QUIZ3 - Grade: A PDF

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Quiz 3

I.

Story with a Cultural Theme: Giribala,  by Mahasweta Devi Mahasweta Devi’s, Giribala tells the story of a young girl named Giribala, or, Giri, for

short. Devi reveals Giribala to be a fourteen year old girl who was born in a village called Talsana. Giri faces the many challenges of her culture, which negatively impact her in social, cultural, and financial

ways. Giri does not only suffer hard times and encounter many

experiences at a young age, but, she is also made inferior to her family as well as society for being a female. Devi uses many literary techniques in order to contribute to the overall theme of Giribala, c ulture. Through this, Devi successfully portrays Giri to be a young woman with no control over her actions, or, her life, due to the customs of her culture. A careful examination of Devi’s techniques reveals the inferior position Giri has in life, illuminating the overall culture-focused theme. Devi first uses setting as a literary technique in order to portray Giri’s inferiority in the culture through arranged marriage. At only fourteen years old, Giri is to be married to a man named Aulchand. It is a custom that Aulchand would give Giri’s father eighty rupees as a bride-price. Devi automatically shows the inferiority Giri has in her family, by not only being fourteen and having an arranged marriage, but, being “bought” to marry. Giri, as well as her family are tricked by Aulchand, who claims to be an innocent person. When Aulchand leaves after marrying Giri, he returns after almost a year prepared to trick again. Devi states, “Giri listened silently. She knew that although the groom had to pay a bride-price in their community,

still a girl was only a girl” (Devi 772). This illuminates the idea of no control. Giri is silent, voiceless of an opinion, mentally and physically because of being a female. Due to the fact that she is a girl, she is to follow all the customs in the way of her family, not her own. The author uses the idea of authority and power in the domestic space in order to show how Devi’s inferiority and lack of control coincide with the cultural theme. When Giri had herself sterilized, Aulchand was very furious. Aulchand

beat Giri up for the first time,

questioning her as to why she would get herself sterilized. Devi states, “Giri kept silent and took the beating. Aulchand grabbed her by the hair and punched her a good many times. Silently she took it all” (Devi 773). Through this, Devi illuminates the idea of the amount of silence that Giri has. After Aulchand stops beating her because he was tired, he made a sly remark to Giri and she just stared at him. Devi states, “Aulchand haj d to lower his eyes before her silent stare” (Devi 774). Not only does Devi show her non-existent role of any power or authority in the domestic space, but, Devi shows her vision to be silent, as well. Through Giri’s silence and lack of power in her home, Devi is able to use the technique of power to show the cultural theme. The cultural theme is not only portrayed through Giri’s inferiority as a female, but, also through her firstborn daughter’s inferiority to have control over any action. Devi uses women in the story in order to show the lack of control a woman figure has, at home, as well as in society. When Giri’s firstborn was taken from her, Bela, she had no idea she was never to see her again. Bela was sold into prostitution at a young age. Because Bela is a female, as well as a young girl, she is viewed as an object instead of a human being. She did not have a say in what was happening and she was not able to prevent it. Even when Devi seeks police help, she views it as expense and trouble. Devi uses the word, “victim,” to describe what Bela has become. Devi

states, “Bela had become one more victim of this new business of procuring girls on the next pretext of marriage. The police were not going to do much for this single case; they would most probably say that the father did it after all” (Devi 778). Through this statement, Devi shows how Bela is not the only victim. Other girls are victimized through prostitution in the culture by their own family. Also, Bela is not only a victim in terms of prostitution, but, in terms of being subject to anything because of being a woman. Devi successfully shows the inferiority of women through the theme of culture. Ultimately, Mahasweta Devi is able to show the theme of culture through the use of Giribala’s story and distinguishing her position versus a male’s position. A male’s position entails dominance, assertiveness, and power. On the other hand, a woman’s position entails submission, nurture, and accommodation. One can clearly observe the culture’s affect on Giri and how she is negatively impacted by her social and cultural environment. Through the use of literary techniques, as well as portraying many sub-themes such as power in the domestic space, inferiority of women, as well as hard times and experience, Devi successfully illuminates the theme of culture.

