Three short stories, “The Thing Around Your Neck,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “Two Kinds,” Amy Tan, and “How to Talk to Girls at Parties,” by Neil Gaiman that all have themes and morals. Their themes and morals do not mean the same. Theme can appear in the setting or character while a moral usually appears at the end of a story, and moral is directly stated unlike a theme. So in shorter terms, theme is not the moral of the story. These short stories all created vivid imagery with a compelling plot arc and only in a few sets of pages.
Chimamanda Adichie creates a vivid short story, “The Thing Around Your Neck,” that depicts that happiness is a premium but loneliness has a typical role as its theme, but has a moral described how difficult it is for a Nigerian woman, as the narrator is, to make a new life in America. The narrator is discovering what the American dream really consists of, she reveals that is it what one determines the dream to be. As described in the beginning of the short story, “you thought everybody in America had a car and a gun; your uncles and aunts and cousins thought so, too” (Adichie 85). In different views, the American dream is interpreted in many diverse ways. As the theme in this short story is happiness is a premium, it is not the moral of the story. A theme is a commonality in the story, something that reoccurs over and over, whereas a moral is something that is gained by the reader at the end of the story. So basically the theme are not the same, simple. Sounds simple, but it’s true that one will mistake both terms as similar. The theme of “The Thing Around Your Neck,” is not the moral of the story for the sake that this theme is connected to every sentence that is produced in the short story. The moral of the story is the message that is sent from the author that is absorbed by the reader. One reason for Adichie to compose this short story is because she realizes there needs to be more of an effort to distinguish the conflicts that foreign women have to have the opportunity to live the American dream.
Amy Tan creates a compelling short story, “Two Kinds,” that depicts a theme of a complicated mother and daughter relationship, unlike the moral which is that family is important and that one should not take it for granted. Throughout the story the narrator feels obligated by her mother to do things that she doesn’t have any interest in. The narrator also believes that the mother wants her to be a prodigy, which is in total disregards of her interest. As said in the short story, “And after seeing, once again, my mother’s disappointed face, something inside me began to die. I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations” (Tan 212). The narrator feels an extreme wave of pressure from her mother to play piano and learn advanced vocabulary, but the narrator does not think of these hobbies as her priorities as the plot moves further into the story. The theme of “Two Kinds,” is a mother and daughter’s dynamic relationship that is an obstacle to keep stable and precise. The relationship, like most relationships these days, has its ups and downs, for instance when the daughter feels sorrowful for making her mother feel upset. Parents just want us to be happy and they want what is best for us. Towards the end of the story the narrator reveals that the mother died and she must gather up the belongings from her childhood home. She feels a sense of sadness in her when she sees the piano. One reason that Tan wrote this short story is because she could possibly relate to the type of plot arc that was introduced in the story and she wants the reader to understand the dynamic relationship between a mother and daughter is sacred and should not be taken for granted.
Neil Gaiman creates a tongue twisting type of story, “How to Talk to Girls at Parties,” that depicts a theme that expectations are beyond reality, however the moral is the message of facing reality exerts a powerful force on one’s expectations and outlooks. Throughout the short story, the main characters Vic and Enn, choose to believe that looks on the outside are more attractive than what is underneath. Most people in this century, look for what is on the outside but what really matters in on the inside. In other words, their expectations of what the girls would act like and look like at the party they attended, were beyond the realistic views. As shown in the short story,
“I have forgotten much, and I will forget more, and in the end I will forget everything; yet, if I have any certainty beyond death, it is all wrapped up not is psalms or hymns, but in this one thing alone: I cannot believe that I will ever forget that moment, or forget the expression on Stella’s face as she watched Vic hurrying away” (Gaiman 250).
When Vic ran away from Stella, the pretty girl at the party, he casually met the standards of reality and could not withhold himself to them. He ran away from her because he could not handle what she had on the inside. One should not make assumptions based on one’s appearance because it is true that expectations are apart from the real world.
In her short story, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie emphasizes that happiness is a premium but loneliness creates a vivid appearance. In Amy Tan’s short story however, she creates a theme of a dynamic mother-daughter relationship that bears its hardships but manages to push through the obstacles. Neil Gaiman constructs the theme that represents a portrayal of how expectations are not nearly the same as reality. The moral of each short story does not correlate with the theme of each story for the fact that theme can be illustrated over and over again during the story whereas the moral of the story is the message given by the author to the reader towards the end of the story. Each short story formed a compelling plot arc, consisting of vivid imagery, and only in a few pages.
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