Short Stories Comprising, Article Review Example

In “The child exchange” conflict of the story is a couple losing their child to a sorceress and left with the sorceress’s child. The conflict of the story in “The second face” is different as it highlights a man who decides to isolate himself in an upcountry cottage to gain peace of mind. In the child exchange, the author presents the idea of a big and ugly sorceress walking in a forest with a hanging child from his back. The sorceress frightened the couple’s horses, causing them to run away. The couple goes after the horses and leaves the child at the disposal of the sorceress. The sorceress was amused to see the human child as she always had the wish to do so. In the second face, the author presents the idea of a man experiencing an itch on his back but could not be able to scratch himself no matter the tool chosen. The man was all alone in an upcountry cottage to find peace for himself.

The author states that the man felt lonely as he had the habit of continuous interaction with other people. The man also had the habit of supporting any proposed topic despite their scope or opinions. Staying in the cottage on his own made him anxious and restless. The man did not carry any computer and mobile phones as he wanted to live a peaceful life. The developed anxiety caused the man to wrestle a gas stove for not working as expected. The only item that kept the man busy is his notepad, where he would record his thoughts. The author states that the itch the man experienced was probably an old scar or a birthmark. The author highlights the cause of the conflict as influence from other people as a way of life.

In “The child exchange” the author presents the cause of conflict as an act of negligence from the couple. The couple chooses to follow the horses which took off on the sight of the sorceress. The sorceress takes the human child leaving her own on the ground. The act of negligence also reveals when the couple finds the sorceress’s child as they are not sure about whether the child is theirs or not. The author states that the husband could not agree with her idea that the baby was not theirs.

The turning point in “The child exchange” happens when the husband receives the advice that whipping the sorceress’s enough to remove blood would prompt the sorceress to return the child but the wife was against the idea. The husband attempts to hit the child with a blow, but the wife is fast enough to hold the blow to protect the child. The peasant attempts to hit the troll child again, but this time the blow falls on this wife. The peasant’s wife develops a liking to the troll child that she starts to find frogs and spiders to supplement the diet as the animals ate nothing else. The wife developed affection for the child and volunteered to be the mother of three.

The turning point in “The second face” happens when the author presents the idea of the man trying to cut something out of his body using a pair of scissors. The man tried to get the thing out of his body to no avail, therefore, decided to get it back to the bunker. The man then develops a habit of hitting his back to objects as a means of doing away with the thing in his body. The man continually questions the thing in his body though he receives no form of response.

The significance of the narrative perspective in the interpretation of the stories is that one can quickly identify and maintain the flow using the various characters. Both stories have internal narrators; therefore, it is engaging to the reader.

The main difference between the two stories appears in the conflict selected. The conflict in “The child exchange” revolves around a couple losing their child to a sorceress while running after horses. The couple is with the sorceress’s child, who later brings conflict to their home as the husband believed that beating the child would prompt the mother to bring back the child. The turning point of the story happens when the husband receives the advice to beat the child. The conflict in “The second face” has a conflict of a man living in a cottage on his own as he wished to develop the peace of mind as he had let people influence his life too much. The turning point of the story happens when the man decides to remove the thing in his back using a pair of scissors. The man tries to his best but is not successful. The two stories also have a difference in that the conflict in child exchange depends on one party after a negligent act of the other party whereas the conflict in the second face relies on the man’s thoughts about himself.