The First Story of The Cane Brake - Essay Example

Writing 102 There are not quite different stories as these which will be discussed in this article but what brings them together and reconciles them is the dissatisfaction of the characters. The first story is ‘The Cane brake,’ and its author is Mohammad Mrabet. This story focuses on the relationships between a man and a woman. These focus closely on contemporary societies where the priorities are given to males and they are responsible for the decision making in the family. This leads to conflict and dissatisfaction. However, the problems get sorted and the trouble between the married couple end. The other story is an autobiography of a wooden shed. This is named as ‘The Life and Adventures of Shed X11,’ and has been written by Victor Pelevin. This is a very effective story in which a shed is used to convey man’s feelings of dissatisfaction and unclear sense of direction. It also explains that how dreams can be achieved if a person is totally motivated. “Number XII is a wooden shed who becomes conscious before he is even built, when he is just a pile of planks. Early in his assembled life he stores bicycles, and the bicycles radiate their essence into him. Through this unexplained but strangely buyable phenomenon, Number XII learns about and comes to desire the adventures, mobility and freedom of bicycles. Alas, sheds seem to be confined to a hierarchy only comprising different versions of them, like a garage. This is too bad. Number XII really wants to be a bicycle.” (Fearless Stories) The story Cane Brake brings forward in its true sense a variety of themes. It discusses the problems caused in families due to marriage. It helps explain that the people are usually not satisfied with their lives. Also it highlights the problems which women face in the African family systems. To begin with Kacem is a drunkard. He is not particularly satisfied with the life he is leading and instead has resorted to keeping distance with his wife and drinking. He is seen to not only ignoring his wife but also forcing set of rules and regulations over her and binding her into the primitive shackles of family where a woman could not go out. His role is extremely significant in the flow of the novel. The change in Kacem in the end highlights the power of women to bring about change. It also helps to elaborate the fact that drinking and such socially unacceptable habits can affect your behaviour and can also be a source of discomfort for your family. The other major character in this story is Kacem’s wife. She symbolizes a typical woman in the African and Asian countries where they cannot mostly go out of their homes and are bound by their husband’s orders. These restrictions and the drunken behaviour of her husband have robbed her of the happiness of life. She is forced to do differently from her wishes and she is not pleased with her married life. As a result she decides to use her physical seduction to bring her husband to track. Not only does she succeed in gaining his attention she also makes sure that he has given up his habit of drinking. However, it can be argued that the way she took was unethical and unacceptable and the plan could even have backfired. Nonetheless she achieved what she wanted. This leaves behind a strong message for many females who are facing similar situations. Dreams can be accomplished and they have every right to enjoy their lives. However, they may not necessarily take the path of the wife but they should raise their voice against what is wrong. The friend of Kacem has a significant outer role when considering the main plot of the story. He is crucial in the building of the plot. It should be said that the use he made of his friend’s wife was unethical to the extreme. On the whole this story puts forward some major themes which should be learnt by all and understood well. Everyone has some rights and these should be granted no matter what the situation is. These rights are the medium through which mankind can survive. No single person has the authority to come in middle of someone else’s rights. Along with this another important message which the story conveys is that the conjugal relations between man and woman should be healthy. They should respect each other for the relation to progress. This respect comes with loving each other and making sure that they respect the rights of each other. In this story Kacem did not grant his wife rights so she had to take an extreme step in order to accomplish her goals and get the attention of her husband. Therefore, if there would have been respect and understanding she would have never had to resort to such a disgraceful act. Also lastly it should be noticed that trust is extremely important in a relationship. The other story, ‘The Life and Adventures of Shed X11,’ presents an entirely different scenario. The writer has used a wooden shed to convey his feelings and it is this that has been utterly significant. “A story from the perspective of a wooden shed?” we say with that question mark, incredulous. “That’s dumb” or “Uhhh…” or a noncommittal “Sounds interesting.” This is easy to mess up. We may be heading to highly pretentious or nonsensical lands.” (Fearless Stories) “Luckily, Pelevin beautifully writes Number XII to be a goofy, passionate, and wildly enjoyable shed that is actually more interesting than many human characters in various things. (How many crime dramas do you have to watch on TV before you realize you’re being hoodwinked and you’ve seen all this Gritty Realism before?)” (Fearless Stories) This story covers loads of details of personification and how it relates the realities of life using the example of the wooden shed. “Number XII is a wooden shed who becomes conscious before he is even built, when he is just a pile of planks. Early in his assembled life he stores bicycles, and the bicycles radiate their essence into him. Through this unexplained but strangely buyable phenomenon, Number XII learns about and comes to desire the adventures, mobility and freedom of bicycles. Alas, sheds seem to be confined to a hierarchy only comprising different versions of them, like a garage. This is too bad. Number XII really wants to be a bicycle.” (Fearless Stories) There are actually many instances and themes which relate to man’s nature and these can be attributed quite easily to our everyday lives. The shed is looking around and observing other structures around it. The garage is considered to be the dark side and it gets destroyed proclaiming that good survives over bad. Later another humanly theme which is highlighted is that people get old with time and their value increases. This is a period of life in which they seem depressed, bothered and have loads of unaccomplished dreams. This is a similar situation here. The shed started feeling old and the removal of shelves signify the changes in the human body with growing age. All these symbolic references convert the themes and give it a human touch. There are loads of lessons for everyone. “The story’s actual content is an inspiring reminder to never give up, but the way Pelevin writes it does us all the favour of showing that there are so many correct ways to do things, so many creative avenues ready to be travelled down. In addition to the obviously peculiar choice of main character, Pelevin also does some effective rule-breaking with structure. In the last section he switches perspective from the shed to a minor character, and he breaks the fourth wall only in the very last line. All around us there are conventions, many of them filling us with fear, that are actually okay to break if you just decide to.” (Fear less Stories) To sum up both stories take up entirely different ways to put forward the themes which are significant in our daily lives. However, they take completely opposite mediums to convey the message. The first story takes a more practical approach of life to explain the scenario. It explains the problems in many African-Asian societies using an example that fits into the real world. It is a perfectly plausible situation and has a serious issue discussed in a severe tone. The medium used is strong and motivating. The other one takes personification. In this he takes an out of real situation and molds it in such a way that it is reminiscent to the human life. Either ways they give humanly messages and tell us clearly that life is a varied experience. It is a give and take. So you should keep this in mind and make sure that you respect others. Lastly, no goal is hard to achieve and no wall is difficult to break. References Fearless Stories, The Life and Adventures of Shed 12, Accessed 3 October 2011, http://fearlessstories.com/uncategorized/literature-with-fear-less-the-life-and-adventures-of-shed-number-xii/ Read More