Modern Short Story Essay

Modern Short Story Essay previous(predicate) 20th Century authors often wrote about the strange things and discrepancies found in society and used irony to criticize them. Katherine Mansfields A cupful of Tea and Virginia Woolfs The Duchess and the Jeweller both use irony to chafe and instal inconsistencies in social kindes. The short stories demonstrated how being stop number class or rich doesnt necessarily mean you be secure, generous or a good person. A main bailiwick found in the two stories is that money cant throw someone self esteem if they never had it.Both main characters seem to set about everything that use material things to fill their insecurity and neither of them r terminuser what they re bothy want. The Jeweller had become very soused and admired. He was envied by every man he encountered yet inside the Jeweller stable felt inferior and as though he was a minor boy in the everyey where they sold dogs on Sunday. (Woolf 6) At the end of the tarradiddl e the Jeweller sits back and thinks of how he was tricked and is the same fool he will ever be.In A Cup of Tea rosemary is A young, brilliant, super modern, exquisitely well dressed, amazingly well read in the new-fashionedest of the new books, (Mansfield 1) woman. The only thing rosemary lacks is physical appearance. She was not the best looking female and unfortunately that flaw bothered her and was one of the reasons she was so insecure. Rosemary is also rich and able to purchase anything she wanted. The only thing Rosemary couldnt purchase was self esteem and this commemorateed at the end of the story when she asks Phillip the simple question of Am I pretty? (Mansfield 8) Both stories show how the main characters satisfy their selfish needs instead of fairish doing the adept thing. The Jeweller is an experienced and successful jeweler and knows he should make sure as shooting the pearls presented to him to purchase are authentic. The Jeweller didnt see what he was losin g, he saw not the houses in Bond Street, but a dimpling river and trout raise and salmon and the Prime Minister and himself too, in white waistcoat and then, Diana. He looked d take at the pearl in his hand.But how could he test it, in the light of the river, in the light of the eyes of Diana? But the eyes of the Duchess were on him. (Woolf 6) Once he believes will get Diana and pictures himself as royalty, he cursorily buys the pearls without testing them to fill his own selfish desires. As a result, he is tricked. In the other story Rosemary wants to bring domicil the unretentive young woman so she can show her off and play with her wish a little toy doll to keep to herself. Instead of just helping the brusk girl by giving her money, Rosemary thinks of her own selfish desires.When deciding whether or not to bring legal residence the anonymous girl Rosemary thinks such an adventure. It was something out of a novel by Dostoevsky, this meeting in the dusk. Supposing she took the girl home? Supposing she did do one of these things she was always reading about or seeing on the stage, what would happen? It would be thrilling. And she heard herself saying afterwards to the amazement of her friends I patently took her home with me, as she stepped forward and said to that dim person beside her Come home to tea with me. (Mansfield 3) Rosemary thought this would be her chance to impress her friends and show how much of a good woman she was. One final relation found in the two stories is the demonstration of the upper wealthy class behaving immorally and manipulative. In the Duchess and the Jeweller the Duchess uses manipulation to cheat the Jeweller and get what she desires. The Duchess enters the Jewellers store claiming that she only has ten pearls, she states on summon 4 that those ten pearls are All thats left me, love life Mr. Bacon, (Woolf 4).Not only was the Duchess able to guilt the Jeweller into acquire she wanted she make him believe he was gett ing rewarded with the gift of spending a languish weekend with her daughter and becoming part of royalty class. In A Cup of Tea Phillip was able to manipulate his wife Rosemary by aiming at her weak spot, which was her insecurity. Phillip believes that Rosemary bringing home the little girl is not amusing and an absurd thing to do. To trick Rosemary into getting the little girl to not stay for dinner Phillip attacks very sneakily.Phillip simply states Good Lord Phillip struck a match. Shes absolutely lovely. meet again, my child. I was bowled over when I came into your room just now. However I think youre making a ghastly mistake. Sorry, darling, if Im cruse and all that. But let me know if Miss Smith is outlet to dine with us in time for me to look up The needlewomans Gazette. (Mansfield 7) As soon as Phillip tells Rosemary all these things about the little girl Rosemary is came over by green-eyed monster and wishes the little girl to leave.So not only does Phillip manipulate Rosemary but she then allows her own jealously to overcome her desire to help the poor girl. In conclusion, the two stories both successfully used irony to vizor out the how the upper class can be envied by all but still be insecure. They both exhibited main characters who are wealthy and seem to have it all but can still tolerate selfishly and when they do it can backfire with opposite results then they desired. The put up realization is that even the highly regarded upper class can stick out immorally and manipulate others.