Comparing Stories Your Shoes versus Flight versus Chemistry :: Doris Lessing Michele Roberts Graham Swift

Explore how conflict between two characters is communicated in the short stories studied. Introduction: The short stories I have chosen to focus on for this essay are ‘Flight’ by Doris Lessing and ‘Your Shoes’ by Michele Roberts. I will briefly refer to a third, Graham Swift’s ‘Chemistry’. I will show the character’s desire for control or continuity which conflicts with the choices or sense of independence of another character also, the theme of the generation gap and imagery, dialogue to convey conflict or a sense of understanding by the characters. Development: In ‘Flight’ the grandfathers character portrays a desire to maintain the continuity of the family by trying to show his control over his daughter, in the text it states that he called his daughter a ‘Liar’, liar. Then you should regret it. Why do you make your girls marry? It’s you who do it. What do you do it for? Why?’ The Grandfather’s is trying to make his daughter feel the guilty one for the family’s split, the loss of all that was dear to them, especially him and now they will all be gone. Only Alice left but, soon to flee the nest, his nest. In ‘Your Shoes’ the mother is still trying to take control of the situation, making excuses for her daughters departure, trying to justify her reasoning by, putting the blame on happenings that where out of her control. The text states, your father didn’t mean it when he told you those things the other night and called you a dirty slut. Both stories are similar with the use of imagery, in ‘Flight’ the grandfather uses a pigeon and in ‘Your Shoes’ the mother uses a pair of new white training shoes (trainers) both symbolising purity, precious and need looking after, taking care of, protecting from the evils of the outside world. But, they are both showing in doing this that they need to be controlled for their own safety, they are still too young to take this journey on their own. Both of these characters are possessive and don't want to let go what is dearest to them. Both characters act more possessive due to previous experiences, the Grandfather has seen other Grandchildren get married and leave home. The mother in Your Shoes continually refers to her troubled childhood where she felt she was ignored. In ‘Flight’, the Grandfather shows his control over the bird by deliberately holding out his wrist for the bird to take flight and then caught it again at the moment it spread its wings.

Adam Smith: Of the Wages of Labour Essay

Adam Smith spoke about the existing relationship between wages and labor and compared it to how it is observed in other countries like North America, India and China. In this section of his book, he had described how things would have been like if laborers had managed and owned their produce. Smith had stated that in the original state of things, the finished product simply belongs to the laborer. Things would have gradually become cheaper since almost everyone with a backbone could rely on their own work produce. Even if the produce is made by a small number of laborers, the commodities produced would most likely be of equal standards compared to other laborers since it is not marked by profit for others but for oneself. In reality, the concept of ownership and private properties has long been the determinants of people’s places. Smith has said that in every business undertaking, every laborer depends upon a master or owner to obtain the necessary materials they need for work and for their survival needs. The master shares in the produce of a laborer through profit, which is the value that is placed for the work produced. Whatever contract the laborer and master agrees upon the end result determines the wage received by the laborer. Most often, the interests of the masters and laborers are in conflict, which creates tension and dilemma in the relationship. The laborers desire to get as much from their produce as they can but their masters would only offer them a minimal amount than their asking price. Smith also noted that most masters merge to contain or maintain low wages since it will affect their share of the profit while laborers unite to raise the stakes. In the long-run, the laborer may be a necessity to his master as the master is to the laborer but the relationship is not that compulsory on the part of the master. This is due to the fact that laborers live by their work, which should be sufficient enough to maintain a decent living. Smith went on to express what he had observed from the lowest species of common laborers in Europe who have a difficulty in sustaining a large family. Most often, the wages of common laborers are not enough to feed their children of four. The amount that a laborer usually gets is sufficient enough for only one person. Herein lies the sentiments of the common laborers who do heavy menial work yet are not paid sufficiently for their dues. Smith goes on to compare the high wages in North America for the common laborers to those of European countries. According to him, England is a much wealthier country than North America but in relation to the wages it gives to laborers, the latter gains the upper hand. In Great Britain and most other European countries, it was said that wages were not expected to be doubled in less than five hundred years. Labor is so well rewarded in North America, China and India that families with numerous children are a source of opulence and prosperity to the parents since they contribute more income to the family. The demand for those who live by wages is said to increase in proportion to the increase of the funds. According to Smith, these funds are of two kinds. First is the concept of revenue, which is what is necessary for the maintenance of the business and second is the stock which is needed for the employment of the masters. Smith has asserted that if there is an increase in the revenue and stock of a business, then there is an increase in a nation’s wealth and this is what he has observed in the countries he mentioned in the text. Adam Smith had made good observations regarding his view of wages and labor in contemporary modern times and he had been able to clearly define what ails the relationship between laborers and it masters. Reference: Smith, A. (1994). Of the Wages of Labour. The Wealth of Nations. Modern Library. New York: Random House.

The Monkey Garden - 680 Words

The Monkey Garden nbsp; The Monkey Garden by Sandra Cisneros tells the story of a young girl’s loss of childhood innocence. The story is narrated by a mature woman remembering her initiation into adolescence through the images and events that occurred in an unused neighborhood lot. She is not ready to mature into adolescence and uses her imagination to transform the lot into a fantasy garden--a place where she can hide from the adult world. The garden is the vehicle in which the narrator reveals her reluctance to leave behind the imaginary world of childhood and see the realities of the adult world. The evidence supporting this interpretation is the imagery of hiding. The narrator uses the garden to hide from reality and the†¦show more content†¦Objects in the garden that reflect the reality of the lot and not the fantasy of the garden are not transformed into bigger than life images, but silent, unseeing objects. Abandoned cars, weeds, and rotting wood close their eyes and sleep. Sleeping, these objects are hidden, unable to see themselves or others in the garden. â€Å" worms blind and afraid of the light† and â€Å" spiders† hide under the surface of the garden, unable to see the reality of the lot (paragraph 4). The narrator believes she, too, can hide from reality in the garden. â€Å" had a way of disappearing in the garden, as if the garden itself ate them, or, as if with its old-man memory, it put them away and forgot them† (paragraph 5). That is what she wanted from the garden, to be hidden or forgotten, as a child, â€Å" a thousand years† like the â€Å" of murdered pirates and dinosaurs† buried in the garden (paragraph 7). The friends of the narrator, however, do not hide in the imaginary world of childhood and are maturing into adolescents. Sally, â€Å" screamed if she got her stockings muddy,† felt they were too old to â€Å" the games† (paragraph 9). Sally stayed by the curb and talked to the boys (paragraph 10). 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