Relationships In Puppy And Twyla And Saunder's Recitatif

Literature explores themes and ideas about relationships and about how we build and experience them. The novel, ‘When We Were Two,’ by Robert newton, published in 2011, captures the journey of two boys leaving their home to escape their abusive father in search of the sea and their mother. The two boys named Dan and Eddie go through a physical and emotional adventure where they build relationships and face many hardships. The novel conveys many themes related to relationships including the importance of mateship and friendship, the impact of the loss of a loved one and the importance of belonging. Mateship and friendship are relationships that we as humans rely on.

Friendships tend to change over time, for better or worse. This is illustrated in Toni Morrison’s short story Recititaf. The relationships of Twyla and Roberta are a rollercoaster from the moment they meet at the orphanage, to their confrontational meeting at the Howard Johnsons, to the picketing during segregation, until the end when they try and sort things out. One of the ways to show the rocky relationship of the two is through their dialog when they discuss their mothers.

In Rebecca Mead’s article “The Scourge of ‘Relatability,’” she describes relatability in literature as “to describe a character or a situation in which an ordinary person might see himself reflected.” In every book we read or movie we watch, it is more enjoyable when we are able to connect to the characters and the situations that they are in. It is exhilarating for us to think about what would happen if we were in that crazy situation that the character was in, but we just want to experience it from a safe distance and not actually be in that situation, which enables us to sympathize with the characters. This concept of relatability and sympathy is demonstrated throughout Jennifer Egan’s “Found Objects” and “Selling the General.” The main characters, Sasha and Dolly, at first, come off as stereotypical selfish villains, but we are able to relate because they are seeking that emotional connection that every human desires. However, just because we are able to relate to these characters it doesn’t mean we are sympathetic toward them, the characters actions and their motives behind their actions are what defines them and ultimately make us feel either sympathetic or unsympathetic towards them.

“Then they spent a long time taking counsel together, they talked of how to avoid the necessity for secrecy, for deception, for living in different cities, and not seeing one another for long stretches of time. How could they free themselves from these intolerable fetters?” (Chekhov 224). In 1899, Anton Chekhov wrote “The Lady with the Pet Dog” which tells the story of Dmitry Dmitrich Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna von Didertiz’s love affair through the man’s point of view. It is hopeless and immoral, but it is a love that knows no bounds. In 1972, Joyce Carol Oates gave new life to the lover’s story through the woman’s point of view in her story “The Lady with the Pet Dog.” Although both stories use the same plot and title, there are both

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that has forced you to act out of character? Then, after the situation it occurred you, that you could have acted differently? Well, in Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif,” the main characters Roberta and Twyla continually run into each other in completely different situations, causing them to behave differently each and every time. Roberta and Twyla’s changing environments caused them to react in unexpected ways, as well as compelling them to acknowledge each other differently, and consequently forcing them to end on different terms after each situation.

In Rebecca Meads article “The Scourge of ‘Relatability,’” she describes relatability in literature as “to describe a character or a situation in which an ordinary person might see himself reflected.” In every book we read or movie we watch, it is most enjoyable when we are able to connect to the characters and the situations that they are in. It is exhilarating for us to think about what would happen if we were in that crazy situation that the character was in, but we just want to experience it from a safe distance and not actually be in that situation, which enables us to sympathize with the characters. This concept of relatability and sympathy is demonstrated throughout Jennifer Egan’s “Found Objects” and “Selling the General.” The main characters, Sasha and Dolly, at first come off as stereotypical selfish villains, but we are able to relate because they are seeking that emotional connection that every human desires. However, just because we are able to relate to these characters it doesn’t mean we are sympathetic toward them, the characters actions and their motives behind their actions are what defines them and ultimately make us feel either sympathetic or unsympathetic towards them.

The extraordinarily horrible stories of multiple families connected together through love, marriage, and friendship, all slowly unravel in Ann-Marie MacDonald’s award-winning novel, “Fall on Your Knees”. The story begins with Materia Mahmoud eloping with James Piper, who both move to a small Village together in Nova Scotia where they raise a family of girls, all of very different personalities. Materia always tries to be the best mother she can be, and James is a good man who had an unfortunate upbringing, which eventually corrupts his morals later on when he has his own family. Through various events in the story, three basic archetypes become very evident in the main characters. These three archetypes include the Nurturer, the Outlaw, and the Explorer, which all become very obvious, quite early in the story.

