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The Function of Social Acceptance in the Short Stories Kiss Me and The Metaphor

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The Function of Social Acceptance in the Short Stories Kiss Me and The Metaphor
The Function of Social Acceptance in the Short Stories Kiss Me and The Metaphor The short story Kiss Me by Andrew Pyper and the text The Metaphor by Budge Wilson deal primarily with the motion of social perception. In the literary work Kiss Me, the narrator is an ordinary man until he is the victim of an life changing accident. This accident leaves him disfigured, remorseful, and full of self-pity as he struggles to obtain the regular way life he once knew. The protagonist from The Metaphor is a young student named Charlotte who conflicts by having to choose between fitting in with her peers or befriending her extravagant and unpopular elementary school teacher. By examining how the narrator and Charlotte betray another person in an attempt to gain social acceptance as well as how the rejected person reacts to them it is evident that their attempt to gain happiness ironically results in the loss of it. In each short story, the main characters betray someone who once brought them happiness. Charlottes first day of high school is uneventful until she attends her second period class, where she encounters her favourite elementary school teacher, Miss Hancock. When Charlotte first witnesses her classmates ' negative reaction to Miss Hancock, she feels "...somewhere between shocked embarrassment and a terrible desire for concealment"(Wilson189). Charlotte is so focused on fitting in with her new peers that she ends up betraying Miss Hancock by treating her poorly like everyone else. As the school year progresses Charlotte avoids any relationship with Miss Hancock which saddens her and hinders her teaching confidence. Along with her avoidance of Miss Hancock, Charlotte 's betrayal is more evident when she hides her love of literature from her. When conversing, purposely unnoticed by peers, Miss Hancock notes, "Your writing showed promise, Charlotte." Her eyes were quiet, pleading. "I hope you won 't forget that"(Wilson 190). Charlotte understands that Miss
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