Valgardson And Katherine Mansfieldf: A Literary Analysis

Interpretive literature is used to widen our perspective of reality in which the writer “shapes and forms them always with the intent that we may see and understand them better.” In which the discriminating reader “takes deeper pleasure in fiction that deals with life.” The two stories that have been read, Identities by W.D. Valgardson and Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfieldf compares the lives of our two protagonists, where one is a rich middle aged man who is roughly in his thirty’s, adventuring to the other unfamiliar, side of town. The other protagonist who is quite the opposite, is a middle aged woman who should also be in her thirty’s, who is not wealthy that stays in her town going about her usual routine. Judging people, mocking others, …show more content…
The protagonist in Identities, begins his day with pleasant intentions at the crack of dawn, feeling nostalgic, goes out to explore the city around him as “the promise of a Saturday liquid with sunshine draws him first from the study to the back yard.” Miss Brill wakes up in the morning admiring her coat that she had decided on while the morning sky was filled with “great spots of light like white wine.” This reveals to us that she was content in the morning as she was having a moment with her coat. However, the light does not last long in both stories as the life of the protagonist in Identities quickly turns dark when he is shot as he reached for his wallet which consequently was his “last voluntary moment of his life.” This story shows a literal example of the “light to dark” contrast, whereas Miss Brill has more of a metaphorical comparison where at the end d of the story she “went into the little dark room” to put away her beloved fur coat into a box. After closing the lid “she heard something crying.” The light in Miss Brill’s life was quickly blown out when the young couple made fun of her, she realized that the way she perceived herself is extremely different from how others perceive