In the story “The Baby Party” by F. Scott Fitzgerald and “Regarding the Problem of Newborn Piglets in Winter” by Chen Rong, both authors try to convey a message of “much ado about nothing.” Characters in both stories focus on an issue or problem that is not important, which ends up bringing them more troubles.
In “Regarding the Problem of Newborn Piglets in Winter,” the problem is formed by Zhang Dingfan, the Secretary. He just dreams up this unreal problem as “a wind blows up outside”; therefore he gives out the order. As his inferiors receive the order, they immediately drop down all their works and convey out the order to make sure everyone is fully informed the problems of the piglets. However, the piglets never have any problem throughout the story.
In the case of the story “The Baby Party,” Edith is too concern on having her child, Ede, being superior. This is shown by her intended late arrival of the baby party and her inappropriate laughter as Ede laughs after hurting the little boy. This theme of identity also applies to her husband, John Andros. The author mentions this at the beginning of the story, “when John Andros feels old, he finds solace in the thought of life continuing through his child.” The couple focuses too much on their need to have Ede being superior. This is the main cause of their big argument with the Markey’s family, which also result a pointless fight between John Andros and Joe Markey.
The Essay on “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck
Throughout the story “The Pearl”, Steinbeck makes each event lead to another. Each event has its own cause and effect towards the protagonists of the story, Kino and Juana which is very significant to the plot of the story. All the major the events of the story create obstacles Kino and Juana must pass. These events create the main plot of the story and how it affects the protagonists. ...
These stories are similar, yet they do have some differences. Both authors want to get across the same idea, but use different ways. Chen Rong in “Regarding the Problem of Newborn Piglets in Winter” uses seven different levels of people in different social classes to convey the message out. Those troubles are dramatically created by the redundancy of the communications. F. Scott Fitzgerald, on the other hand, in “The Baby Party” mainly expresses his view through the two families, the Andros and the Markey. The author adds in the “much ado” through the big arguments and the pointless fight.
Although these two stories are constructed in different ways, they both let the readers finish with a sense of agreement that all the things the characters have done or all the troubles they have experienced are meaningless.
