Punishment by Rabindranath Tagore and The Conscience of the Court by Zora Neale Hurston - Research Paper Example

Compare and Contrast Essay Introduction Literature is one of the most appropriate vehicles through which authors present information to readers. Every story or poem that an author writes has literary elements that help them in presentation of their work. These elements bring out an author’s attitude towards a story’s ideas and main message. These elements include theme, plot, characterization, and setting, among others. The work that follows compares and contrasts the literary elements in ‘Punishment’ by Rabindranath Tagore and ‘The Conscience of the Court’ by Zora Neale Hurston based on plot, character, setting and theme with an aim of demonstrating the harsh conditions that the poor pass in the rural community. “Punishment” This is a short story written by Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian writer. Tagore wants to show the oppression that women pass through in the rural areas in India. The story shows four characters; two brothers with their wives. Chandara is married to Chidam while Radha is married to Dukhiram. Dukhiram kills his wife due to family conflicts. Chidam sees what happens; he plans to save his brother by telling his wife to take the blame for the murder. Because of the oppression Chandara has been passing too, agrees to take the blame which leads her to death through court’s judgment. “Punishment” is a story set in a locality where men are more powerful than women and are taken as servants to their husbands (Souraj 3). It talks of Indian women being tired of their husbands’ rule over them. When Chandara is given orders to accept blame for murdering Radha, she realizes that there is no space for her in the husband’s life and she accepts a decision that leads to her death. Chandara stands the humiliation of being neglected, and stands her ground that she killed Radha and asks for death punishment. Chandara’s decision to die rather than be married to Chidam shows the desire for Indian women to get freedom from oppression by their husbands (Tagore 838-846). The story has Chandara as the protagonist. “The Conscience of the Court” This is a story by Zora Neale Hurston showing the state of justice and racism in the United States. Hurston talks of Laura Lee Kimble, a mid-aged African American woman, who is a maid to a wealthy Ms. Clairborne. Kimble is charged of attempting to murder Mr. Clement Beasley, an offense that Kimble has not committed (Campbell 34). However, her character saves her at the end of the story when the court gives its ruling. In this story, Kimble is the protagonist while Mr. Beasley is the antagonist. Similarities between the two stories Plot Development The two stories have evident similarities as the authors put them. Both stories have a simple plot. “Punishment” plot development starts at the village where it shows poor characters working to find out their survival in a village where poverty reigns. This story’s plot has complications where the protagonist fights with sister in law and later the husband sacrifices her to save his brother. A moment of crisis occurs when Chandara’s husband gives her to die on behalf of his brother. A crisis like this is what makes protagonist to make a decision to take death punishment. Climax of the plot comes when Chandara’s husband recognizes that his brother has killed the wife, and what results from the action is sacrificing the protagonist to safe the murder. The point of interest to leaders is whether the protagonist will accept to die, and the suspense ends at the end when she agrees to take the punishment. “The Conscience of the Court” has a simple beginning at the reading of a court case. The complication in this story is when the protagonist fights for her employer’s property, which later lands her into court. When the protagonist gets to a crisis of defending employer’s property, she takes an action of defending her life as she admits at the court. The climax of the story shows people’s interest to see the punishment given to the protagonist, but the story ends after the court finds the protagonist innocent. Characterization The two stories share similarities in their characters. The protagonists in the stories are all women, while antagonists are men. “Punishment has Chandara who fights with her husband while “The Conscience of the Court” has Kimble who fights with Beasley. Both authors use the protagonists to show how women face discrimination and oppression when it comes to matters regarding justice. Chandara dies for a sin she never committed while Kimble was accused of an offense she never committed as well. Theme Two stories evolve through a similar theme. “Punishment shows how men oppress women in a society that men have power and control over women (Sadhanavaid 3). Oppression in this story is rampant such that Chandara opts to die rather than keep living with a husband in whose heart there is no space for her. In “The Conscience of the Court”, African Americans are seen as poor people who the best they can do is becoming maids. The two stories show what women undergo when fighting for their rights. In “Punishment”, Chandara concludes that the husband does not love her, and in “The Conscience of the Court” Kimble at one point wonders why her employer shows no concern for her even after being taken to court. The antagonists in both stories fight to gratify their interests; Chandara’s husband wants to safe his brother from murder while Beasley fights for selfish gains. Contrasts Although the two stories relate in several aspects, they have notable differences in regard to various literary elements evident within the stories. Setting Setting of these two stories differs in a number of ways; Tagore’s story, “Punishment”, is set in a village background setting in ancient days in India when people return to their homes in the evening after a long day’s work in the farms. This is evidenced by the two brothers who come from work hungry, as the narrator says they toiled the whole day to even miss time for lunch. This setting shows the poverty that befalls the people in the village and their toil for survival through efforts in the farm. On the contrary, “The Conscience of the Court” is set in the United States at the start of a case hearing in a court. This depicts a setting in an urban background, where the narrator points out the difference in social class of characters in the stories. As opposed to “Punishment”, the social class here in this story shows of wealthy people in urban centres who manage to employ maids in their homes. Characterization Authors’ characterization in these stories differs according to the characters attitudes. The protagonist in “Punishment” believes that her husband does not love her, and that is why she does not want to live any longer with the husband even when requested to suffer on behalf of the murder she just accepts. A weakness of this character is seen when taken to court; she does not defend herself against the murder, but instead accepts to die. This shows that she did not value her life and had lost hope in life. Hurston’s “The conscience of the court” brings a character who, as opposed to Chandara had personal principles that guided her decisions. When Beasley stormed the house of Kimble’s employer, the protagonist here did not just give in; she fought against Beasley to an extent of defending herself in every way possible. For Kimble, good works, well-being of people and dutiful service are more important. Even after being accused for attempting murder, Kimble stands her ground to defend the allegations. Theme Although the two authors aim at showing how justice prevails in the different setting, there are differences in how the courts implement it. In “Punishment”, however, justice does not prevail because the protagonist suffers for offenses not committed. Justice lacks because there is no one who can stand to testify on behalf of the protagonist, and this is why she decides to die to escape this injustice. On the contrary, “The Conscience of the Court” shows justice being followed to ensure the case is well handled. Although discrimination against African Americans reigns in this setting, the story shows that regardless of a corrupt or unreliable justice system, a truthful speech and morally upright life can guarantee an honest person physical and spiritual redemption (Krause 9). Thus, the protagonist’s straight life and truthfulness led the court to accord her justice in an era when you were guilty until proven innocent if you happen to be black and poor. Works Cited Agarwal, Sourav. Why I Like Chandara the Protagonist in Punishment by Rabindranath Tagore. 2012. Web. 1. October. 2013 < http://writeurown.blogspot.com/2012/06/why-i-like-chandara-protagonist-in.html > Campbell, Josie P. Student Companion to Zora Neale Hurston. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Greenwood Press, (2001). Print. Krause, Chris. The faith of a Heretic. 2013. Web. 1. October. 2013 Sadhanavaid. Punishment- A Critical Appreciation. 2009. Web. 1. October. 2013 Tagore, Rabindranath. Punishment. Trans. William Radice. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Peter Simon. Vol. 1. Second Edition. New York: Norton, (2009). 838-846. Print. Read More