Comparisons Between 'Girl And Tiger Mending'

No Pain, No Gain Families everywhere deal with great challenges. With each obstacle they face generally the outcome will make each individual a little bit stronger. With these experiences our perspective in life changes and we become more knowledgeable. “Girl” and “Tiger Mending” are two stories that I believe reflect this in two very different ways. Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” is a story about reflection. It is about a girl reflecting back upon the past. Maybe she just lost her mother or maybe she is grown and finally realizes why her mother told her all of these things. At the time, I’m sure she thought her mother was always on her and barking orders at her. She grew up in a different era. Times were different obviously then based on the
This story is about two sisters who have lost their parents and lean on one another to get by in life. The narrator is one of the sisters, I’m not sure which is older, I’ll refer to her as sister one. The sister the narrator is talking about I’ll refer to as sister two. Sister one seems to be the one sitting on the bench, always watching others swayed by sister two. Sister one refers to sister two as an “overachiever.” The story begins with, “My sister got the job. She’s the overachiever, and she went to med school for two years before she decided she wanted to become a gifted seamstress.” I don’t believe that sister one is necessarily jealous of sister two. She just knows that they are both different, but together they in a way equal each other out. I like the reference to sister one becoming sister two’s “rock” parse when they fly. Sister two has a fear of airplanes, so she needs sister one to help her focus on something else during the flight to keep her calm. “I become her ripped hemline.” I love this simile used since sister two really does become so involved with her sewing. It is interesting how in the moment sister two remains. When presented with the job offer to go to Asia, she is still more involved with sewing her dress. Her mind is so focused on the now rather than the details of the future trip. It seems sister one is even more excited about the trip, since she gets to quit her job. “That
“Girl” is a about a mother and her daughter, while “Mending Tigers” is a tale of two sisters. The authors of these stories came from two very different time eras. The authors also have a different style of writing to portray what they were thinking, and how they aimed to provide their point and themes of their stories. Jamaica Kincaid’s style of writing was not really even a story. It seemed to be more or less a string of lessons, and sayings given to a daughter, all for her benefit, from her mother. Based on the story, it sets you back into the early to mid-1900 era. While Aimee Benders writing method was much more of a modern day storyline. “Girl” was a story about how things are how one is expected to behave. While “Tiger Mending” is more about why things are the way they are. The girls weren’t afraid to seek out life and explore it. Aimee’s story really left you sort of hanging at the end. You really have to think about it and assess what she wanted people to get through reading this story. Her story leaves you feeling mixed and confused. It really pushed me to think about her intentions, while I strangely related a little easier to the writing by Jamaica. I think different people will interpret different meanings from these stories. That is the part of what makes both of these stories each different and unique in their own