Short stories offer a variety of lessons and scenarios. In class, we have explored three short stories with very different times, places, and situations. The Gold Cadillac, the first short story was a tale about an African family experiencing minor conflicts between them, and also the racism they faced at the hands of white people, especially in the South of America. Nadia the Willful was set in the desert, and is a story about opening up to loss and facing grief. The last short story we read, The Bracelet, was a short but interesting story about Japanese-Americans being interned in camps during the Second World War. Each and every story has differences and similarities within them, such as the difference of actions, difference of time, and difference of emotions.
People often differ in their actions, and we can spot that difference in both The Gold Cadillac and Nadia the Willful. In the Golden Cadillac, despite the relatives’ and friends’ love for their new, expensive car, the mother remained angry over the fact that the father purchased such an extravagant and unneeded item. Later on, even when almost everyone disagreed, she seemed alright with the fact that her husband wanted to drive South in the new car, even insisting that he take her and their daughters with him. In Nadia the Willful, the father was a well loved ruler, gracious to all, and Nadia was a stubborn young girl. However, after her brother’s death, she became the one who grieved and talked about her late brother, while her father had become an angry man who banned all talk of his name. This shows how differently people behave in every situation.
Past and present are two very different realities, and are explored in all three stories. In the Gold Cadillac, the past would be the father indulging in his new car, while his wife was unsatisfied. As time passed, we traveled to the “present”, learning that he sells the car after his experience in the South. In Nadia the Willful, the past held Nadia’s brother. In the past, her brother was still alive, and her father was a benevolent ruler. As we go to the present, her brother has died, and her father experienced changement mentally, after being temporarily tyrannical during the period close to his son’s death. The Bracelet has a past and present that are both equally important. THe past showed the normality in Ruri’s life as a middle school student. The present shows how the government is ostracizing her people because of their ancestry. Each past and present has their own differences, each equally important and meaningful.
Without emotions, we would have no story at all, as all the stories do explore the emotional state of the characters. The characters of The Golden Cadillac all harbored different emotions: the mother was angry, the father was happy, and the children were excited about the new car. Later on, after getting arrested, the father’s optimism does not change, but his emotions do change to a more serious state. Nadia the Willful might have the most complicated emotions in all three stories. The father’s emotions went from being happy to sad and shut off in a night, due to the death of his son. Nadia, on the other hand, after spending some time grieving, decided to carry on in a happier fashion, by speaking with others about her late brother. In the Bracelet, we could see that the characters had a very happy past with a sense of community and togetherness. But after they learned they were going to get interned, the mood dims, and everyone seems sorrowful. In short, emotions can change very quickly due to events that took place.
In conclusion, by comparing and contrasting the elements in each story, such as behavior, time, and emotion, I was able to take much more from them. By taking the time to analyze each person’s attitudes and behaviors, I was able to see how they changed throughout the story. Contrasting and comparing is very important in stories, as it helps us learn more, in a way that we can see the difference between each time period, and how that difference made each character react. Although not many people might actually think to compare and contrast while reading, we actually do it subconsciously by thinking about how each character is different in their own ways!
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