements contribute to the short storys effectiveness as author uses dissimilar literary forms and styles to connect the reader to the story. Style has many characteristics that help the author engage the reader such as punctuation, the use of connotations, and culture. This is what helps the readers image take over, paint the picture, and get emotionally connected to the authors story.In comparing and contrasting the twain short stories of the Secret Life of Walter Mitty by mob Thurber and Country Lovers by Nadine Gordimer you see the differences and similarities in style between the two authors. The culture, which is the common characteristics of a group or a region (Clugston 2010), is actually similar in both stories since they are close to rattling life with the setting in the 1900s. Both stories revolve around relationships and get it on. Thurber style is more chimerical then Gordimer which is defined by his use of connotations and punctuation, although both storie s are genuinely detailed when it comes to the characters and settings within the stories.In the short story Country Lovers Gordimer does a majuscule job illustrating the setting, which is the time or place in which the action occurs (Clugston 2010). Gordimer provides details about the South African culture that allow the reader to understand the separationism and segregation the characters are living. The reader gets to feel what its like to be black in South Africa through the detailed descriptions of the loving conditions and treatment of blacks. The chief(prenominal) characters in the story are Paulus and Thebedi. Paulus is the son of a farmer who was raised with the children of the black families that worked on his fathers farm. He falls in cacoethes with a black childhood playmate as a teenager but he understands that a relationship with her is forbidden. Thebedi is Paulus black childhood playmate who becomes his applaudr. The two begin a sexual relationship which results in a child being born. The theme, which is a representation of the idea behind the story (Clugston 2010), is interracial love or forbidden love. The laws and culture of South Africa forbid interracial couples. Thebedi & Paulus are aware of the dangers of being together but choose to get involved anyway.As the story unfolds, Gordimer brings out the imagination of the reader through the use of metaphors, which is an implied comparison between one object and another that is different from it (Clugston 2010). An example of this is when Goridmer writes, hidden by the mesh of old, anteaten trees held in place by vigorous ones, wild asparagus bushing up between the trunks, and here and there pricklypear tree cactus sunkenskinned and bristly, like an old mans face (Clugston 2010). This allows the reader to visually paint the picture of where Thebedi and Paulus are at and what the scenery is. A common symbolism, which is something that has a literal identity but also stands for something e lse (Clugston 2010), that is used in Country Lovers is a tree. A tree can be a symbol for life, death, or immortality. This is a good match with the theme and plot of the story.The plot, which is a dynamic element in fiction, a sequence of interrelated, conflicting actions and events that typically build to a climax and bring about a resolution (Clugston 2010), thickens as both Thebedi and Paulus continue their love affair. Thebedi goes on to marry Njabulo, who is also black, and fails to put forward Paulus of her unification. At the same time Thebedialso finds out she is pregnant with Paulus tyke. When Thebedi gives birth to her daughter its obvious the baby isnt Njabulos but he accepts her as it was his own. When Paulus finds out about the marriage and the child he becomes upset, why does he get upset, I believe its a sign of his love for Thebedi which ties back to the theme of forbidden love. The story takes an interesting twist, although the author never clearly states that P aulus killed the baby, its evident he did by the flow of the story. Its up to the reader to understand the why, why would Paulus kill the baby? Again, I believe the why ties back to the theme of forbidden love.Paulus has accepted that Thebedi will never be his wife due to society and the racial customs of South Africa. Understanding this he doesnt want anyone to find out about the baby because interracial relationships are forbidden so he takes the extreme measure of killing the baby. One could also argue that he killed the baby out of green-eyed monster and not wanting another man to raise his child. The story ends with Thebedi refusing to testify against Paulus in the killing of her baby. This shows that Thebedi has accepted her role in society as a black woman giving up any hope if a relationship with Paulus. Throughout the whole story Thebedi character is submissive to Paulus but the conclusion shows that Thebedi is also submissive to society by giving into social traditions a nd discriminatory behavior of South Africa.The short story of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber is written in a third person point of view, which occurs when the speaker is not a participant in the story (Clugston 2010). The form is limited omniscient, which is when the thoughts and feelings of still one of the characters are related through the narrator (Clugston 2010) that character is Walter Mitty. The setting of this story occurs in a city called Waterbury but the state is never mentioned or disclosed, one can assume its Waterbury, Connecticut. The main characters are Walter Mitty and Mrs. Mitty. Walter Mitty is someone who gets bossed around by his wife so he creates a secret life for himself. In his secret life he sees himself as a powerful man who is admired by all, something he is not in real life. Mrs. Mitty is the bossy, nagging, overbearing wife of Walter Mitty. Thurber does a great job illustrating the relationship between Walter and his wife which many p eople can relate too, I found it very humorous. That takes me to the theme of thestory, which I believe is marriage. Thurber portrays a marriage where the husband is submissive to his bossy, nagging, and overbearing wife. A second theme could be masculinity since all of Walters dreams portray him as a powerful man whos admired by all.The story is about Walter taking his wife into town to visit her cop dresser. Along the way Walter begins to fantasize to escape the reality of his real like. Thurber does an excellent job of engaging the readers imagination through individually of Walters fantasys allowing the reader to vividly picture what Walter is fantasizing about. An example of this is during Walters first fantasies where he is commanding a hydroplane through a storm, rpm her up to 8500 Were going through The pounding of the cylinders increased ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa (Clugston 2010). The sound of ta-packeta-pocketa is just the cylinders of the car Walter is driving. Each one of Walters fantasies is tied to something that is specific to whats going on in the story. As Walter drives past the hospital he starts to fantasize about being a surgeon. As the newsboy shouts about the Waterbury examination Walters fantasizes about being in a courtroom. The Liberty magazine leads Walter into a fantasy about military dugout. Thurber does a great job of interweaving Walters fantasies with the environs of the story.The uses of symbolisms in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty were not used in the traditional literary forms. Instead Thurber ties in the symbolism of control and power in each of Walters fantasies by Walter showing bravery, no fear, power, fame, and a man with high ranking titles. Thurber does a great job of connecting and supporting the symbolism with the theme of marriage and masculinity. The use of this symbolism is to show how Walter feels about marriage, since Walter feels powerless throughout the story as his wife talks down to him. There are many differences and similarities in Country Lovers and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The first and most recognizable difference is Country Lovers is a tragic story with a plot that builds up on with way with romance, physical relationship, racial discrimination, pregnancy,arranged marriage, murder, deception, secrecy, and acceptance of normalcy. While The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a comedy with not much of a plot. Where they are similar, both are written in a third person limited omniscient point of view. Both had themes of love and marriage but were very different in how each played out. Country Lovers was forbidden love and arranged marriage while The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was love and marriage between a husband and wife. These literary elements contribute to the short storys effectiveness as authors uses different literary forms and styles to connect the reader to the story.ReferencesClugston, R. W. (2010). pilgrimage into literature. San Diego, Califor nia Bridgepoint Education, Inc.