Analysis of asian short stories "Stale Mates”, Breast-Giver” and “TV People”

Question 1 

Set in the year 1924, Stale Mates revolves around the lives of four main characters . These are Miss Chou, Miss Fan, Lo and Wen, his hometown friend. A more westernized view in the appreciation of a woman’s beauty is explored by the detailed description of Miss Chou’s round-rimmed glasses . This seemed to pay homage to the appeal of the society that girls who faithfully adorned the m had. The story is also set in an era when love was vibrant in China. This is well-explored through the characters in the story . For instance, t here was an initial pairing between Miss Chou and Wen, and Miss Fan and Lo as they explored this new phenomenon . This is irrespective of the fact that some of them were a lready marrie d .

The story further explores the unprecedented shake up in the traditional understanding of marriage in China . This is highlighted when Lo divorces his first wife to marry Miss Fan . However, Miss Fan ended up getting engaged to a wealthy pawnbroker . This union did not also work out . On the other hand, Lo marr ies an entirely different woman from the Wong family but later changes his mind and tries to g o back to Miss Fan. This second attempt does n’t head anywhere, and Lo ultimately ends up with the first born daughter of the Wongs. Stale Mates explores the theme of the erosion of traditional Chinese culture . The eros ion is fuelled by the adoption of a new, foreign way of life . Eileen Chang’s choice of using English instead of Chinese in writing the story is thus aimed at stressing the theme of foreign influence on the Chinese culture. 

Question 2 

With a husband who is a Brahman – the highest caste in Indian society, Jashoda should be looking forward to a more privileged life yet that is not the case in Breast Giver . Kangali , h er husband, was the unfortunate victim of an accident that led to the loss of both of his legs. The man, a priest of high esteem in the society, is then force d to rely on his wife, Jashoda for help with his day - to-da y endeavors . The man responsible for Kangali’s predicament is the youngest son of Halder, a wealthy land owner who lost control of a Studebaker and rolled over his legs. Being a woman of low means, Jashoda, a Bengali woman finds herself at the service of Halder’s house and his offspring as a wet nurse. Halder’s sons have taken it upon themselves to make sure that their wives continually bear children at rates that have seen the women , by their admission , reduced to nothing more than womb bearers . 

The women’s only value in their husband’s eyes is their ability to bring forth new life into the world at alarmingly regular intervals. Thus, Jashoda’s economic ‘value’ is found in her ability to nurse children with her endless supply of breast milk. This was not done to offer relief to the wives but rather to the benefit of the men who want nothing more than the chance for their wives to have no excuse for deny ing them sex . Also, this would ensure that their bodies did not suffer the brunt of breast feeding for the sake of their husbands’ enjoyment. Ultimately, even Jashoda who is described as ‘mother of the world’ succumbs to breast cancer. T he bodies of the women in Breast Giver exist to serve the needs of their male counterparts. This notion has been adopted globally and is fuelled by numerous factors. Notable among these is the society’s skewed understanding of gender roles and the mainstreaming of negative views on masculinity and femininity. As a result, women are viewed as being less equal and thus existing only to fulfill the needs of men. 

Question 3 

Haruki Murakami ’s main character in his story T V People is a man without peace. Constantly plagued by excruciating migraines, he begins to escape into a fictional world where lines between what’s real and fantasy are blurred. In what seem to be hallucinations, he sees what he describes as TV people. These are people who by his description are thirty percent smaller than the average human. They regularly deliver TVs and one day they deliver a TV to his door step. His wife does not take notice of the new TV but instead goes about her normal business despite the fact that they have never owned one for themselves before. The TV people eventually ask the narrator to join them in the world of television.

This story highlights with great detail the downside of over reliance o n technology as a coping mechanism . While the need for technology in the world is indisputable, it has emerged as a place where people escape to fro m their otherwise difficult lives . Subsequently, as opposed to dealing with i ssues head on , technology becomes an easy way out of challenging life events. This phenomenon has adversely affected human lives and relationships in the 21 st Century. This is because technology has led to more alienation, loss of human connection, altered imaginations and thought patterns amongst other vices. Thus, Murakami’s TV People acts as a wakeup call on the need for people to define the limits of technological influence in their lives.