The Lady with the Dog vs A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Compare &Contrast

I was once very fortunate to get two tickets to the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco from one of my aunts who had come on some work here but was suddenly called back to attend to some urgent matters. I was so excited as I had never been to such a famous theater before. I invited my best friend Judy along and we decided to meet at the bus station at around 4 pm as it was a 45-minute drive from here.

The old name for the American Conservatory Theater was Geary Theater which was situated on 415 Geary Street. We reached promptly and took the short walk towards the theater to find the place teeming with crowds of people with their children. The theater was an architectural beauty that was designed by a very famous architectural firm called Bliss and Faville. Ever since the time it was built, it served as a beacon of light for all those who came in search of a total theater experience or great drama.

There was so much excitement in the air especially from the children since they were all too eager to witness the ever-popular play – “A Mid- Summer’s Night’s Dream”. The lights went off as the curtains rose to the sound of lilting music as the play began. The first scene took place in a forest setting that showed a small troupe of actors who were acting out their parts. After a while, the Queen’s tiny but naughty page boy called Puck decided to play a prank on her. He squeezed the juice of a magic flower on her eyelids which made her fall in love with the first object she saw. This object of interest was one of the actors who wore the mask of a donkey. How the problem gets resolved is the rest of the very interesting play. All through the play the audience cheered and clapped applauding the impeccable performances of all the actors. Puck of course stole the show and was the children’s favorite without a doubt. It was one of the best days of my life because Judy and I had enjoyed ourselves so much and still carry wonderful memories with us.

Book Reviews

The two books I have chosen to review are “The Lady with the Dog” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. The common theme that runs through these stories is the different changes that take place in people’s lives and how these changes make them behave the way they do. Both these stories portray a different kind of suffering or pain that the characters go through.

Anton Chekov’s “The Lady with the Dog” is a touching tale of pure love between two strangers who accidentally meet at a place called Yalta. Dmitri Dmitrich Gurov is totally fed up with his life having been married to a dignified but loveless lady whom he was afraid of. He had three children and was just below forty years old. The story is written from the narrator’s point of view and it speaks of how Gurov had always been unfaithful to his wife and had befriended many other ladies whom he considered to be “the lower race”.

The scene takes place when he was seated in Verney’s Pavillion and spotted a young, slim, fair-haired lady who was of medium height and was wearing an attractive beret. She was walking aimlessly on the seafront and had a white Pomeranian dog that ran close to her heels. Gurov makes friends with her and finds that she is in a loveless marriage and needs a good person whom she could depend on. The couple spends happy days with each other till the lady whose name was Anna is called back by her husband. The parting is extremely painful but they bid their goodbyes to each other. Gurov is unable to fill the empty space created by Anna and then realizes that he has fallen deeply and madly with her and is unable to cope with the situation any longer. He goes in search of her. The author uses the symbols of birds of the same kind who are forced to live in different cages. The man who was much of a playboy realizes that he is capable of respecting women and to be faithful to the person of his dreams. The love shared between the two lovers had changed their lives completely.

“A Good Man is Hard to Find”, by Flannery O’Connor, is another touching story written from the narrator’s angle and speaks of a loving and happy family who are planning on taking a small holiday. The story revolves around a grandmother and her only son Bailey, his wife, and their children. The grandmother was a talkative woman but had a loving and generous heart.

When going through the morning newspaper she found that a person calling himself “The Misfit” had escaped from Federal Prison and was heading towards Florida. The author’s apt use of the word “Misfit” shows that the man was no good at all. She was shocked to read that the man had brutally killed many innocent people in cold blood. Since the family had already been to Florida she suggested that they all go to Tennessee.

So on a bright sunny day, the happy family packed themselves into the car and set off on the road to Tennessee. They had loads of fun with the children eating snacks, cracking jokes, reading comic books, and poking fun at each other till the car got into a small accident along a dirt road when the car went into a ditch and was impossible to move it out. It was this fateful road that was witness to all that followed. They waved to a car that was coming down the road and it stopped nearby. But they were quite disappointed and frightened to find that all of them had guns.

The author was exceptionally good as he described the happy and carefree scene change to one of fear, sadness, and desperation. It was indeed the terrifying Misfit who got them after all in spite of them trying to avoid him. He had no ounce of pity in his heart as he got them shot one by one even the grandmother pleaded and cried to spare them.

The pain she suffered was excruciating as she had to witness the death of each of her loved ones before her own life was taken. In both these stories, we have the pain of two different kinds – one was the pain of love and separation and the other was the pain of witnessing the death of loved ones.

References:

A Good Man Is Hard To Find.

The Lady with the Dog