Social Normality In Literature

Society and social normality’s influence a work of literature in a great way. The stories we have read in class such as, “New York Day Women” by Edwidge Danticat and “The Girl with Bangs” by Zadie Smith, are both significantly influenced by society or social norms. There are two other pieces of literature which can correspond to these influences as well. They are “Quality Control” by Edwidge Danticat and “Meet the President!” by Zadie Smith. All of these works both validate and deviate from traditional society. Within the texts, these stories explain the nature of social messages and validate the social values of its time period. The first example of this is in Danticat’s stories. In the short story “Quality Control”, the first evidence I noticed was …show more content…
This was prominently revealed at the end of the story, “Were they just posing, Jess wondered. For her. For their people. For each other. Or for the closing line of the story that the first lady knew Jess would end up writing” (par 58). This line proves Marlene was putting on a show for the people of her country and for Jess. Throughout the story, Marlene kept telling Jess she couldn’t speak freely because the men would hear. This story takes place in the Middle East. Therefore, it is not uncommon for women to be treated differently than men. Considering the social normalcies, this forces the women to be cautious of their conversations. The theme of putting on a show follows suit with Danticat’s other work “New York Day Women”. In this piece of literature, the whole text is surrounded by the characters living different lives during the day. The first example of this is when the daughter realizes the mother has a different life in the day. This is indicated in paragraph fifteen, “I followed my mother, mesmerized by the many possibilities of her journey. Even in a flowered dress, she is lost in a sea of pinstripes and gray suits, high heels and elegant short skirts,