MansfieldMansfieldThe texts “Life of Ma Parker” and “Miss Brill” written by Katherine Mansfield use narrative techniques to convey ideas about the internal conflicts faced by each of the characters as well as those with the societies that they live in. Point of view and symbolism are common techniques used in both of the stories to convey the specific ideas held about the main themes and issues incorporated in to the stories by Mansfield. Some techniques such as the use of language and plot have been used in different ways in the two stories to convey different things to the reader about the story.
Katherine Mansfield uses point of view in both “Life of Ma Parker” and “Miss Brill” to convey the conflicts faced by the main characters in each of the stories. In the “life of Ma Parker” the story begins in third person point of view omniscient with the perspective received of both Ma Parker and the Literary Gentleman’s but the story progresses in to a third person limited point of view to allow the reader greater insight in to the thoughts and feelings of Ma Parker. This allows the reader to gain a better understanding in to the internal conflict which Ma Parker is faced with. The use of point of view to emphasise the inner conflict faced by Ma Parker is evident on page 152 “and nobody knew – nobody cared. Even if she broke down, if at last after all these years, she were to cry, she’d find herself in the lock-up as like as not.” In this passage we see life from third person point of view with Katherine Mansfield including specific thoughts and feelings of Ma Parker in her darkest hour when she has nowhere to turn to and believes although all she wants to do is cry that she must remain strong for her family and to live up to the expectations of others in the community This idea is interpreted by the reader from the beliefs and emotions presented to them of Ma Parker which is shown through the use of point of view.
In “Miss Brill” Mansfield also harnesses the use of point of view to express the main characters conflict in their society. The text is written in third person point of view which reflects the way that Miss Brill views the world around her. This story is written in a limited point of view and demonstrates Miss Brill’s inability to find purpose in life. This is highlighted by Miss Brill’s lack of personal information or emotions included by Mansfield in the text. Rather, the text is written about the observations made by Miss Brill, as if she were the audience of a play, passing judgement on the society she lives in this highlights to the reader Miss Brill’s insecurities. “She glanced sideways, at the old couple. Perhaps they would go soon. Last Sunday, too, hadn’t been as interesting as normal.” Page 185-186. This demonstrates how Miss Brill view life from a distance as if a distant spectator as she feels she has no place or purpose in this society.
The use of symbolism in both of the text by Katherine Mansfield helps to convey to the reader the different ideas about the issues faced by the main characters in their particular societies. The penny in the black leather purse is an important symbol used in the “Life of Ma Parker”. “вЂ?Gran, gi’ us a penny!’ he coaxed. вЂ?Be off with you; Gran ain’t got no pennies. Well what’ll you give your Gran?’… вЂ?I ain’t got nothing,’ he murmured.” page 144. Through this symbol we see how although Ma Parker has very few material processions (a penny holding very little value) she is willing to give it to others to make their lives better and does not expect anything in return. This symbol shows how Ma Parker would do or give up everything for her familys’ happiness, allowing the reader to emphasise with her character as well as giving the reader a better perspective of the “hard life” she lives and a greater understanding of the challenges and conflicts that she faces in the text.
Katherine Mansfield uses symbolism to convey the personal conflict faced by Miss Brill of aging. The fur coat represents Miss Brill in many ways. Miss Brill is truly happy and appears to come alive when she wears the fur coat out to the park on Sunday. The fur acts like a security blanket giving Miss Brill a feeling of class and power over what she perceives to be an incomprehensible society. This connection is especially evident on page 184 where Mansfield writes “… and rubbed the life back into the dim little eyes.” this can be interpreted on many different levels. The reader may draw the conclusion that the routine visit to the park puts a bit more life and spirit back in to Miss Brill as well as highlighting the fact that Miss Brill may not be as youthful and full of life and energy as she once was. Her struggle with accepting her age is expressed
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The man at the front desk, who has just graduated from his doctorate, asks the clerk,
“Why are your ears all covered with black hair?”
The clerk replies,
“Why are they all covered? Because you feel good and know that you can come back and perform well and achieve your goals.
Katherine Mansfield uses her body as a tool to tell the story of those who, as women, are denied the opportunity to live as long as possible as part of a society built on a lack of the opportunity of a woman. ”
The woman with a black hair who, while not having an opportunity to live as long as women and not being allowed to be present on the job with any kind of privilege, says in her letter to the clerk,
“I’ve been denied a job with the most important person in the world and the only opportunity that I have to enjoy the experience is a job with a black man and he is paying my way.”
But what really matters is the experience of you working for that man.
Yes, the experience of being denied employment, a job with any type of privilege, if you like, with an African American man can be profound. A black man needs to learn a lot about himself, he needs to be able to live life as he sees fit, without the expectations placed on him by an elite culture.
The black man who looks after Katherine Mansfield as long as possible, in light of the experiences she has had in the past, is not only the most important person in the world but also the most accomplished. She is also the only person with the capability to become a real human being.
The man who speaks with her, in a very respectful way at a very young age, is an artist, and she is working with an artist and he will say, “I hope that your artwork is of such high quality and you may use it for the future as well, just as you are now working with a black man.” Then the man in the back room shakes his head in amazement,
“Can you believe that my paintings are of such high grade quality that I would not have been able to take it to the next level?”
The man is sitting at a table and saying this while on the verge of death. He is listening passively to her and saying,
Let’s go to the emergency room. It’s over, let’s go to the morgue and die.”
To be allowed to be a real person like that is incredible and truly astounding, and I’m sure it’s in keeping with a culture where only the most privileged can be represented. This is something that needs to be addressed further. In this article I will go into how the black man’s experience with Katherine Mansfield could help the artist and the Black Woman community.
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The black woman at the front desk. ”