Comparison between Country Lovers and The Proposal - Essay Example

?Comparison between Country Lovers and The Proposal Comparison Between Country Lovers and the Play The Proposal Introduction When comparing and contrasting between two literature pieces, many elements can be analyzed. The short story Country Lovers and the play The Proposal are categorized in the gender roles/marriage theme but have many things throughout their story that are different. In order to compare and contrast, one must know briefly what the story and play are about. After that their similarities will be explained, and we will begin to see how their theme is the only thing that is similar. Once that is complete, we will begin to look at the elements that make each piece of literature their own and how they differ from each other. Then we will analyze the similarities and differences between a short story and play. Whether a literary piece is a short story or play, as long as they are categorized in the same theme there will always be similarities, with that being said regardless of similarities when comparing two literary works differences can always be found as well. The short story, Country Lovers by Nadine Gordimer, is story about two children from different ethnicities who formed a relationship that later turned sexual. This story takes place on a South African farm, where ethnicity had a major influence on how people were classified. Being a person with white skin, one automatically had superiority over a person with black skin. The boy, Paulus Eysendyck, was fond of Thebedi, the daughter of the help. For years, Paulus went back and forth to school and every time he was home, he engaged in secret activities with Thebedi. As they grew older, their relationship turned sexual and eventually a child was created. Paulus was unaware of the child until after birth. Thebedi had married Njabulo, even though Njabulo knew that the child was not his. When Paulus returned for the holidays from veterinary school, he was surprised to hear Thebedi had a child and rushed to her home to see the child. The next day he returned and poisoned the child. Paulus was charged with murder and a trial began. Thebedi appeared at the court date with a new child in hand by her husband Njabulo, only to find out that he was a free man. The evidence was circumstantial to the courts and another white man gets away with murder. The objective of this story was to express the issues racial relationships faced in the South Africa from 1949-1994 (Driver, 1994). The Proposal by Anton Chekhov is a play that displayed how one word or sentence can send an ordinary conversation down a path of no return. The play is a one act comic farce set during Chekhov’s Russia, a time when marriage was seen as a way of gaining economic wealth for a majority of the people. In this play, the marriage concept is satirized to show the real purpose of marriage, which is for materialistic gain as opposed to true love. Ivan VassilevitchLomov was the neighbor of Stephan StepanovitchChubukov, and his daughter Natalya Stephanovna. Ivan came to Stephan’s home one day to ask for Natalya’s hand in marriage. Stephan was overjoyed and agreed to the marriage. Stephan went and got Natalya so Ivan and her can talk. Before Ivan could ask the question they began to argue about a small area of land and who it belonged to. That went on for a little while, until Ivan left. Once Stephan found out Ivan left, he told Natalya why Ivan came. Natalya begged her father to return Ivan. Once he returned the father brought up marriage, Ivan and Natalya agreed and then they kissed. The content of both stories is similar but different. They both involve a male and female engaged in some sort of relationship. In the Country Lovers, the two grew up together and gradually built a relationship. Whereas in The Proposal, Ivan and Natalya were long time neighbors and Ivan felt he was getting old so he asked a woman who he knew for a long time hand in marriage. Paulus and Thebedi’s relationship was forbidden because of race, but Ivan and Natalya’s relationship brought joy to her father’s heart. In both stories both women were daughters’ of farmers, whereas the men were the wealthier ones and seemed more dominant in social status. Regardless of the similarities, the major difference behind the two was the message behind the story and play. The short story illustrated the struggles racial relationships faced in those days and the play illustrated how a person can have every intention to do something good but can be derailed by one word (Gordimer, 1980) Any literary piece has a form and the form the author chooses helps shape the piece. There are literary rules when writing a story or creating a play. As much as the two narratives have a similar theme, they contain some differences in the other themes that they explore. In the, the main story is about lovers, as the title suggests. In the story, the lovers are an interracial couple who are not allowed by the society to be together due to the laws of apartheid in South Africa. As much as interracial couples are faced with all types of problems all over the world, the specific circumstances that are created by apartheid present serious problems for the cashier and Dr. Von Leinsdorf, as well as for Thebedi and Paulus. Despite the fact that the characters know the dangers of being together, they still choose to be romantically involved anyway. In both cases, the males are members of the white ruling class, while the females are powerless and poor Africans. However, both