“You many not control all the events that may happen to you, but you may decide not to be reduced by them” (Maya Angelou). Sometimes, people are forced to face things that make them feel powerless. In the short stories written by Cynthia Rylant and Ama Ata Aidoo, the characters have a conflict that makes them feel helpless and confused. These two characters, in their own way, solved their conflicts. In the stories “Checkouts” and “The Girl Who Can”, the characters changed because they felt misunderstood, were forced to face an internal conflict, and found comfort. To commence with, the two characters in the stories “Checkouts” and “The Girl Who Can” changed because they both felt misunderstood. For instance, in “The Girl Who Can”, she
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For example, in “Checkouts”, “Her parents had moved her to Cincinnati…”(96). Because her parents decided to move to another place, the girl became immensely miserable. She now spent most of her time at old photographs. Secondly, in the short story “The Girl Who Can”, Adjoa states “You see how neither way of hearing me out can encourage me to express my thoughts too often. Like all this business to do with my legs. I have always wanted to tell them not to worry”. (102). Adjoa has been made fun of by her own family so much that now she no longer wants to express her thoughts, like stating that she does not worry about her legs. Overall, both characters in the short stories are made to face conflicts that are out of their …show more content…
To exemplify, in Checkouts, it says, “ The bag boy seemed a wonderful contrast to the perfectly beautiful house she had been forced to accept as her home, to the history she hated, to the loneliness she had become used to…”(96). The story is written in third person omniscient allowing the reader to know what both the boy and the girls feel. The reader is able to know that they boy has fallen in love with the girl and the girl’s sadness has disappeared thanks to the possibility of seeing the boy again. She has changed and turned into a much happier person. Also, in the story “The Girl Who Can”, the grandmother of Adjoa tells her, “saa, thin legs can also be useful...thin legs can also be useful...even though some legs don’t have much meat on them, to carry hips...they can run…”(106). The story is written in first person, allowing the reader to feel more connected with the character and see her innocence. The reader sees how Adjoa was confused about her legs and then how she is delighted to find out that she was right about thin legs having benefits without having the other characters’ thought interfere. In conclusion, throughout the story, both characters find comfort that helps them with their internal
For example, in “Checkouts”, “Her parents had moved her to Cincinnati…”(96). Because her parents decided to move to another place, the girl became immensely miserable. She now spent most of her time at old photographs. Secondly, in the short story “The Girl Who Can”, Adjoa states “You see how neither way of hearing me out can encourage me to express my thoughts too often. Like all this business to do with my legs. I have always wanted to tell them not to worry”. (102). Adjoa has been made fun of by her own family so much that now she no longer wants to express her thoughts, like stating that she does not worry about her legs. Overall, both characters in the short stories are made to face conflicts that are out of their …show more content…
To exemplify, in Checkouts, it says, “ The bag boy seemed a wonderful contrast to the perfectly beautiful house she had been forced to accept as her home, to the history she hated, to the loneliness she had become used to…”(96). The story is written in third person omniscient allowing the reader to know what both the boy and the girls feel. The reader is able to know that they boy has fallen in love with the girl and the girl’s sadness has disappeared thanks to the possibility of seeing the boy again. She has changed and turned into a much happier person. Also, in the story “The Girl Who Can”, the grandmother of Adjoa tells her, “saa, thin legs can also be useful...thin legs can also be useful...even though some legs don’t have much meat on them, to carry hips...they can run…”(106). The story is written in first person, allowing the reader to feel more connected with the character and see her innocence. The reader sees how Adjoa was confused about her legs and then how she is delighted to find out that she was right about thin legs having benefits without having the other characters’ thought interfere. In conclusion, throughout the story, both characters find comfort that helps them with their internal