Compare and contrast the short stories "Mr. Loveday's Little outing" by Evelyn Waugh, and "Raspberry Jam" by Angus Wilson.

Authors Avatar

                                                Ben

In this essay I will introduce, compare and contrast two short stories, written in rather similar ways but with some very important differences. The first of these stories is “Mr. Loveday’s Little outing” by Evelyn Waugh, the second, “Raspberry Jam” by Angus Wilson.

Upon initial inspection of the introductory paragraphs of these two short stories it becomes apparent that Raspberry Jam is far more complex than its counterpart, and is also considerably longer. It is introduced in a fashion not unlike that of a novel, with a lot of dialogue and insight into the primary character; Johnnie’s thoughts and his family’s perceptions of him. The scene is set in the opening sentence “’How are your funny friends from Potter’s Farm, Johnnie?’ asked his aunt from London.” We are introduced to two characters, the central character and his aunt, who appears, through her discourse as being rather posh and self-important. The story then continues with narrative giving insight into Johnnie’s take on things. We immediately notice the retrospective style of writing as Johnnie recounts past events regarding his family and particularly his two elder friends; Misses Swindales, of whom his close relatives do not approve. Through their conversation we come to understand that they regard the old women as somewhat strange, “mad” even; “you really must meet them. They’re the most wonderful pair of freaks.” Subsequently, through Johnnie’s uneasy reaction to this talk “Many of the things the others said made the little boy bite his lip” we understand that the story is about madness, and each character’s own definition of “mad” with regards to the class structure of the time.

Join now!

The second story, “Mr. Loveday’s Little outing” opens in a rather different manner, the first phrase “You will not find your father greatly changed,’ remarked Lady Moping, as the car turned into the gates of the County Asylum.”, introduces us to, yet another rather genteel woman, Lady Moping, who is engaged in conversation with her daughter, Angela. They are going to visit Lord Moping, Angela’s father in the County Asylum and again, through the latter’s wife’s manner of speech we can see that she does not approve of her husband being in an Asylum. The narrative technique, here is ...

This is a preview of the whole essay