The story of Desirees’ Baby is about a lady, called Desiree, who falls in love with man, called, Armand, and they eventually have a child. The baby’s skin color is however not as expected. The society finds it quite unusual for them to have a baby whose skin color is not white. This raises questions as to the origin of Desiree. Her husband, Armand, sent her away with the baby and burnt all her belongings including all the letters she had sent him during their courtship. This further worsened the situation because with this bundle of letters, he burns a letter that contained the secret of his true identity; that he is actually the one who is part black, (clany, 2005).
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Write My PaperThe two main characters, Armand and Desiree dominate the story. At the youthful age, the two seem to be in a love-packed relationship. Their origin and race is not an issue, this is because both of them don’t mind about the other’s race or origin. Despite the fact that Armand had the letter bearing information about his true origin, it did not matter to him so much. They both fell in love with each other and they went ahead to have a baby. The society does not put the issue of their origin in the picture and allows the youth to interact freely. The youthful age here is seen to be full of equality of race and color. During their transformation to adulthood, the society comes out clearly as male dominated, and racially segregated. Desiree found herself in problems with her black baby and their relationship ends impulsively.
The character of Armand is questionable because of the way he reacts upon realizing the skin color of the baby. Through his character, he portrays a young man who is so quick to distance himself whenever a problem comes in a relationship. Desiree on the other had is a protagonist; her reaction to the fact that the baby is black is clearly in contrast with Armand’s reaction. She is not the one creating a problem and her reaction is sober enough to solve the problem, however she does not have an opportunity. Desiree is a symbol of light and civilization in the society, while Armand is a symbol of darkness (clany, 2005).
Their transformation of Desiree from youth to adulthood is a clear illustration of a society that is not ready to embrace change. The society full of racism and is male dominated. The fact that the baby born is black does not mean the end of the relationship. The society does not respect the decisions of the youth and is inclined only towards the conservative ideas of racism.
Araby
Introduction
In the story of James Joyce, “Araby”, the main character is the unnamed narrator. He has a deep desire for Mangan’s older sister, but does not have the opportunity to express his feelings to her. Through his youthful idealism and naivety, he falls in love with a girl he hardly talks with. He hopes to take her to Araby, but because she cannot go with him due to her commitments, he promises to buy her a gift to impress her. Because of the nature of the situation at Araby bazaar, which he describes as hindering, he gets disillusioned. Through his childhood life, the narrator takes us through his life with his uncle and aunt, (Jerome, 2007).
The narrator begins by telling us about his childhood age, full of play and adventure. The society at this stage allows children to play and discover the world on their own. It is at this age that he develops an imaginative but rather magical perception of the world around him. At this youthful age, he starts to develop his sexual identity. He takes his time to spy into the adulthood through his uncle as he comes home from work. The society does not inform the directly. The writer does not tell us about the parents of the narrator, and this shows, perhaps, failed family institutions! The priest dies, depicting the death of religion and it support for the youth in the society. The uncle is very irresponsible and does not offer the required guidance to the narrator. The society is depicted as totally unsupportive to the youth in their transformation to adulthood,(Jerome, 2007).
The narrator’s dreams of bright future come to an end with his disillusionment at the bazaar; he faces the world as it is. The magical utopian life comes to an end. The transformation shows a society with a more vicarious relationship between the adults and the youth, (Jerome, 2007).
Conclusion
In the two stories, the relationship between the youth and the society is feeble and does not provide appropriate information to the youth regarding the transformation process. The family institutions and the religion have failed. The youth depend entirely on their own personal judgment of issues in life in order to make the necessary decisions.