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Running head: COMPARATIVE LITERARY ANALYSIS 0

Comparative Literary Analysis

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Comparative Literary Analysis

Literary works differ in many aspects. Some of them differ in the message they convey to the users, while others even differ in their tone used to convey the same message. An analysis of the characters used by the author might also be used to compare two or more literary works. Some people might analyze the main ideas and the plot of literary works to compare two or more literary works. It is also common for people to review the themes, structure, and the writing style adopted by the authors of a literary work when comparing literary works. This paper will analyze how the main ideas or the message, the setting, the plot, and a review of the themes, structure, and the writing styles used in different literary works differ.

Genre(s) of the Literary Works

The genre refers to the type of art, music, or literature that is characterized by specific content, form, and style (Abilasha and Ilankumaran 26). The common genres include fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama. “The River” belongs to the Southern Gothic genre. The Southern Gothic genre is considered to be a subgenre of the Gothic fiction genre from the American literature. “A good man is hard is hard to find” belongs to the Southern Gothic genre. The same applies to the literary work, “Good country people” which adopts the Southern Gothic literature genre. On the other hand, “The things they carried” is considered to be a work of fiction while How to Tell a True War Story is also considered to be a work of fiction by the author.

Themes in the Literary Works

The main theme in The things they carried is the theme of the physical and emotional burden. For example, O'Brien (3) notes that “when Ted Lavender was shot, they used his poncho to wrap him up, then to carry him across the paddy, then to lift him into the chopper that took him away.” This indicates the physical pain they underwent during the war and the emotional burden of witnessing their colleagues being shot and at the brink of losing their lives. The same theme of physical and emotional burden is echoed in the short story How to Tell a True War Story where O’Brien explains how his friend is killed and he has to write a letter to his friend’s sister explaining what a great brother she had (O’Brien 1). The main theme in A good man is hard to find is the theme of love. For example, the grandmother tries to show love to Misfit during her dying moments proving that she had discovered true faith. Death is considered to be a test of faith. In The River, the main theme is the theme of faith. For instance, Mrs. Connin explains to the father of Harry that she intended to take Harry to a Christian Revival meeting so that Harry could witness Preacher Bevel Summers (O’Connor, 3).

Setting in the Literary Works

The setting used by O'Connor is very realistic. For example, A good man is hard to find, the setting is at home and on the farm. The Things they carried have been set in Vietnam during the war which is reflected in the way the characters take refuge in the tropical foliage during fights or walking through the hot jungle with camouflage covers (O’Connor, 1). The River by O’Connor also uses a simple setting. For example, Mrs. Connin’s small house is used to capture the two-day span of the life of Harry, who is the main character. Good country people unfold in a small tenant farm in Georgia in the southern landscape. O’Connor uses the small tenant farm to establish a narrow and hierarchical worldview of the farm where Mrs. Freeman works on the farm while Mrs. Hopewell owns it (O’Connor, 2). The setting of How to tell a true war story is also in Vietnam during the war that led to the death of Curt Lemon in the mountains. The death of Curt Lemon played a vital role in the story as it set the pace for the war as he had died due to the war. The jungles are portrayed as trap-filled (O’Brien, 3).

Structure and Tone in the Literary Works

The tone that O'Connor has used in The Things They Carried is a non-judgmental and intimate tone. The narrator is close to the action of the story which creates a sense of intimacy in the story, making the reader feel that the narrator had the opportunity to witness events as they unfolded, something the reader cannot experience firsthand. Besides, events and their effects on the narrator are articulated straightforwardly. For example, “when Ted Lavender was shot, they used his poncho to wrap him up, then to carry him across the paddy, then to lift him into the chopper that took him away” (O’Brien, 3). A good man is hard to find uses a cynical tone. This is depicted by the funny grandmother and the writer makes fun of the character she plays. The tone can also be epiphany as the grandmother and MISFIT arrive at a moment of clarity in the long run. Good country people use a judgmental tone as the author, O'Connor feels that some of the characters like Hulga and Mrs. Hopewell could be better people than they were. The tone is also playful as O’Connor puts their attitude in a playful manner encouraging the reader to laugh at their scenarios and character.

The style in the Literary Works

O’Connor has adopted the Southern regionalism/realism writing style. The Southern regionalism/realism writing style combines the Southern Gothic and contemporary genres (James, 72). This is depicted in the short story, A good man is hard to find. The writing style adopted in The things they carried is very unique. The author has implemented an informal colloquial writing style where readers are exposed to both a war memoir and a writer’s autobiography (O'Brien 8). Acronyms and military jargon are deployed throughout the novel to increase the authenticity of the literary work. For instance, SOP has been used to refer to “standard operating procedure” (O’Brien, 2) while PRC-77 to imply a portable radio channel used by the military for communication (O’Brien, 8). The same style has been deployed by O’Brien in From How to Tell a True War Story where he uses military acronyms like LP (O’Brien, 3). The river by O’Connor has also deployed the Southern Gothic writing style. Characters have been distributed in sinister situations to explore religion and morality. A good man is hard to find has grotesque and shocking twists with a perfect implementation of foreshadowing. For example, the dreadful family vacation that the grandmother explains to the children as a story at the beginning of the novel is an indication of the dark things that manifest at the end of the novel (O’Connor 6). The things they carried, Cross burns all letters from Martha and decides to be a better leader after Lavender is killed. However, this is a foreshadow of the irony that Cross still loses other men and feels guilty which makes him realize that Martha was not the problem, the problem was the war. The irony is prevalent in the Good country people from the start, including the title of the novel. “Good country people” is ironic as Mrs. Hopewell uses the term to describe herself and the people around her as the story shows she is hypocritical. On the other hand, Hulga has a Ph.D. that makes her rude and arrogant, which is ironic to the title, "good country people."

References

Abilasha, R., and M. Ilankumaran. "Short Stories as a Genre of Literature to Teach Speaking Skills." International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL) 6.1 (2018): 25-27.

James, David. "In Defense of Lyrical Realism." Diacritics 45.4 (2017): 68-91.

O’Connor, Flannery. “Good Country People:[Selections from the short story].” Academic Medicine 91.3 (2016): 352.

O’Connor, Flannery. “The River.” The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor. New York: FSG Books, 2012. Digital. 1 - 29.

O'Brien, Tim. From How to Tell a True War Story. Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 1987.

O'Brien, Tim. The things they carried. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.

O'Connor, Flannery. A Good Man is Hard to Find: And Other Stories. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1955.