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Short stories
Raymond Carver’s short story “Fat” and Shermen Alexie’s “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” emphasize on the themes of identity and control. Craver in “Fat” revolves around the character of an unnamed woman who share her experience of work with her friend Rita. The narrative explains her feelings associated with her job of serving fat man. The character struggles to change herself and aspires for a better life. Alexie in “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” focuses on Native American identity by portraying the character of Victor. His native Indian identity becomes a threat for him as he is dislocated and fails too maintain his relationship with a white woman in Seattle. Both stories talks about the limitation of the choices available to the characters.
The plot in Craver’s story begins as an unnamed narrator starts talking with her friend Rita. Her conversation is about the fat people who she serves at the restaurant. The voice of the narrator appears to be complaining and exhibits her dissatisfaction associated with her job. The plot in Sherman’s story also uses same themes of dissatisfaction becoming apparent on the expressions of the native Indian boy as he leaves for Seattle. The problematic relationship of Victor with his white girl field also transmits the complaining voice of the speaker.
The central character in Craver’s story is the waitress who encounter fat men daily and her duty is to serve them. Her friend Rita is accompanying her and she share her feelings with her. Rita relies on the perspective and views of her friend. Rudy is the boyfriend of waitress and she is experiencing her complexities of life. The narrator mentions, “when he gets on me, I suddenly feel I am fat, I feel I am terrifically fat, so fat that Rudy is a tiny thing and hardly there at all” (Craver). The feelings of waitress reveals that her relationship with Rudy is not satisfactory. The main character in Sherman’s story is Victor who is experiencing the dark reality of his life due to his native Indian identity. Thomas and Junior are Victor’s childhood friends and both plays positive role in his life. Thomas accompanies the Indian guy to Phoenix for helping in collecting the ashes of his father. The authors of the stories have developed different characters for explaining the conflicts encountered by the leading characters.
Craver in “Fat” used the settings of a restaurant in which waitress meet different customers. Restaurant is used for portraying the complex life of waitress because she has to serve obese men always. The noises, chanting and talking at the restaurant reveals the daily life of the girl. The author has chosen the settings appropriately for exploring the themes in the life of a waitress. Sherman has used the settings of Spokane Indian Reservation that is a twenty-two stories building. The young boy is living in the area where the themes of poverty. Alcoholism and struggle are seen. The teens are seen taking drugs and struggling for their lives. The author has managed to create settings that transmits the feelings of struggle and dissatisfaction of the boy. The boy mentions, “to rise above the rest of the reservation like a fucking eagle or something. I was the new kind of warrior” (Sherman, 386). The text reveals the dissatisfaction of victor are due to the sub ordinary place where he is living.
Craver and Sherman use imagery in their stories for providing a clear depiction to the readers. Craver has attempted to use imagery for building deeper connection with the readers. It is visible as he mentions, “I turn on my back, and relax some, though it is against my will” (Craver). The scene allow readers to view the unsatisfying relationship of narrator with Rudy. The scene has been created for expressing the hidden emotions and feelings of the young girl. This depicts that the author has managed to use imagery for transmitting deeper meaning. Sherman has also used imagery for giving a clear picture to the readers. Imagery is visible as the author mentions, The boy states, “something I wonder if the people on the other end of the like know that I am Indian and if their voices would clamp if they did know” (Sherman, 387). The text allow readers to learn that the Indian identity has become a threat for Victor because he is always concerned about being watched or hiding his background. The scene portrays the hidden feelings and fears of Victor which allow readers to understand his difficulties.
Craver has attempted to explain the viewpoints of the character by making right choice of words. The use of simple language has added to the convenience and understanding of the readers. The views of narrator become apparent as she says, “my life is going to change. I feel it” (Craver). The perspective of the waitress depicts that she is struggling with her relationship due to her desire of getting better. The views also transmits the themes of change and control. She is willing to leave Rudy because this according to her will give her the opportunity of progressing in life. Sherman has also used similar technique of using simple language for making the meaning clear. The views of Victor are discernible as he says, “when one person starts to look at another like a criminal, then the love is over” (Sherman, 382). The thoughts of the boy depicts that he has accepted the reality of his troubled relationship with a white woman. He has realized that his identity and cultural difference will make it impossible to continue his relationship with the white girl. He comes to the conclusion that he is always seen as a criminal not because of his personal choices but due to his Indian identity.
The motive leading characters in both stories is to escape their reality and search for a better life. Craver has created the character of a girl who is struggling with her low-level job of waitress. Her motive is to het rid of her job and improves her life. The Native Indian guy in Sherman’s story expresses his feelings of fear and insecurity because of his non-American background. His motive is to change his identity for moving in the society and for interacting with the whites. The motive is also to escape black identity that becomes visible in his attempt of building a relationship with white woman in Seattle. This reveals the boy is struggling to accomplish his dream of having a better life in the country.
The comparison between the two stories depicts that the authors have used recurring themes of poverty, struggle and choice. The waitress in Craver’s story is undergoing personal conflict due to the tensions and her experiences with obese customers. This makes her realize that she has to get out of this unsatisfactory life by changing herself and making bold choices. Similar themes are used by Sherman for expressing the complexities of a native Indian guy.
Work Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY Carver, Raymond. Will You Please Be Quiet. McGraw-Hill Education, 1976.
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