The literary-prowess of both Stuart and Sandra manifest the effectiveness of art in depicting social cultural occurrences in the society. While the comparative elements shape a common understanding of the character development to create a literal sense within the symbolic swirl. It emerges that Pet Milk Stuart Dybek’s “Pet Milk” illustrate some of the notes that point to the use symbolism and different styles like the use of metaphors in his writing. The author uses “Pet Milk,” canned and evaporated milk to replace fresh cream as a controlling symbol in the whole story. Dybek creates attention on the Pet milk swirls in the coffee, giving a symbolic view connecting the different levels of the narrator’s life. The story starts, as the author gives a picture of what surrounds the narrator “Today I’ve been drinking instant coffee,” (Dybek 1). The construction of the frame implies the present time as well as the experience of the narrator with his grandmother when they used to have Pet milk as a way of dealing with situations of economic fluctuations.
On the other hand, Born Bad shapes the literary resonances with Cisneros style of writing. This serves as a pathway for intertextual purpose writing. In light of this, the author brings a rich connection between the imagery in the story utilizing the symbols of babies and water. The story presents the readers with the role that baptismal water plays in the Chanclas party evoking the symbol of rebirth, reincarnation and new life (Cisneros, 60). The symbolic and mental picture created is characteristic to the poetic style in social context of Esperanza and represent what every person longs for.
The point of departure between Pet Milk and Born Bad is characterized on the figurative pathway to imagination. While Pet Milk focuses on realistic perspectives and occurrences in the social economic spectrum, Born Bad espouses a spiritual and mental dimension of life and identity. This however, is a resonant literary inclination that allow poets and playwrights to enhance their thematic concerns building on style and language in varied perspectives. To illustrate, it is evident that Dybek’s story employs the descriptive aspect as it starts with series of scenes with the narrator and his girlfriend. The scenes extend to the actions over the beach, Lake Michigan where the drowned woman is found. It is after this scene that the narrator and his girlfriend go home and then scenes of action and conflicts between the two are shown.
Closely related to symbols is the use of allegory in Born Bad by Sandra Cisneros in which the story of fate is questioned based on the religious foundations and belief in the supernatural. The allegory of Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy engaging in prayer because they don’t want to go to hell or were born by the evil can be equated to Jesus’ proverb in the book of Matthew which tells a story of a merchant who sold all his pearls in order to acquire one expensive pearl. This allegory is demonstrated by the veil which is used throughout the text to illustrate the concealment of characters as far as their true identities.
Born Bad uses different literary elements to communicate a powerful message about the life of people living in the two settings of life. Although the plots and settings of the story are different, the text demonstrate how characters struggle with personal guilt, and to uphold the moral ideals which their societies set for them (Cisneros, 2013). Through the characterization of the characters as well as use of different literary elements such as allegory, symbolism, and themes, it is demonstrated that the characters failed to live up to the societal and spiritual expectations. Despite this common idea informed by characters’ early life, the text has different settings, themes, and plots.
Over the whole story, Dybek gives series of actions that the couple engaged but does not indicate on what they did not do. From the plot of the story, the readers can easily comprehend the actions of the narrator and his girlfriend, their endless arguments and the romantic actions (Werlock 112). Likewise, in the story “Pet Milk”, the use of swirl is used to symbolize a figure for the flux in the narrator’s life. It has also been used to symbolize an emblem of an aesthetic feeling that gives sensibility to the meanings of different actions that comes when the narrator is taking a drink with his girlfriend. Dybek describes it as “smoke in repeated explosions,” which is acting as the stirring visual of different emotions. The narrator in the story interferes with the waiter in the restaurant who is preparing the drinks as his connection with his girlfriend develops. This implies that the narrator is contemplating for the swirls in the liquor.
From Born Bad by Sandra Cisneros, it is evident that the characters feigned religious obedience and ritualistic adherence to constructs doubtful interpretation of their disposition. However, the entire context portends an evident declaration of the entire intention to be hopeful. This distinctly shows that the belief by a section of the characters to immerse themselves in prayer to largely demonstrates the desire to submit to God and the supernatural in a bid to achieve his objective. In view of this, it emerges that presence of Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy is constructed on the design of Born Sandra Cisneros to borrow from the literary principle that the apparent fate, hope and struggle is an inclination to the wide knowledge of dramatic skills (Cisneros, 2013).
In “We Didn’t,” Stuart Dybek successfully manage to construct a frame of the whole story of what did not happen to contrast the normal expectation of the plot of a story having events and real actions. Although in the story “We Didn’t” seem to be constructed around what did not happen for the narrator and his girlfriend, them not getting intimately connected is what gives the action and the conflict in the plot of the story. The narrator and his girlfriend did not get intimate, but they are involved in conflicts giving the tension and the story’s plot. The narrator wants something that his girlfriend does not want to give in but he has hope that will finally get it, and that is why he is sticking around.
Additionally, In “We Didn’t,” Stuart Dybek’s short story, Dybek focus on unconsummated young adult love. The story is brought up in clear descriptive plot giving a clear picture of the teenage love. Dybek employs specific concepts and character build to bring the actual tension that is supposed to be seen in the story. The story is told in an artful plot expressing the kind of conflict and tension that has been created in the story. There is a suspense as the audience looks to find out if the situation is resolved.
In terms of symbols, Born Bad uses symbols differently to illustrate the problem of personal guilt as well as how the characters struggle to maintain high moral standards set by the society. Born Bad by Sandra Cisneros uses different themes to provide a contrasting picture of how the characters struggle with guilt and the complex nature of moral ideals. For instance, the predominant theme is the effects of immorality and the possibility of redemption. This is illustrated by Cisnero’s focus on the social and psychological consequences of immorality on his characters and how they seek redemption (Cisneros, 2013). This is an extensive concealment of the life in the community. This is represented by the veil and is continually shown through all the characters. The characters in Born Bad by Sandra Cisneros are represented as carrying personal guilt which weighs heavy on the social lives.
Dybek clearly illustrates this from his story from the Images from the young man’s grandmother’s home which implies some of the ethos that exist in the urban community. He ethos connects the swirl in a liqueur glass in one of the restaurants, Czech, bringing the picture of the past to the present as the narrator in the story takes drinks with Kate, his girlfriend after work in the evening. Czech restaurant is designed to offer the area residents in the neighborhood a glimpse of their different origins in Europe.