Speaking on the prevalent theme of reflection, evident in both texts we can clearly see the emotional toll that derives from the characters concealed sentiments of nostalgia. In both texts, much of the rhetoric is centered around this omnipresent sense of regret and rumination that appears to plague the characters and does seem to somewhat distract them from completely living in the present. The divergence between past and present is more apparent in Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif”, because the story encompasses a larger span of Twyla and Roberta’s lives, from the point in which they are eight years old, being first introduced as roommates at St Bonny’s, up until after Twyla’s son graduates high school. The story begins with the two young girls being dumped at St Mary’s by their respective mothers, both of which were equally ill-equipped to raise children. Roberta’s mother who was sick and Twyla’s who: “liked to dance all night” (pg. 132). The story then chronicles the girls leaving the orphanage and the series of subsequent chance encounters which follow. Upon each meeting the girls are given a chance to contemplate their past, which brings up controversial topics for both, in particular the friction that accompanies the rhetorical question: “What the hell happened to Maggie?” (pg. 147). Characterized as an outsider, Maggie is a mute kitchen helper working in St Bonnies, however she plays an integral part of the

Each and every person has a unique and special relationship with their family and friends; what makes it our own is how we express our affection to one another, what experiences we share together, and how we feel when we’re around them. In both Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Wes Anderson’s film The Grand Budapest Hotel, character relationships are expressed through great extremities they go through for each other’s sake as well as loyalty to one another despite questionable circumstances that come their way. These events and relationships are what form the structure of each story for a larger plot to take place. Christopher, a fifteen-year-old boy with Aspergers, is striving for independence and freedom away from his family partly due to his struggle to connect with them, but his unique relationship with them reveals his love for his parents and his parents love for him through misplaced lies, second chances, and Christopher’s impending maturity. Similarly, Gustave, a devoted concierge of “a picturesque, elaborate, […] widely celebrated” hotel has a special relationship with his young lobby boy, Zero, which grows into a solid friendship and father-son bond through their adventures of life and death situations they experience together. Although the character relationships in both stories are formed and expressed completely differently, ultimately, they’re both uncovered through sacrifices made by characters in the conflict of the

In the short story “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison there are two main characters Twyla and Roberta, which are both of the different races. They meet in an orphanage named St. Bonny at the age of 8. They are forced to share a room together when they learn to like each other. Throughout the short story the reader see the two young girls grow up and go their separate ways. They run into each other a few times after they leave the orphanage, as time goes by the less Twyla feels she doesn’t know who Roberta is anymore. One thing Toni Morrison does in this short story is give indirect characteration of the characters so therefore she never gives a directly says who is which race. Some will say Twyla is white and others may say she’s black depending

Max and Liesel formed a very close relationship with each other, providing a strong sense of safety and belonging for both of them. Although very different, both Liesel and max were in a similar situation as they had both been separated from their families as a result of the war. Liesel lost her father, mother and brother, and Max didn’t even know the whereabouts of the family he left behind. For both Liesel and Max, the loss of their family haunts them enormously. They both share a mutual need to belong; together they help create their own sense of belonging through the solid relationship which they share. Liesel and max both share a love of words which again brings them closer together. They spent time in the basement writing or reading together,

There seems to be a theme in both the stories, both the women seem lonely and isolated, and there was major miscommunication in both relationships. The relationships both have unfulfilled wishes in the story. In “Cat” the woman keeps asking her husband if he thinks she should grow her hair out. Her husband’s only response was I like it just the way it is.

Much of life results from choices we make.  How we meet every circumstance, and also how we allow those circumstances to affect us dictates our life.  In Anton Chekhov’s “The Lady With the Little Dog," we are given a chance to take a look inside two characters not unlike ourselves.  As we are given insight into these two people, their character and nature unfolds, presenting us with people we can relate to.  Even if we fail to grasp the fullness of a feeling or circumstance, we are still touched on our own level, evidencing the brilliance of Chekhov’s writing.

Katherine Mansfield was a modernist short story writer during the 1920’s. She wrote various short stories in the few years as an author, Mansfield 's stories often commented on class, relationships, families, and sexuality, After reading a few of her most popular works the common theme of them though out was the central conclusion of them all is the protagonist coming of age by seeing the more realistic view on life. The common theme aids Mansfield’s in communicating to her readers the idea of one finally seeing the truths in his or hers personal lifestyles. Mansfield carries this central theme in all stories by using literary devices such as imagery and symbols.

Jane Smiley is a midwestern novelist who has been responsible for a numerous amount of published books since 1980. In her short story collection, The Age of Grief, Smiley composes several narratives. Within the first 3 stories there is a common theme of complex and difficult relationships, although it is not always apparent at first. They consist of not only relationships between couples, but friendships as well. Comparing a few of the stories can give a better insight as to what was happening in marriages and relationships around Smiley at the time.