Comparison/Contrast of Castellanos, Ihimaera, and Wideman’s Short Stories

Comparison/Contrast: Castellanos, Ihimaera, and Wideman’s Short Stories
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Comparison/Contrast: Castellanos, Ihimaera, and Wideman’s Short Stories
      Stories are usually a great source of rich history as they have been used to pass cultural beliefs from one generation to another, thereby preserving culture. Through short stories, people quickly understand the message that the author is conveying without committing too much time to the story. The short stories "Death of the Tiger" by Rosario Castellanos, "Presents" by John Edgar Wideman, and "His First Ball" by Witi Ihimaera explore the plight of minority groups across different eras and countries. The authors quickly bring their characters to life and can narrate the experiences of minority communities through a simple plot. While the three stories use concise narrative to explore the same theme by describing the experiences of the respective minority communities, there are three main differences identified in terms of the narrative technique, the variety of English, and the author's characterization to highlight the plight of their characters.
Narrative Technique
The first point of discussion will be the narrative technique used by the three authors. Castellanos uses the third-person narrative technique to convey her message. The events described in the story do not occur to her, and as such, she can maintain her objectivity while telling the story. According to Alami (2016), third-person narration can either be external or internal. Castellanos uses an internal third-person point of view by telling the stories as an outsider and illuminating what the characters are feeling or thinking. For instance, she shows the reader what the Bolometic, her main characters in the story, felt when Don Juvencio asked them personal questions. Castellanos posits that they "listened with ever-growing anguish" (Castellanos, p.844). This statement reports the actions of the characters (listening) and explains how they were feeling (anguished) as they went through the motions of the day. Likewise, Ihimaera utilizes the third-person narrative to tell the story and bring his characters to life. He is not directly involved in the story, but he allows his readers to look into the characters and see what is happening in their lives. He also uses internal third-person narration to explain to the readers the emotions and thoughts of the characters. For instance, Ihimaera describes Tuta's experience at the ball as an embarrassing one. He indicates that despite his efforts to avoid being the center of attraction, Tuta attracted more attention to himself at the ball. As a result, he "became more embarrassed" (Ihimaera, p.458). He also became aware that being the only Maori at the ball, he was probably being mocked, which made him more uncomfortable. Through this internal third-person narration, the readers become aware of Tuta's actions and inner struggles at the ball.
In contrast, Wideman utilizes a combination of first-person and third-person narratives. In first-person narratives, the story is being told by the characters (Alami, 2016). At the beginning of the story, the main character narrates what Big Mama was saying to him. "Oh yes, and I...