sample fiction paper

Ignore the underlinings; these denote changes in the revision of the paper.

KJ

October, 2019

English 102

For  centuries men were the only bread and butter winners, but today females are just as responsible for providing for their families. Nonetheless, men still hold incalculable power and say in our modern day society. This power manifests itself in “The Mark of Cain” by Roxane Gay and “The Fun House” by Sherman Alexie. These are two stories that explore the role and oppression of women by highlighting their experiences. In Gay’s “The Mark of Cain” the main character, a woman who remains unnamed, finds herself in a toxic relationship with her husband and begins to find refugee in his brother’s arms. While,“The Fun House” by Sherman Alexie explores the life of a woman who is left to assume all household responsibilities on her own, solely because she is a woman. Rather than being appreciated by her husband and her 30 year old unemployed  son , she is disrespected. Although the two stories unfoil distinct plots, both stories implement flashbacks, and mirroring conflicts and climactic scenes to develop a theme of male domination.

 In “The Mark of Cain” the main character tells us  “I worry about the day when he leaves me, torn apart on our bed, waiting for him to put me back”(Gay). Here, It is obvious that she does not feel whole nor strong without her husband Caleb. In fact,  when she says she would have to wait for him to be fixed she reveals just how dependent on him she is. Caleb seems to be completely in control of her emotions. She even makes the choice to only wear eyeliner and dark lipstick simply because he wants her to look how she did when they first met, despite knowing it to be a memory of her dark past. Caleb has such a strong hold on her that he is easily able to manipulate her to do anything he pleases, including things she might not like or be against.  He hurts her, yet still she is on a never ending journey to satisfy him and feel loved by him. When she comes to the realization that it is unrealistic to feel truly loved by her husband, she finds the elements of love that she could never find in her own relationship in one with Jacob, her husband’s twin. By Jacob’s side she feels the closest to loved. In the same way, the aunt from Sherman Alexie’s story also struggles with the same internal conflict: the lack of love and respect from her significant others. She reminisces about a better time in her relationship with her husband; however, during that earlier period, She asks him“Do you love me?” (Alexie)  She still finds herself feeling uncertain whether she is loved or not and seeks affirmation from his part. The writers showed us that two women with completely different backgrounds and personalities can battle the same fight in their subconscious. 

Gay and Alexie not only showed us both characters share the same internal conflict, but they also dismantle complex characters for the reader’s unserstanding through flashbacks. Specifically, Roxane Gay’s  first-person narrarator says “ He starts telling me a story about himself and his brother sitting in the backseat of their father’s Cadillac while the old man got a blowjob from a woman that was not their mother, and how their father had her give his sons blowjobs as well.” This flashback helps readers understand Caleb’s toxic behavior. With this, Gay unfoils a multi-faceted character who was once a victim and has now become an oppressor of his own wife. The chronological timeline of Alexie’s story is also interrupted for the same purpose. We begin to understand the aunts frustrated attitude towards her husband when she dates back 30 years to when she and her husband got into a car accident because he was drunk, despite all her warnings about him not being in the  condition to drive. Still, she was supportive of him even as this was not the first time he found himself in this predicament. But he could never do the same for her.  Actually, when a mouse runs up her leg and she asks why didn't he help, he says: “I bet when that mouse ran up your pant leg, he was thinking what in the hell kind of mouse traps do they got now”  Through the flashback we are able to further understand both the aunt and Caleb’s behavior.

The two stories demonstrate elements of patriarchy and show us how the female role is exploited. Within Caleb and his wife’s relationship, it is clear that there is both verbal and physical abuse: “Caleb grabs me by my waist , straddles me, and slaps my face.” He then continues to be verbally abusive and tells her  “Don’t be a fucking whore.” He exerts control over her in every way he possibly can in order to regain the control and supremacy he felt he was stripped from by his father as a child. Although, there isn't any domestic violence in the aunt’s relationship in “The Fun House” the aunt struggles with with not conforming to the quintessential and traditional  role of being a woman,but unlike Caleb’s wife, she approaches the situation differently.  Instead she stands he ground and is reluctant to be treated like the only caretaker in the house. When her husband urges her to come out of the water she chooses to not abide by what he says. Instead, she shows independence and courage when she tells him she will be coming out when she wants to do so. She then proceeds to tell her husband and son “ and cook your own god damn dinner.” Unlike the aunt, Caleb’s wife has a more submissive attitude towards her husband’s actions. The aunt in Alexie’s story makes it known that she is not okay with the way she is being treated. While one woman is empowered to speak up for herself, the other woman is left voiceless and discouraged, yet both women are being suppressed by male dominance and need help.

Throughout the stories a feminist appeal is consistant. In fact, the climax in both stories make a strong appeal to the to  male supremacy and feminism In the beginning of Alexie’s story the aunt works on a fully beaded dress that only a strong woman could wear, that woman would be their savior. Sherman Alexie then ends the story by reintroducing the dress of freedom and strength: “She pulled that heaviest of beaded dresses over her head. Her knees buckled and she almost fell from the weight; then she did not fall. ‘No,’ she said to her husband when her husband and son tried to help her.” Within this climactic scene, she defeats the concept male supremacy as she refuses the help of the men in her life that she once desperately wanted, and become her own hero as she danced in the heavy dress that almost dragged her to the ground. In contrast, the first-person narrator in Gay’s stroy does not face that same type of victory. In the climax, she faces the irony of being pregnant with two male twins. Instead of overcoming the beliefs of male chauvinists, it seems that she became deeply immersed in them.

    The authors convey a feminist critique through the use of  literary devices like conflict, flashbacks, and climax. Through this style, “The Mark of Cain” and “The Fun House” tell the stories of two women that are nothing alike, yet share similar experiences. Consequently, raising  awareness to the issues that women face on a day to day basis. Today, women have equal rights as men, but still there is a gap between the law and the actual sexist ideals that are inculcated in some men, but these stories give women a positive and hopeful outlook regarding patriarchy, showing that the power is within women to stand up for themselves like the aunt did to be your own liberator.

Works Cited

Alexie,Sherman. “The Fun House.” The Lone Rangerand Tonto Fistfight inHeaven. Atlantic Monthly P, 1993

Gay, Roxane. “The Mark of Cain.” Difficult Women. Grove P, 2017