Course – ENGL 161
The two interesting short fictions stories named as “Bang Crunch” by Neil Smith and Achilles’ Death” by Madeleine Maillet, have a parallel theme of death but with different idea and different storyline. No doubt, both stories revolves around death, yet both of them bears different emotions. Firstly, the most astonishing element in both stories that fascinates the reader is narrator, as both stories are narrated by a child. Moreover, these two stories sound more like a biography and personal but with particular preference of first and second person- as a technique to grab the attention of readers. Writer of bang crunch has used second person “you” to narrate the story which is a good technique to give uniqueness to a story. This way of narrating gives a chance …show more content…
In the Achiles’ Death, narrator is not consistent throughout the story. As she dreams about death and shady things in most part of the story but in the end, she dreams herself as a pretty and gorgeous lady free from burden and any sort of constraints. We can realize that in the end of the story where she narrates, “ I dreamt about I was a lady of shallot, floating along in my rickety rowboat, seated still as it dipped back and forth, pooling with water, finding its level below, until the rowboat was gone, and I was suspine, but unsinking , floating still, because my gowns were made of gossamers’ wings weighed nothing. They pulled me along a little, catching currents, making me look this way and that, like a little who’s got your fingers in her grip [Madeleine 185-186].” Thus, in the end of the story she seems to be more optimistic and sanguine as compared to the most part of the story where she is confused. On the other hand, in Bang Crunch, narrator is narrating the reality of herself with a consistency. She is suffering from Fred Hoyle syndrome at the age 8years and eight months. This syndrome causes her brain to develop exponentially and