The essay of “Groom Service” and “The Return”

“Groom Service” by Michael Anthony Dorris and “The Return” by Ngugi wa Thiongo are two short story which have the common theme of “love” and the common situation of “ the marriage”. Although the two stories have common themes and situation related to acceptance, acknowledgement, and recognition, the difference between the two story influence the meaning a lot. The common theme of story is “love”. The protagonist in “Groom Service”, Bernard, had the ability to survive with his hunting skill, but did not dare to seek his own love.

He seeks acceptance from Marie and her family. On the contrary, Kamau in the story “The Return” seeks acceptance from a village, but finds acceptances in the change that had taken place. Due to the difference between the internal and the external forces created by their family and personalities、protagonist. Bernard and Kamau, did not end up with their desired partner. Love theme plays an important role in the story.

The love theme arouses the reader deep thinking, bringing the thorough liberation of ideology and the courage to cherish life and enjoy life.

On the other hand,“The Return”is about a man named Kamau who returns home after being held in a detention prison for 5 years. The village is almost unrecognizable. His wife Muthoni has remarried someone else, thinking that he is dead.

“The Return” show cases Ngugi’s attempt to expose the trauma suffered by the Kenya’s Gikuyu people, both as individuals and on a community level, during the period that the British declared a state of emergency as it was struggling to contain the Mau Mau uprising. This two story is not very long, but just a few words directly lays out the situation of the story. The background of “Groom Service” is concerned about American mainstream culture and traditional heritage with a critical view from multiple narrative perspective. The position, role and ideas of two mothers in the story are completely different, but the consideration of the marriage for their children is same. In this comparison, the story guide the reader to think what marriage proposal looks like, where a women rule in the family. Based on to start a dialogue interaction, the issue of dynamic construction of female identity is clear.

“The Return” can be classified as a historical piece of literature that traces the problems associated with war on cultural trends and life. The story takes you on a long road of hope that ends in disillusionment, it goes with a reader through the labyrinths of betrayal, it exposes the expectations of a man who longs to meet his wife after a five year period of detention. All talk is centred on Kamau’s journey from the prison to home, his hopes, his aspirations, and the encounters he came across on the way. The two story of the historical background is different, the characters of the social environment are not the same, but the different situation focuses on the conflict and fusion between Indian culture and the Western civilization. The combination and interaction of traditional and modern, local culture and Western literature of marriage, affect the fate of the characters in the story, lead to the tragedy ending.

In this two story, we found two different narrative story, get the same story theme; different story background, reached a similar fate. On the basis of the above discussion , we know that the two wonderful poems indicate the love theme from different perspectives. The “Groom Service” focus on materialism, family disharmony, by the multiple narrative perspective. “The Return” shows the struggle Kenya’s Gikuyu people, by the narration for the journey home. The meaning in the story is still love and hate, life and death.

The writing style, images and language of the story is based on the emotion and fate of human beings. Indian literary renaissance is a long time and finally ready to breed in the language, reality and political aspects such as the Literary Renaissance. The story also shows the Indian literary renaissance by the view of the emotion and fate of human beings. By the influence of this type of literary works like “Groom Service” and “The Return” , Indian cultural survival and regeneration study gradually appear into reader’s sight, and affect the later literary works a lot.