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Comparing Short Stories 'Drive And Happy Trails'

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oices of a Panamanian girl and a Spokane Indian

In the short stories “Drive” by Christina Henriquez and “Happy Trails” by Sherman Alexie, both authors use the first person narrative voice and present their cultures and events to the audience. The authors created two characters, a 48-year-old Indian narrator, and young Panamanian girl Marisol. The two narrators share some significant similarities. For example, they are both from working class people who live with their mothers, whose homelands have been “invaded”. Although both narrators used first-person point of view, there are also several meaningful differences between them. For instance, they used different amount of words from their own languages, and their cultures have been affected by outside culture in different levels.
Both narrators are working class. Marisol used to have a job as a saleswoman in an appliance shop. However, she soon got fired because no one even needed appliances. Then she and her mother lost income completely. “My mama and I are going to run out of money in a few more weeks and I don't want her to have to find work” (Henriquez 77). In this excerpt of the text, …show more content…

However, they see this differently. In the short story, “Drive”, people believe that adult live with their parent because they are unable to make a living on their own. It is thus laughable to live with parents. One reason Marisol is in love with Beto is that he is independent and doesn’t live with his parents. “I thank God for the millionth that I know at least one person in this city who doesn’t still live with his parents.” (Henriquez 60) However, in Spokane tribe, it is never criticized to live with family as adult. Because Spokane people believe in connection between family members. The narrator explained in the text: “I still live with my mother. The rest of the world would call me a failure, I suppose, but Indians don’t judge adult Indians for remaining in the family home”

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