men have tender feelings for the females and likewise the women have real feelings for the men, although they seem to understand more the gravity of the situation than the men, perhaps due to the fact that they are likely to bear the blunt of the consequences (Heniford, 1999) On the other hand, The Proposal looks at the process of getting married and can be perceived as a satire on courtship and the upper middle class. This play points out the struggle experienced in attempts to balance marriage’s economic necessities and what the characters themselves actually want. It displays the desperation by characters for marriage as comical. In Russia at the time, people married either to gain material possessions and wealth or to satisfy pressure from the society. The satire is displayed successfully through the emphasis of foolish arguments over trivial things by the couple. The play’s main arguments revolve around the oxen meadows as well as two dogs by the names Otkatai and Ugandi. Another issue that is common in both the play and the short story is that of gender studies. In Country Lovers, the story can be seen as a gyno text in that one it is written by a female author. Secondly, the story revolves around a female character and it highlights the female exploitation and suppression. According to the play’s gender studies, Thebedi was a passive, submissive, and modest girl, a sharp contrast to the females of the west. Additionally, she was kind to Paulus. Double colonization is perceived in the story In that Thebedi was not only compelled and suppressed to do as instructed by the colonizers, but she was also dominated by her society’s male members. She feared that her father would be punished by the white men and that made her to frequently lie. She was also fearful of the society due to the same thing. This indicates that her family as well as the society suppressed her (Gordimer, 1980) On the other hand, The Proposal can essentially be classified as a farcical comedy with a basis of tragedy. The play while applying the convections of structure, language and characterization, parodies and manipulates them in a way that makes it comical. The emphasis being put in the play is on the character’s conduct as opposed to the mystery of the plot, meaning that while the characters are not created for certain situation, they still manage to create the satiations by being themselves. There exists total contradiction between the intentions and behaviors of the characters. The intention of Lomov is to propose, and once Natasha knows this she asks it her intention to become his wife, but the behavior of the characters contradict this and they end up having stupid arguments again (Chekhov, 2004). Both literary pieces talk about marriage, love or relationships between men and women. Actually, in the A marriage proposal, the theme of marriage features prominently. In this piece, marriage is presented as a thing to make people rich. In other words, marriage is perceived as a means of achievign economic stability. Through satire, the author presents people as struggling to strike a balance between what characters desire and the economic demands associated with marriage. This is clearly exemplified in the case of Lomov and Natalia (Chekhov, 2004). Also, couples engage in senseless arguments and engage in marriage to satisfy social pressures. Essentially, true love is given less weight compared to material and social gains associated with marriage in the story. On the other hand, in Town and Country Lovers, the themes of love and morality are covered. Gordimer presents the challenges that people who are engaged in interracial relationships have to contend with. In the era of Apatheid, interacial love was strictly forbidden in law and by the people’s customs. Dr. von Leinsdorf and the cashier face serious challenges in their relationship owing to the prevailing circumstances (Gordimer, 1980). The couple involve in their relationship based on love and genuine feelings, factors that are not appreciated by members of the antagonistic communities in so far as interracial relationships are involved. In terms of language, Stepan Stepanovitch Tschubokov presents a lot of humour in The Marriage Proposal. The author uses polite language and maintains this even among characters that are known to like shouting like Natalia. The author effectively uses satire to create humor and is effective at mocking the status quo of the society with respect to its demands on marriage and relationships. On the other hand, Nadin Gordima uses a language that is less humourous, the tone being more or less serious. This is effective considering that the situation at hand may not permit too much of humour. Gordima tackles an issue to weighty to be taken for granted in endless humour. In conclusion, the two literary piees have several similarities and differences. While one piece is a play, the other is a short story. The theme of love, marriage and relationships is presented in both cases. The language used in both cases differ to the extent that satire and humor is applied. In overall, both pieces are effective in presenting the issues faced by society. References Chekhov, A.P. (2004). The Proposal. Moscow: Kessinger Publishing. Driver, D. (1994). Nadine Gordimer: a bibliography of primary and secondary sources, 1937-1992. New Jersey: H. Zell. Gordimer, N. (1980). Town and country lovers. New York: Sylvester & Orphanos. Heniford, L.W. (1999). 1/2/3/4 for the show: a guide to small-cast one-act plays, Volume 2. New York: Scarecrow Press. Read More