II. Story with a Personal Focus: Her First Ball, b y Katherine Mansfield

Her First Ball, b y Katherine Mansfield tells the story of Leila, a young girl who is extremely self-conscious, thrilled, and ecstatic about attending her first formal ball. To Leila, the ball would be perfect, under any circumstances. Mansfield illuminates every detail of Leila’s journey to the ball to be pleasurable such as sharing a cab. When the others in the cab are surprised that she had never attended a ball, Leila is unbothered. Mansfield uses literary techniques in order to conduct a personal-focus theme. The author shows the theme of Leila’s coming of age. Mansfield describes Leila’s transition from innocence to maturation. A careful examination of Mansfield’s literary techniques will reveal her personal-focused theme of growth. Mansfield uses setting in order to portray the before and after aspects of maturation and growth. Leila grew up in the country where her closest neighbor was nearly fifteen miles away. She is an inexperienced young girl, yearning for enchantment. While Leila’s friends view the ball as a regular thing to do, they are nonchalant about the event and are already matured. Leila, on the other hand, treats attending the ball as an experience. Mansfield uses imagery as well when describing the setting. Leila is extremely fascinated with all the decor at the ball that she personifies the objects at the ball. Mansfield states, “Leila, pressing close to Meg, looking over Meg’s shoulder, felt that even the little quivering colored flags strung across the ceiling were talking” (Mansfield 235). This shows the idea of Leila being young girl in terms of her not only finding fascination in the little flags, but, also in terms of her looking over Meg’s shoulder and finding the ball a magical place to be. By using literary devices such as setting, imagery, and personification, Mansfield conveys a theme personal to Leila, growth and maturation. The author also uses the personal theme of comparison in order to distinguish age in Her First Ball . Leila first observes age and maturation through watching the girls gaze at the guys.

Leila felt as though the girls did not see her because they were gazing at the guys. Mansfield states, “Leila felt the girls didn’t really see her. They were looking towards the men” (Mansfield 235). This illuminates the idea of attention. When Meg introduces Leila as her little cousin, Leila expected some attention to be drawn towards her, which comes with being young. Mansfield is able to develop the idea of age and maturation by incorporating it within the dialogue. When the fat man approaches Leila and tells her to come along to dance, he questions if it is her first dance. When she replies and asks how he knew, he told her it came with age. Ultimately, the author uses time as an element within the story to show the bittersweet line between youth and old age. When the fat man tells her that he had been dancing for the past thirty years and that one day she will be old like him, it shocks her. The way Leila views everything about the ball is not only graceful, enchanting, and lively, but, is also a fantasy. Mansfield places the fat man in the story in order to help Leila distinguish between reality and fantasy, a part of growing up and maturing. The man separates the two, telling her it will not last and one day she will be less graceful when old. Mansfield states, “why didn’t happiness last for ever? For ever wasn’t a bit too long” (Mansfield 237). Through this exclamation, Mansfield is able to portray Leila’s character as a hopeful, young girl, with a lot of maturing to do. When Leila realizes it is all true, she is taken back and needs a moment. Through illuminating the idea of youth and old age, Mansfield creates Leila’s coming of age story in a personal focus. Mansfield’s, Her First Ball, r eveals Leila in a realistic manner where she displays the resilience of youth. The author uses many literary techniques in order to show Leila as different from the rest of the characters in the story. She also uses the devices to properly portray Leila as a young girl who is maturing into adulthood. When she reaches an epiphany about her

surrounding environment and accepts that one day she will have grown older, she chooses to appreciate the moment instead of throwing the moment away, which illuminates her age, growth, and maturity. Katherine Mansfield’s use of literary techniques throughout the entire story clearly portray a personal-focused theme displaying Leila’s coming of age....