Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Loss in "The Shivering"
In "A Private Experience", we discussed the idea of loss. Applying the idea of loss to "The Shivering" gives a different idea. In this story, the idea of loss can be applied to love. In "The Shivering", Ukamaka speaks about the loss of her boyfriend, Udenna. Learning about the character and personality that Udenna had throughout the story, one begins to question of Ukamaka really "lost" when Udenna broke up with her. Chinedu asks Ukamaka on page 153, "How can you love somebody and yet want to manage the amount of happiness that person is allowed?" Has Ukamaka truly lost something? Or has she gained? Similarly, Chinedu speaks about the loss of his boyfriend who was very possessive and controlling. Ukamaka says to Chinedu, "How can a person claim to love you and yet want you to do things that suit only them?" Both characters in "A Private Experience" had lost loved ones, and would suffer negatively from the loss. Yet, both characters in "The Shivering" lost loved ones, and found room to grow and benefit.
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You raise interesting questions about lost and love. I liked your comparison of Ukamaka's lost with Chinedu's, I did not think about comparing the two. Also your last two sentences are very important as both stories were about loss but a different kind of loss resulting in different emotions after!
ReplyDeleteI like you you look at loss in this way. Even though Chinedu and Ukamaka at first only see it as a loss, I think, through their friendship, they both start to realize that maybe they have gained independence instead.
ReplyDeleteI never would have thought of loss in this way. I really like how you made this connection in both these short stories. This made me think deeper into the readings and let me see the connections myself. The last sentence is a very powerful one.
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