Social Criticism in Short Stories
Although most short stories at first glance may seem to be simply fictional tales about people and situations that don't exist, this is not always the case. Some short stories are actually the author's criticisms of specific cultural values and social conventions veiled by an interesting plot and engaging characters. This is certainly true of three stories specifically: "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker. In each of these stories, the author integrates his or her thoughts about society into the fiction. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is the semi-autobiographical story of a woman's descent into madness in spite of and partly because of the husband's prescription of lengthy bed-rest. This story is essentially Gilman's criticism of how women were treated by men at that time. Men were nothing more than wardens in the lives of women. In the beginning of the story, the main character and her husband are spending time in a mansion they rented so that she may recuperate from the recent birth of her child, and calm her nerves. When her husband assigns her to stay in t
The manned in which Walker presents the quilt situation reflects how she feels art should be treated. Dee wants the quilts because of their aesthetic and financial value, "But they're priceless", she exclaims. Although she feels that she is embracing her African heritage in doing so, she fails to understand that her name goes back several generations and is more a part of her heritage than any adopted African name. In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use", she veils a statement about art and culture in the story of a daughter returning to her roots for the day. As her journey into madness continues, she begins to see the shape of a woman in the wallpaper of her room and becomes obsessed with "rescuing" her. Writers everyday are making social criticisms and commentary on life through their stories, and the characters within them. He at no point treats her as an equal, but rather as someone whom he must take care of and dominate. It's about how you live and how you act. In this story however, the angel is viewed as a threat throughout the authorities of the church. "What don't I understand?" I wanted to know. She is upset that Maggie is going to receive the quilts because she is "backward enough to put them to everyday use. Making a statement about society, religion, the government or any other facet of life does not always have to include a soapbox and a microphone. "I can 'member Grandma Dee without the quilts. "She shall be as sick as she pleases.
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Acceptance Essays
