Our literature teacher, Pato Chujman, asked us to write paragraphs comparing some of the stories we have worked on for the IGCSE. She have us the following picture, so that we could organize ourselves. I couldn’t do the last one but I hope you enjoy the other three analysis.

UNIT I
Both the characters in “A Horse and Two Goats” and “The Sandpiper” suffer from cultural barriers which impede them to fully understand or submerge in the other’s culture. In “The Sandpiper” the main character is “trapped” and doesn’t feel like the place she is living in is her “home,” she sees it as an incarceration keeping her away from happiness. She has moved for her loved one to this foreign land and has built her life from there, yet as the love from her partner disappeared, she is left to see her life crumble for the sake of her daughter. The transcultural journey plays a big role in this story, the character constantly struggling to find her “place” only to realize that this wall (formed by the diverse cultures) is too thick, even for her and her daughter’s relationship. While in A Horse and Two Goats the two main characters have a conversation in which neither of them can fully understand the other. There is a comedic and ironic element since they both think they are on the same page, but in reality they can’t be more wrong. Muni is trying to sell his goats while the American is interested in buying the statue of the horse and two goats. At the end, they make a deal, both with different understandings of what was settled. They both are set in places post-imperialism. In Muni’s case, he is old and traditional, and can’t adapt to India’s new ways. While the character in “The Sandpiper” comes from a colonizer country and she can’t adjust to this new lifestyle.

UNIT II
In all three stories the characters are in a constant dwell with themselves and through that, their true identity is unleashed. Firstly in “The Fly in the Ointment,” the father has a troublesome relationship with his son and after being left devastated by the Great Depression he seeks to reconnect. This vulnerability exposing them to reevaluate their life is also seen in “The Custody of the Pumpkin” when the father finds himself intimidated by the American man, and in “The Rain Horse” when the main character goes back to the countryside and finds himself estranged and rejected by it. During the story, he has an ongoing battle between the person he should be and the person he is. Though at the end, his true identity is released, when they talk about money, his one true passion. In “The Custody of the Pumpkin” there is also a problematic between father and son. As the father finds out that his son (with aristocratic titles) was going to marry an American woman (they were considered of lower class). He went ballistic. He prohibits it, but he soon focuses on what is truly important for him, winning a pumpkin competition. There is an ironic element in the title since he takes more care and “custody” of the pumpkin than his own son. This obliviousness reinforces the distance between them, making it harder to reach out. He is so determined to win, that he can’t realize what is going on in his own family, he can’t think of his own son’s happiness. The only thing that made him accept this relationship was when he found out that that she was part of the newly rich. The love between them just wasn’t enough, then again, money talks. The theme of money over love is also seen in “The Fly in the Ointment.” The third story, “The Rainhorse” is a journey were the character encounter with him from the past. He returns to the farm, and to his surprise, he is not welcomed. We can connect this to when the father in “A Fly in the Ointment” was “not welcomed” in the factory he was working, since he was left in ruins and bothered by the sound of a fly. At first, he dislikes it and complains about the farm not being what he wanted, but the thing is, he didn’t fit in the farm anymore. This is portrayed through a wild horse; he tries to tame it but then he realizes that will never happen, he will have to adapt. This is very hard for him.

UNIT III
In both “The Son’s Veto” and “The Sandpiper,” the characters struggle to choose whether to live in their reality or to go after their aspiration. Though it is not as easy as leaving it all behind, since they have people who impede them from finding their happiness (one literally and the other metaphorically). In “The Son’s Veto” the mother is left to be a widow with a child to look after, but falls in love again with a humble man named Sam. He’s son who is part of the novelty, prohibits this since it would be “humiliating” for him. She tries to make him change his mind but is unsuccessful, and so dies alone. In “The Sandpiper” the woman was married happily, but as they moved to a foreign country, everything fell apart. She didn’t fit in, but couldn’t lose because she knew her daughter was happy there and she wanted to be in her life. They both have children which they love so dearly they would prefer living miserably all their life than to lose them. Throughout the stories you can feel their desolation, frustration and broken heartedness knowing that their lives would be written by someone else, and having to deal with that emotionally. You can also see the change and contrast of the before and after; In “The Sandpiper” to when she was in love with her husband and in “The Son’s Veto” as it is set through some years, it showcases the loneliness after all men leave. The stories of these women are very different, however they share this journey of grief since they are entrapped and can’t find a way out.