Need corrections and improvements for existing research- Composition and Literature

“The Storm” by Kate Chopin And

“Two kinds” by Amy Tan

Ayala Layen-Slann

Prof. Jean, Adeline Bernadette

ENC-1102-OL1: COMPOSITION AND LITRETUR

St. Thomas University

Thursday, December 13, 2018

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Outline: Literary Skills

1. Introduction

A. Brief summary of the stories

B. Thesis

2. Symbolism

A. The use of a young Chinese girl in America

B. Use of old lady

C. America as a symbol of opportunity

D. The storm

E. Assumption

F. Whiteness

3. Setting

A. American culture

B. Chinese culture

C. Calixta’s house

4. Tone

A. Encouraging tone

B. Sympathetic tone

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Literary Analysis

“The Storm” is written by Kate Chopin speaks about the boy Bibi, and his father,

Bobinôttrapped in a local store by storm. They cannot go home and as such are worried about

Calixta. At home, Calixta gets a visitor who drops by due to the storm an old boyfriend Alcée

who she had sex with but leaves before the husband and the son returns hence it remains a secret.

“Two kinds”, written by Amy Tan and is about a girl who is always nagged by her mother. She

wants her daughter to be a prodigy, but the girl knows she cannot. She therefore hates her mother

and the use of piano and acting until her mother dies. The two stories “The storm” by Kate

Chopin and “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan both show the struggles of women fighting for

independence using three common literary devices; symbolism, setting and tone.

Symbolism

Symbolism is the use of an object to represent an idea. In the two set of books, there is a

wide use of this literary skill. Jing-mei is living in America at the time when her mother is

pushing her to become what she does not want to be. The mother has lived most of her life in

china and hence there are differences in culture understanding between them both. However, Tan

uses symbolism to depict the struggle taking place between a child and the mother.

Jing-mei is a symbol that is used to demonstrate a typical American pre-teen who wants to

break free from the mother’s obsession with her becoming a prodigy. This control of parents

seems to be a factor that causes many children to flee away from them. It makes them rebel and

want to break free. Tan uses first person in this book as a way of making the reader relate with

what the girl is passing through.

The description of the old lady and her past is made to be more painful. The author says

that she had lost everything in china. However, she is struggling to ensure she breaks free from

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the loss and goes on with her life. The only thing that remains for her is to ensure that her

daughter becomes what she wants in order to meet her satisfaction. The description of pain is

made such a way that it describes the emptiness of a mother after losing that entire she had. This

is the reason why Tan uses second person in describing the pains of the old lady. Pain can be a

source of resentment for a parent. This is because all she has left is too precious and hence must

be perfectly made to an independent being.

America is used as a symbol in the story. It is an indication of the availability of

opportunities. Jing-mei’s mother is very optimistic that in America one can become anything that

they want. Therefore, she says, “My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in

America” (Tan 468). This is an indication of hope that the mother has in another country as

opposed to her mother country. This is the country she believes is the answer to all her problems.

She is confident that in America her daughter will be prosperous and grow to be a respected

person. This growth in opportunities will give her daughter the necessary freedom from being

held back by people or culture.

The rebellion shown by Jing-mei is a symbol of a typical American child. These children

do not want to be controlled by their parents. They want to make their own decisions without

being questioned. After her mother puts all the effort to ensure that she can attend the piano

lessons, she still puts minimal efforts. Her mother cleans to get her the best dreams in America,

but she is rebellious and burns in anger because of this. Typically, American children want to be

free from the control of their parents and they are not happy when they are told what they should

do (Deeb and Deeb 102). This is what Jing-mei is doing.

The storm is a symbol that is used in almost every aspect of the story. It is first used as a

tittle and at the beginning and the end of the story. The storm from literal understanding is a

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frightening experience that is feared by many. Alcee describes it as a cyclone meaning it is

something that should worry the people (Chopin 2.13). On the other hand, Bobinot knows that it

is a sinister and hence it’s threatening (Chopin 1.1).

Storm is used as a symbol of instability in the relationships explained in this book. Alcee

is having a good time with another man’s wife to an extent he tells the wife to stay away for

longer. This introduces a storm in their marriage. By Calixta accepting to have an intimate time

with her former boyfriend, it raises a storm. Currently she is married and should honor her

husband. Instead, she chooses to cheat on him with a man she formerly knows. This is a storm

that is starting. However, Calixta wants her independence in loving and having sex with the man

she formerly loved which has been hindered by the husband and the separation they have.

When the rain is coming down most passionately, Calixta and Alcee are on the other hand,

passionately exploring their feelings to the fullest. Therefore, the rain pouring is a symbol of the

great passion that these two shared. It’s a sign that finally, they can independently enjoy their

love. The storm in this case represents the sexual tension that existed between Calixta and Alcee

(Castro 70). The lightning and thunder outside Calixtas home are an indication of the sexual

encounter she is about to have. The author says, “A bolt struck a tall chinaberry tree at the edge of

the field. It filled all visible space with a blinding glare and the crash seemed to invade the very

boards they stood upon” (Chopin 2.14)

Symbolism is also used to describe how the bodies of Alcee and Calixta came together.

