Links to other sites on the Web
Life could be defined as an endless enigma. Some might finally solve the mystery and find their own way to succeed; however the rest could be squandering their valuable time. The main characters of the two stories, ��One Thousand Dollars�� and ��Getting a Job�� support the idea of disparate types of persons in the past society.
Bobby Gillian and Marguerite Johnson from the two stories are apparently different. Johnson is a pragmatic woman who has a determined volition to get a job as a street car conductorette. Although she faces adversities of discrimination in her society, she fights thru them. Compared to her, Gillian is rather ignorant and impertinent. He neither has passion nor endurance. He relies on someone else, or people around him, to support him financially or economically.
��One Thousand Dollars,�� by O. Henry, is set in New York City, in the early 1900s. A man named Bobby Gillian has just inherited one thousand dollars from his very prosperous uncle. His uncle��s will stipulates that Gillian has to render an account of the expenditure of the thousand dollars. He asks several acquaintances and some random people for their advice on the disposition of the money. However nobody could help him. Gillian makes a sudden decision to give all of his inheritance to Miss Hayden whom he loves. He later finds out that there was a codicil to his uncle��s will which states that if his disposal of the money has been prudent, 50,000 dollars would explicitly provided to him. However, he refuses the money and leaves.
��Getting a Job,�� by Maya Angelou is an excerpt from her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Most men were out of the country fighting during World War II, so many jobs were opened to women. African-American women, including herself, however, were racially discriminated which led to limited job opportunities. Marguerite decides to get a job as a motorette, however the white receptionist tries to make Marguerite give up. Her mother, who is a strong believer in self-sufficiency, encourages her not to give up. After several trials and dexterous lies about herself, she finally gets the job, which makes her different from her classmates.
Both stories contain the unit��s main theme: ��the search for identity,�� and both characters search for their individualities through unusual experiences. However, it is manifest that Maya Angelou, the author of this story, is emphasizing that her struggle to overcome racism and her own internal conflicts have helped her shape her personality and caused her to mature. It was not mutual for blacks to be a street car conductorettes back in the early 1900s. Since Marguerite is black she feels more insulted by the fact that she was rejected by the receptionist who was white. Along with the main theme of the unit, ��Getting a Job�� encompasses the writer��s negative attitude towards racial prejudice.
O. Henry, the author of ��One Thousand Dollars,�� indirectly illustrates his own motif of the story. At the beginning of the story, Bobby Gillian is portrayed as an immature, erratic person who does not take the responsibility of his actions. His love towards Miss Hayden, however, ultimately changes his persona. Even after the rejection of Miss Hayden, his lover, he gives the thousand dollars to her because he wants the best for her. He later finds out about the codicil however he leaves all that behind. The readers could infer that Gillian is giving up on the money so he could start a new life.
Many readers must have been a bit confused after reading both stories. Compared to the narrative, ��Getting A Job,�� ��One Thousand Dollars�� is hard to understand the writer��s intention. I could finally understand the story after discussing it with several people and reading it a few more times. ��The search for identity�� is not an unfamiliar quote for me. Since I am a Korean-American, I felt lost for several years when I was staying in the United States. At the beginning of the year, I felt like a stranger whenever I was around my friends; however, I gradually changed into an Asian who wanted to be more of an American. This led me to a total confusion. I was a pure Asian with my family at home but outside the house, I was an American. When I was going through my puberty, I had to keep ask myself which part of the world I belonged to. I was an outsider. These two stories made me retrospect the times when I had bewilderment about my identity. This unit has definitely helped me confirm the fact that I made the right choice; to belong to an Asian society.
Links to other sites on the Web
