Make one for me

Make sure each sentence is concise. When the sentences merge to the next story on the body paragraph, change how I word those sentences.

 

English 2310: Non-Western Literature

13 October 2020

Selfishness vs. Considerate

Even though authors worldwide produce the same cultural literature as others, the authors’ different points of view help dictate how they write each story. Anita Desai, an Indian novelist, wrote her stories based on using the character’s emotions in their struggling times to find meaning in society. While Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, a German-born novelist, portrays her stories based on Indian lives who must find new ways to feel at home whenever a problem emerges in the community. Desai’s and Jhabvala’s short stories “ The Devoted Son” and “The Interview,” depict different productions of themes and plots. In the short story “The Devoted Son,” the narrator is a doctor whose parents risked everything to give him the best education and life. On the other hand, Jhabvala’s short story “The Interview,” the narrator is an unemployed father who is doing everything in his power to provide survival for his family. These two plot conflicts within the stories attract the reader from start to finish by using the character’s emotions to control what actions are necessary to achieve fullness for themselves and others leading the author to production of different themes.

People’s emotions are controlled by several factors, ranging from their actions to their words. With feelings of emotions being a key part in a person’s life, it is nearly impossible for oneself to control their emotion in terms of what is necessary for themselves and others. The narrator’s main feeling of emotion is compassion in “The Devoted Son.” The narrator’s compassion towards saving his father is shown throughout the story because he is not eager to give up on his father, even though his father had suicidal thoughts. Desai explains that the son would bring him “… a new tonic to make him feel better… and feel stronger again.”(Desai 7) to save his father from death. On the other hand, the main emotion in “The Interview” expressed by the main character is anxiety. The narrator’s anxiety is shown when he gets a job interview at a place he desperately needs. Jhabvala quotes that before the interview even began, the narrator started to say he “ … didn’t want the job anymore. I wasn’t even thinking about it anymore- only about how to avoid having to sit here and wait.”( Jhabvala 3). This quote shows the main character’s dedication towards supporting his family is different from the son in Desai’s story, because he depends too much on his brother and is unwilling to change. Since emotions help dictate what is necessary and what is not, it also allows a person to choose the right path of action to ensure that the maximum benefit is obtained. Because these two stories show different emotions towards supporting their family, the two narrators will have different perspectives towards what actions must be taken in order to save their family from disaster, no matter the consequences that stand in the way.

Showing care for others is one of the most crucial roles a person will play in their lifetime because it makes oneself feel a sense of accomplishment and personal growth. But with every action, there will be an effect that could either improve or worsen the situation from its original state. This effect can be seen in “The Devoted Son,” as the narrator won’t give up on his father because of multiple things. The narrator’s compassion towards supporting others came from his parents because they risked everything for him to have a good life and a good job. Many patients don’t want to be saved in this world because of the terrifying things they did in the past, or they are in continuous pain. While the narrator finds medicine to help strengthen his father, there are strong indications stating that the father is ready to give up by using his suicidal thoughts to create ideas for death. Desai notes that the father would eat something he is not supposed to eat such as “… soojie halwa… with… a saucerful of cream… ” (Desai 4) because it will increase his blood sugar and result in death from a heart attack. While the narrator in “The Interview” tries to conquer his fear of anxiety but fails because of his emotions. When he ran off before his interview with his boss even began, he never thought twice about going back. Instead, he sat at a nearby cafe and had a “…  cup of tea… and … a little cake…” (Jhabvala 4). This quote shows that he still buys a luxurious dessert just for his comfort, even though he doesn’t have enough money to help finance his family.  Although it is easier to mind our own business, helping others from going into disaster is the right thing to do because both the helper and the person in crisis benefit from it. Only caring about oneself rather than others shows one’s selfishness and neglectfulness. These two different plots will lead to the authors having different themes to convey the readers to learn a lesson.

The stories’ themes are essential because it gives the reason why the author wrote the story. The author’s primary purpose for producing a theme is to express messages or ideas they are trying to convey. Readers sometimes have difficulty determining the story’s theme because of the author’s multiple messages or the reader’s inability to determine what the theme is in general. The themes of consideration and unselfiness can be shown throughout the short story“The Devoted Son.”With the son showing his care for his father no matter what difficulties they developed throughout the story, he must be cautious of what foods to give to his father and how much he is required to eat in order to prevent his body from getting worse. The father would complain that “… if I ask him for one more piece of bread, he says no… because… he weighs the food he gives me…” (Desai 5). Although some people might not agree with the son’s diagnosis, he knows what is best for his father because he has experience dealing with health issues. However, selfishness and the unwillness to change correlates as the themes for the short story “The Interview.” The narrator’s selfishness is shown from the beginning of the story to the end, as he must rely heavily on his brother for financial needs and a roof over their heads. But with the narrator constantly asking his brother for favors, he is starting to become lazy and has the idea of “… it is clearly my brother’s duty to keep me and my family until I can get work and contribute my own spendings.” (Jhabvala 1). This quote shows that the narrator has no problem living with his brother and doesn’t even think about how his brother feels about this situation. These two different themes allow the two authors to express their message about what actions are necessary if a situation, just like the characters, emerged in the readers’ lives. Although different readers produce different themes, the one common aspect between the readers is their ability to infer the author’s message. Even though some stories contain difficult themes, Anita’s and Jhabvala’s short stories made it easier for the readers to determine the themes from the exposition to the resolution.

Overall, with two different authors writing the same cultural literature, there will be different undergoing plots. This is shown within the two stories because it leads to the characters expressing different feelings of emotions by their actions and allowing the authors to produce different themes for the readers. With one narrator showing consideration towards one’s family members and the other narrator showing selfishness, this expresses what type of person the readers could be if they learned from the characters’ mistakes and actions in these two stories.  Even though it is difficult to move on from an unexpected event, experiencing changes and grief will occur in everyone’s life because it gives them a sense of mortality and death.

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