Custom «Comparison of Different Literature Works» Essay Paper Sample

Various works have been written on different themes that aim at addressing social issues. Most of this literature is written in short story format and also in the form of poem. Notably, some literature works are written from fiction perspective and others from reality as they tell of personal experience. Kate Chopin wrote a short story titled The Storm which was first published in 1969. Similarly, Boyle Coraghessan has a collection of short stories entitled Greasy Lake that was published in late 1980s. The aim of this essay is to contrast the different plotting and settings of these two texts.

The Storm is a short story whose main theme is sexuality. The story begins when Bobinot is out resting with his son when a heavy storm comes over with lightening forcing them to shelter. As the two wait for the storm to calm, Bobinot wife, Calixta, was back at home sewing. The climax of the story is reached as Calixta is worried about the safety of her husband and child as it was getting dark. Suddenly, her former boyfriend, Alcee, walked into the house and helped her remove clothes from the line. As the storms intensify further, Alcee tried to comfort Calixta, a situation that led her remember the old days when they were in love before she was married. The increased storms led to increased passion between the two until they had a sexual affair as the storm gathered momentum. Finally, the storm ends and her husband come home after Alcee had left and he also writes to his wife to comfort her on the location where she chose to live (Werlock et al P. 619).

Greasy Lake is a short story about the lost opportunities of the youths and their satires in the modern politics. The narrator of this work was telling the story as he reflected on the anxieties that the Americas underwent during the late 1980s. Many people have undergone frustration, which the character used in building his themes. The narrator recalls how he changed from a boy to man as he drove and used his parent’s property. He focused on the aspect of an individual being rude claiming that individuals pretend to be bad more than they are. The narration portrays the reality on the perception that being rebellious in drugs and sexy results to spiritual enlighten. The narrator further tells how they pretended to be rude and started a fight with the other man, Bobby. This ended up in attempting to rape his girlfriend before escaping on seeing an approaching car. The decision by the narrator and his friend to attack Bobby is related by the decision America took in attacking Vietnam which was immoral on both social and political ground. The three later re-emerge and gets the keys with the light of dawn and at last had a sexual encounter before living for home with two elderly ladies (Gleason P. 20).

The two stories have different plotting and settings as one can find out from the various extracts of the story. To start with, the Greasy Lake has its plot at night with different scenes taking place. The narrator recalls the night he was out and all that they did which is not socially accepted. The story is plotted to reveal how best the characters could misbehave at night by destroying properties, violent beatings with several attempts of murder and rape. The story is also plotted to reveal the themes which are portrayed in the modern society. It also shows how young people are misbehaving pretending they are adult within a night. The Storm is set in a rural Louisiana where most of the actions seem to have taken place. It is mostly characterized by sexuality which took place between the characters which also facilitated the making of the theme (Werlock et al P. 619).

As the two stories are told, there are various themes, which can be extracted from them. The Storm is all about the sexual betrayal from extra marital affairs as many characters have extra marital affairs. For instance, Calixta had an affair with Alcee when her husband was away as a result of the storms which could not allow them to come back to the house (Gilbert Para. 7). At the same time, Alcee betrayed his wife by having an extra sexual intercourse outside their marriage. This leads to the betrayal of the partner’s since they are not faithful to each other. The extra marital affair in the story can be linked to unfaithfulness of the parties involved as in the case of Alcee and Calixta.

Similarly, Greasy Lake is characterized by the way elderly people are treated in the society. Many young people have the belief that age comes with wisdom and economical privileges and this narrator wanted to put across. From his story, some characters pretend to be old within a night to get the privileges of the elderly people; this is all they want to become (Gleason P. 19). Unfortunately, it was impossible for them since they were indulging in vices, in contrary to their expectations.

As much as the two different stories have different setting and plotting, they share the theme of sexual exploitation together. The three young youths are reported to have an attempted rape on their way from Greasy Lakers due to the vulnerability of women (Werlock et al P. 619). At the same time, Alcee sexually exploited her former girlfriend Calixta due to her vulnerability in having sex having got the passion.

There is lack domestic responsibility as witnessed by the characters who absconded their marital duties from their wife’s. Patrick who is a character in the Greasy Lake had extra marital affairs with a young lady called Cindy before going home. On reaching home, he refused to take the responsibility of caring for her young child and the wife (Gleason P.20). The same situation is witnessed when Alcee wrote a letter to his wife telling her not to rush home.

In conclusion, the two literature works have different settings and plot depending on the theme they are discussing. The Storm is a fiction literature short story with themes related to sexual exploitation and family betrayal from extra marital affairs. The characters are betraying each other as women search for their position in the family. Similarly, Greasy Lakers is about political promises and political actions and how the elderly are treated in the society. The story is focusing on the youth’s irresponsibility in the American society. The above are the main themes that the short stories focus on, and absconding of marital duties by men.