The theme of death is common in Swifts stories. This is an important theme explored in “Chemistry” as many of the characters die. The narrator in the story faces the loss of his “father’s death” and additionally the death of both the grandparents. Another important theme in “Chemistry” is that of growing up. Growing up is important because although the grandfather is the oldest he behaves and thinks like a child, especially during the presence of Ralph. “Grandfather picked at his stew. …he deliberatively ate slowly to provoke Ralph.” This is shown as he is constantly agitating Ralph by referring to the past, that of which Ralph wasn’t in. Swift has used the verbs “picked” and “provoke” here to suggest that he is causing conflict. This makes the reader feel aggravated. In this way, we see that the character of grandfather presents the loss of his daughter as jealously.
The structure of the story is written in non-chronological order this signifies the pure confusion of the boy. “Her face was composed again.” here the writer has made the reader feel “I thought: now we are going to face Ralph” just like the boy. The verb “composed” suggests that she may end the relationship with Ralph but instead she turned on grandfather “You’re ruining our meal”. The mother has made her decision and has chosen to support Ralph and lose the love of her own father. This signifies the break up of the relationship and also the way she deals with loss.
In both the extracts “Your Shoes” and “Chemistry” the writers present the characters in many different ways. One of which is that in “Your Shoes” the mother is mourning and is failing to accept that the daughter has runaway. “There my darling, there. You’re at home with mother, everything’s all right.” Clearly the mother is emotionally insecure. Here it is important to note that there is absolutely no use of punctuation. In contrast, “Chemistry” is where the narrator clearly does not understand the emotions of the mother.
Similarly in the story “Your Shoes” the mother experiences loss in a way that she cannot bare the fact that she “doesn’t know where” her daughter is, so instead she turns to the shoes that her daughter has left behind. These shoes are a symbol of the daughter, “One shoe pointed in fact towards the bedroom window… and the other pointed towards the door. They wanted to get out” The writer has used personification here to suggest how the mother is trying to figure out why her daughter has left her, just like in “Chemistry” where the narrator misunderstands the mothers motives to set out for a new life. The boy mistakes “this look of relief, as if she had recovered from an illness.” As if she did not care about the grandfather. The mother in “Your Shoes” makes the reader sympathize for her. In this way, we see how the character of the mother is presented in the manner she deals with loss. The shoes are abandoned and this suggests that these shoes are a metaphor of the rejected parents.
In comparison the structure that both the writers have used are that the stories are written in non- chronological order. In “Your Shoes” the mothers thoughts flit backwards and forwards the mother does not deal with her loss and neither does she come to terms with it. Just like in “Chemistry” although the boy witnessed a lot he does not share his feelings. It is clear when “Mother said: ‘He’s only ten what can he know?’” the boy certainly knows a lot more than he is credited for. Furthermore the stories “Your Shoes” and “Chemistry” are both written from the 1st person which then only shows the thoughts of the main characters so the readers may have to work out for themselves how the characters feel although it is fairly obvious in “Your Shoes”. In this way, we see that the writers have presented the way the characters deal with their losses differently.
The themes explored in both stories is conflict as in “Your Shoes” the father deals with the situation by calling his daughter “a dirty slut” and actually makes the situation worse, which is equal to “Chemistry” where the grandfather comes between Ralph and the mothers relationship. The theme of change is also mentioned in the stories as the mother is not prepared to face anything different, “I’ve taken a week’s sick leave from school” she does not want to go back without her daughter, but instead she wants everything back to how it was. Whereas the boy in “Chemistry” is perhaps not ready but is forced to change the way he lives. The ways these characters deal with loss differ greatly.
The setting in “Your Shoes” is of the mother “lying curled up in the middle of the bed” here the mother’s surroundings reflect the presence of her daughter. The mother is almost like a foetus, weak and unable to look after herself. The room symbolizes her daughter just like her shoes. In contrast the setting in “Chemistry” symbolizes the relationships drifting apart between each generation, “she had grown neglectful of Grandfather”. Here Swift is describing the invisible thread that is holding the family together is shifting. The setting in these stories symbolizes how the characters in each story deal with loss. The setting in these stories symbolizes how the characters in each story deal with loss.
To conclude I think that the main difference between the stories “Your Shoes” and “Chemistry” is that the mother does not come to conditions with the way she deals with loss. Whereas in “Chemistry” the boy realizes that dealing with loss is part of your life.
