Kazarina Anastasiia LNG-116

Analytical Reading 1

Maksakova A. E.

Comparative Analysis #2

The 29th of September

In the following comparative analysis such stories as The Pawnbroker’s Wife by Muriel

Spark, The Tight Hand by Arnold Bennett, Charles by Shirley Jackson, and Mistaken Identity by

Mark Twain will be compared by means of characterization that were used in these works in

order to describe the main characters.

Both of the authors of The Pawnbroker’s Wife and The Tight Hand use direct

characterization for describing the main characters. M. Spark describes Mrs. Jan Cloote as

“small woman of about forty-three, a native of Somerset.” Besides that, he tells that two of her

daughters were like their mother, “small, shy, quiet, lady-like, secretarial, and discreet”, which

is also a direct characterization of the character. In the short story The Tight Hand there is also

direct characterization of the main character Mrs. Garlic: “she was not the ordinary miser… her

temperament was joyous. …malicious but broad-minded smile, and her cheerful greeting. She

was always in black. …she thus had appearance of one who had been to sleep since 1870…” In

the opposite to that, the main characters of Charles and Mistaken Identity are not described

directly; the authors do not give us a lot of information about their appearance or features of their

characters.

In all of four works the authors use indirect means of characterization, which plays a

great role in the stories. The speech of the main characters does not have any specific features,
but in comparison with minor characters it is seen that all of them have an education and middle

social position. The exception is the Laurie from Charles, as he is a little child and his speech is

simple, he also makes some mistakes: “I didn’t learn noting.” By doing so, the author makes the

character more realistic, it is easily seen the character is a child, not an adult.

The indirect mean of characterization that describes all the characters the most effectively

is their actions. In Mistaken Identity the main characters thinks about himself as of a very

important person, while in the reality he is not. He tells that everybody should help him, and ask

for a lot of service from Tom: to bring blazing hot water, to put a candle at the head of his bed.

These actions describe him as a very arrogant, self-confident, and self-centered person. Mrs. Jan

Cloote in The Pawnbroker’s Wife never opens the doors of the house wide open, and hides

everything, which describes her as a secretive person who has something to hide. Besides that,

she lies about her daughter and the things that she possesses all the time. She tells unreal stories

about the compass and the picture of her daughter that was painted by a famous artist. These

actions show us that Mrs. Jan Cloote tries to be someone else, somebody with a better life. She

tries to look richer, as well as to pretend that she has high social status and position. Mrs.

Garlic’s action from The Tight Hand shows how greedy she was, when she refuses to eat mutton,

use the gas for lightening, and even wash the curtains. Also, she is shown as a quite stubborn

woman. She is ready to pay lots of money to Maria just to stand by her decision and not wash

curtains. Laurie’s character in Charles is also describes mostly by his actions and behavior, as he

tries to attract his parents’ attention. He talks rude to them and behaves badly. In addition, he

talks about Charles all the time, instead of talking about himself.

Even though the actions of the characters are the most important means of

characterization in all four stories, other means of indirect characterization were also used. For

example, in Mistaken Identity and The Tight Hand, the main characters are foil to minor

characters. Mark Twain is a foil to his companion, and Mrs. Garlic is a foil to Maria, which

reinforces characterization if these protagonists. Also, Mrs. Jan Cloote in The Pawnbroker’s
Wife repeats the phrase “There’s nothing to be ashamed of”, which may be defined as a feature

of her psychological portrayal. It gives the readers clue that she is actually ashamed of her

actions and lies, that she feels guilty for what she is doing. In Charles Laurie’s psychological

portrayal and state may be understood through his actions and stories about Charles. It may be

possible that he tells about himself pretending to be a different boy, because he wants to get his

parents’ attention. He believes that they will be interested in another boy more that in him, which

makes readers think that he is not confident child. The naming of character as a mean of

characterization was used in the short story The Tight Hand. The main character’s name is Mrs.

Garlic, and garlic does not have connection with good associations in reader’s mind. In reminds

of something stinky, rough, and bad.

These four short stories use indirect means of characterization and describe protagonists’

actions to reinforce their characterization. Even though there are some differences in choice of

other means of characterizations, all of the characters are really unique and memorable. They are

also really realistic, and the reader can easily imagine these characters in real life, despite the fact

that Mrs. Jan Cloote and Mrs. Garlic are caricature characters and one of their features are

exaggerated. The stories are really special because the main characters are so well-described, and

the most significant feature of all the stories is expressive, peculiar, memorable characters.