Themes in Postmodernism

Usually, short stories contain a profound theme which is applicable to the modern society. And the five short stories-“Was it A Dream?”, “On the Sidewalk Bleeding”, “Kath and Mouse”, “G.Trueheart” and “Thank you Ma’am” are brought forth in a well organized manner so that the reader is given a good message. Each story includes a good message, a setting and has used good characters. Almost all the characters in the five short stories are built up by the authors with excellent characterization although some characters have a number of weaknesses. Firstly, the two characters in the story “Was it A Dream?” are made up with excellent characterization. Guy de Maupassant has given life to the characters and the reader is given a romantic feeling by the boy’s actions and with the words written on the tombstone of his fiancée-“She loved, was loved, and died.” Secondly, the two characters- lady, Roger in the story “Thank you ma’am”, are good owing to the entertainment reader can gain. For example, the sentence “The large woman simply turned around and kicked him right square in his blue jeaned sitter”, is funny. Thirdly, the characters Kath and Mouse and the narrator are the three main characters in the short story “Kath and Mouse”. The characters-Kath and Mouse are outstanding because of the names given to that two characters. Next, the main two characters of the story “On the Sidewalk Bleeding”, Andy and Laura, are built up by the writer with a good effort, yet those characters have some weaknesses. The character of Andy is boring on account of the fact that Andy’s story is woven in only around one place- a sidewalk. Lastly, the dog and Tom in the story “G.Trueheart, Man’s best Friend” are unimaginative due to the actions of, specially, the dog. It is said that the dog, rather than a dog, looks like a hippopotamus. Therefore, it is unusual. Finally, when considering the above facts, I like the characters of the short story, “Was it A Dream?” most owing to the excellent characterization of the two characters. Apart from the characters, the themes of the five short stories are splendid too. Most of them give a clear theme which is applicable to the modern society while some do not. At first, the theme of the story, “Was it A Dream?” is betrayal of love. The lover in the story was thinking that his fiancée loved him very much until he saw what she has written on her tombstone “having gone out in the rain one day one day in order to deceive her lover, she caught cold and died.”And secondly the theme ‘forgiving’ of the short story “Thank you ma’am” is also superlative. In the modern world, forgiving has become only a mere word which is limited to writings. So, in such a circumstance, the theme conveyed in the story is profound. It teaches the modern man to forgive one another. Thirdly, the theme revealed by, the short story “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” is that not to join gangs. With the example of Andy, the reader is shown the destruction happen to gang members. Next, the message given to the reader by the story “Kath and Mouse” is not to try to dominate others. In the story, Kath tries to rule the school but at the end, she is humiliated. So, of the themes of the short stories, “Was it a Dream?” is the best as it conveys a theme related to the modern society. In addition to the themes of the stories, settings are too interesting and captivating. Firstly, the setting of the story, “Was it A Dream?” is nerve-racking. The setting is in a cemetery. When the dead people rise from their tombstones, it is really creepy and scary. Guy de Maupassant has wonderfully portrayed the setting in his story so as to make the reader curious to read the story at a stretch. Following is the short story “Thank you Ma’am”. Its’ setting is on a sidewalk and inside a house. Setting in the house of the large lady is interesting as it seems to be a poor background and it lets the reader a live experience. Next in the story “G.Trueheart, Man’s best Friend”, the setting is in Tom’s school and on the road. The scene in the road indicates the reader that something terrifying is going to happen. And that feeling is intensified when a cougar enters to the locale. Fourthly, the setting of the short story “Kath and Mouse” is mainly in a school. It is kind of dull because most of the story revolves around the school. And lastly, the setting of the short story “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” is tedious. Mainly because the story is monotonous. It is only knitted around a sidewalk and therefore the reader is given a lack of participation. As well the time is about to midnight and rainy. So it gives an insipid description. In conclusion, the setting of the story “Was it A Dream?” is the best as it is gripping. In the light of the above discussion, it is explicit that, out of the five short stories, “Was it A Dream?” is the finest in view of the fact that it contains almost all the characteristics that should be in a short story, such as a good theme, an excellent setting and use of life like characters. Therefore, the reader is given a message about the bitter truth of love. Therefore it is appealing to people of every walks of life.