“When he touched her breasts, they gave themselves up in quivering ecstasy, inviting his lips. Her

mouth was a fountain of delight. And when he possessed her, they seemed to swoon together at

the very borderland of life's mystery” (Chopin 2.21). This is described by the lightning bolt which

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later ends in the explosion of energy and feelings. What she wanted and was feeling at that time

is that she was not under the control of Bobinot since he is not there to stop her decisions.

Assumption in this case is the small town where Alcee and Calixta had met. This has a

religious connotation which means chastity or virginity (de Deus Rocha 63). Therefore, it is an

indication of the fact that both of them had not had an intimate relationship even before when they

were dating. However, they end up having sex in Calixta’s house which is a memory of their

assumption. They had decided to refrain from sex when they were together and right now they

have decided to have sex. This shows independence in decision making.

The description of whiteness is a symbol that indicates purity and chastity. However, in

this story it describes sexual desires and longing. It says, “Calixta wears a "white sacque at the

throat” which showcases "[h]er white neck" and "her round, white throat and her whiter breasts"

(Chopin 2.1). The use of white is also depicted in the bedroom. In the bedroom lies a "white,

monumental bed" where she displays "[t]he generous abundance of her passion, without guile or

trickery...like a white flame" (Chopin 2.20). The author also describes her as follows; “"She

was...as white as the couch she lay upon. Her firm, elastic flesh that was knowing for the first

time its birthright, was like a creamy lily" (Chopin 2.19). All these aspects of whiteness are used

to describe the sexual desires that both Alcee and Calixta shared. Therefore, critics find Calixta as

a woman who lacks in moral standings and hence a disgrace to her husband (Ostmanand Kate 11).

She is carried away by the storm of emotions to betray her husband.

Setting

Setting has been used since the early days to depict an imperative part of storytelling. It is

a way a writer shows emotions. Amy Tan in the book Two Kinds uses the settings to show the

greater understanding of the struggles of the Chinese woman and her daughter. There is no way

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that this woman could understand the American culture better than her own bearing in

mind she has lived in china almost all her life. Therefore, settings are used to show the true ages

of the characters.

In the storm, Bobinot and Calixta’s house are in Louisiana. In this setting in the absence of

the husband, another man comes in and has the freedom to explore the house and have sex with

the wife. The storm pushes them into each other’s hands and they are seen to be enjoying

themselves. “The storm” however, seems to have more presence than the house because the way

the house is described shows it is a small place. The importance of the house is to keep both in the

house at a time when they are having sex. Therefore, these settings remind us of the characters

places in the world. The differences can be seen by the way the characters represent their thought

and think.

Tone

The tone establishes the temperature of the story. The tone in the storm is an encouraging

and sympathetic one. The narrator seems to be almost forcing the characters into their decisions to

keep having affairs and keeping them a secret. The narrator also is encouraging the fate of

bringing people together by the power of the storm. Therefore, the author is very much into this

relationship between Alcee and Calixta which is obviously illegal, but the man leaves before

Bobinot arrives so that he learns nothing about it.

However, the tone in the book is also sympathetic. It is a sympathy that the affair between

Calixta and Alcee can only last for as long as the storm exists. Their independence is therefore

restricted by the fact that the spouses will come back. Once that is over the affair is over. They

must all part instead of falling asleep and sleeping together. There is also great sympathy for the

husband who remains in darkness about the affair that the wife had with another man. He was

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sheltering somewhere to wait for the storm to pass but instead the wife was busy cheating

on her. The most sympathetic part is that when she sees him, she acts happy.

The book “Two kinds” also has an encouraging tone. We see an old woman who even

after losing everything still goes ahead to struggle for the success of the daughter. She never gives

up irrespective of what she faces. She is a woman who believes in the prosperity of women, but

the daughter filled with desires to break free from the mother is ignorant of this. However, the

author presents her in a way that the reader sympathizes with her. She is rejected and hated by her

own daughter. There is nothing she does that is accepted by the daughter making it hard for her.

Works Cited

Beer, Janet. Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton and Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Studies in Short Fiction.

Springer, 2016.

Bloom, Harold, ed. Amy Tan.Infobase Publishing, 2014.

Castro, Amanda Lee. "Storm Warnings: The Eternally Recurring Apocalypse in Kate Chopin's"

The Awakening"." The Southern Literary Journal (2014): 68-80.

De Deus Rocha, Vanessa. "A Comparative Study Between The Female Characters In The Storm

And The Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin." Grau Zero 6.1 (2018): 59-73.

Deeb, A., and E. Deeb."Between Two Cultures—Finding Meaning in Amy Tan’s Use of

Superstitions." European Journal of English Language and Literature Studies 3.3 (2015):

76-108.

Ostman, Heather, and Kate O’Donoghue."Introduction: Kate Chopin in Context: New

Approaches."Kate Chopin in Context. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2015. 1-11.