Literature enables us to connect with the reality in our day to day lives. It informs us about the past, and also assists come into terms with the modern times. It is possible to understand the different aspects of life with the study of literature hence adding value in our lives. In this article we will analyze three journals and their relations with real life situations.
“˜The snows of Kilimanjaro’ is a short story about a writer, Harry and his rich wife Helen who go hunting in Africa and their truck falls apart. Unfortunately his leg is pricked by a thorn and his leg starts decaying from gangrene which eventually leads to his death. Before he dies he complains a lot which clearly brings out his character as bitter. Instead of listening to his wife reading out a book to him, he prefers quarrelling. “I can’t listen to it,” he said.” Talking is the easiest. We quarrel and that makes the time pass.” To add to this, he is also very rude to his wife. He calls her a bitch when she tells him he is sweet to her. “You bitch,” he said. “You rich bitch.” He is also portrayed as sarcastic. When he says his leg is painless and his wife asks “˜is it really?’ he gives a sarcastic answer, “Absolutely. I’m awfully sorry about the odor though. That must bother you.” Similarly the minute his wife insists there is something she can do, he tells her “You can take the leg off and that might stop it, though I doubt it. Or you can shoot me. You’re a good shot now. I taught you to shoot, didn’t I?” It is also clear he is a pessimist. His wife reasons that they should make it easy until the plane comes. He however responds negatively, “Or until the plane doesn’t come.”
Naturalism is simply the description of realism in the literature being analyzed. This is clearly brought out in the play Streetcar named desire in several instances and has been achieved by blending what happens in real life to the occurrences in the play. The use of generating sciences in the story has displayed naturalism too. To start with, Stella’s house is defined to be in a humble neighborhood of New Orleans. Noise from the street could be heard plus music from a far. Blanche comes in dressed in white and starts hurting Stella by reminding her about the past. To add to that, Stanley is defined as an animal. He is strong, rough and harsh. He not only smacks his wife but is also mean to Blanche. After his wife goes to hospital, he comes home and finds Blanche alone only to rape her. This clearly shows the nature of human beings of taking advantage of others’ feebleness and their ability to hurt others. Stanley and Stella’s relationship is more of a physical one and that’s why Stella keeps going back to her husband even after striking her when she is expectant. She also does not believe her husband Stanley could rape her sister. Blanche going mad is also another case of naturalism since it shows her vulnerability. Her use of language also displays she is a teacher.
Modernism in “˜The Great Gatsby’ is displayed in several cases. A lot of partying is done where Gatsby throws a lot of parties in a bid to win Daisy back. Too much alcohol is also taken in this story to a point the narrator fails to remember some parts of the story because he is too drunk. Gatsby is also said to have a lot of wealth whose source is unidentified. Women and relationships are also a clear indication of modernism in this story. Gatsby would have wanted to be with his love Daisy but he gets she is married. He goes ahead to look for her and they get in a relationship yet Daisy is married. The protagonist in Fitzgerald’s story is Jay Gatsby. He is from a humble background and falls in love with Daisy Fay who gets married while he is away. A conflict approaches when he comes back and rekindles their relationship. Tom, Daisy’s husband confronts Gatsby about it and his unidentified source of wealth. He is eventually killed by Wilson who was given wrong information by Tom that Gatsby killed his wife. This enables Tom to run away with Daisy. Gatsby is not able to overcome the conflict and becomes a victim. He is sympathetic since he covers up for Daisy for a murder he didn’t commit. Though he shouldn’t have gone out with a married woman, I don’t think he deserved to be killed.