Introduction
The depiction of life struggles in literature can be as varied as the authors’ approaches to details are. In the case of “Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage,” written by Alice Munro, and “Miss Adele Amidst the Corsets,” written by Zadie Smith, the difference is tremendous. The former story’s characters are more credible, the ideas of societal changes are more clearly presented, and stylistic decisions correspond better to the original intentions compared to the latter.
Description of Characters
The principal aspect distinguishing the literary works under examination and explaining the advantages of one over another, is a detailed description of the main characters, determining their will to live. In both stories, the authors depict individuals struggling with specific life circumstances; however, the difference is in the varying degree of success of the writers in portraying their key traits. For instance, in Munro’s piece, Johanna, who was the subject of the hoax of Edith and Sabitha, is well-written and possesses many virtues, determining her ability to survive. Thus, she is a person who “could see what needed to be done, and how, and she could round up and supervise people to do it,” implying that she is independent, strong-willed, and responsible (Munro 8). Throughout the narrative, many events support this vision and contribute to the explanation of why she is regarded as a positive character despite occasional rudeness (Munro 2). In this way, she is clearly virtuous and appears to be more human than others, which is underpinned by substantial evidence.
In this respect, she is more attractive and well-thought than Adele from “Miss Adele Amidst the Corsets” since the latter’s life is seen solely through the lens of her personal convictions, relationships, and bad habits. In the story, she gains weight while refusing to change her diet and keeps complaining about her brother’s lifestyle while neglecting the inevitability of her aging (Smith 1-2). By doing so, she rejects the idea of others being different and having varying priorities and is seen as a mean person as opposed to Johanna’s mere lack of charm. In the subsequent conflict in the shop, Adele also neglects the cultural characteristics of its owners and exacerbates the problem by shouting at them (Smith 8). Thus, even though her struggles are real, she does not evoke much sympathy. The information about Adele is limited to her past and rigid habits, while the reader knows nothing about her actual traits, leading to the adverse outcome.
Central Ideas and General Meaning
Munro’s narrative is also more intriguing due to her particular attention to the role of individuals in overcoming challenges, contrasted with Smith’s emphasis on the importance of circumstances. For example, when misled by the teenagers, Johanna relies only on herself while moving to Ken, thereby supporting the idea of one’s power over hardships (Munro 12). In this way, the central idea of this piece is the possibility to improve one’s life by simply acting on the chance, while the general meaning is the possibility for everyone to make a change. On the contrary, Adele expects the world to readjust to her liking instead of putting herself in other people’s shoes. During the conflict, she completely disregards the fact that Mrs. Alexander lives under the constant pressure of traditions (Smith 7). In this case, the central idea of a shift in society to be made for accepting diversity is not effectively transmitted as the general meaning is not one’s strength but the inability to understand others.
Text Organization: Style, Tone, and Diction
From the perspective of text organization and particular characteristics of writing, Munro’s story is more interesting than Smith’s piece due to its greater complexity. In the former case, the narrative is non-linear from the beginning to the end and frequently shifts between the scenes, thereby allowing the reader to grasp the important details in the process. In contrast to it, Smith’s approach is simple, and the change of locations determines the progression of events, thereby limiting one’s understanding to particular occasions. In terms of stylistic choices and tone, Munro’s story is more beneficial as the author adopts a descriptive approach while keeping it optimistic since the ending is good for everyone (29). These benefits are opposed to the drawbacks of Smith’s narrative writing limited to a single viewpoint, and the vindictive tone worsens the perception (4). Munro’s diction is also more effective when depicting misunderstandings; she relies on mild language instead of Smith’s harsh words. This characteristic tells the reader that the former’s approach is friendlier, whereas the latter is more quarrelsome.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the story of Alice Munro is more impactful than the one of Zadie Smith due to several reasons. First, the former is more interesting from the perspective of characters’ descriptions as they seem more human because of more numerous details, whereas the latter’s sole focus is on their beliefs. Second, the depiction of life struggles, determined by society, as the main motivation for writing is better in Munro’s piece as it shows an actual way out of hardships. Third, the larger point about the world is made more explicitly by Munro than Smith since she uses a more optimistic tone, relies on the non-linear progression of events, and uses a milder language. Thus, Munro’s intentions in presenting the story are more apparent than those of Smith, and the overall organization is better.
Works Cited
Munro, Alice. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage. 2001 [Word Document].
Smith, Zadie. Miss Adele Amidst the Corsets. 2014 [Word Document].