World Literature Assessment Brief

Leonard Jason S. Parfan

February 18, 2015

BSIT 1

Mr. Mark Adrian Ho

Affair is not the Answer to Despair

After reading both stories, I loved the way Adichie and Chekhov write the story. Today,
many movies and tv shows are based on these types of stories. I remember the time when I first
read Lady with the Pet Dog, Ive just watched the movie No Other Woman, and the plot is
almost the same. It feels nice to learn that most of the themes of the movies today were gotten
from pieces of literature in the past.
Now let me discuss first the short story of Chekhov entitled Lady with the Pet Dog. A
married man is on a vacation when he sees a beautiful young woman with a pet dog. He uses her
pet dog to strike a conversation with her. He finds out that the woman is also married. It is his
first time to feel something like that. He feels in love with the girl. Then as time passes by, they
have an affair. When vacation time is over, he cannot get over with the woman, so he goes to her
place. Then the woman visits him in his home. The story ends by saying that their affair
continues. It is ironic that the story ends, but it is just the new beginning of their relationship.
One of the themes of the story is love. Love changes the mindset of Gurov of having a girl. He
cannot get over with Anna because it is the first time he falls in love like that. He never wants to
let her go. Another theme is dissatisfaction. It is probably the reason both of them engages in an
affair. If you are contented with your husband or wife, then you should resist temptations and be
loyal. Probably because of not having enough time to take care of his or her spouse, theyre
unhappy with their current lives. I feel sad for the legal wife and husband. They trust their spouse

but yet they other man or woman. The pet dog is a symbol of loyalty. Whatever happens to Anna,
the pet dog still becomes loyal. The story is told in the third person omniscient point of view. In
the line "She was crying from emotion, from the miserable consciousness that their life was so
hard for them; they could only meet in secret, hiding themselves from people, like thieves! Was
not their life shattered?" It shows that the story focuses not only on Gurovs perspective,
thoughts, and feelings but also Annas. In the story Birdsong by Chimamanda Adichie, being a
mistress again is the theme. But this time, it is told in the first person point of view, and the name
of the main characters is not shown. Probably because the author wants to relate the story to
other people more effectively. In the story, the persona first sees a woman in a car staring at her
and thinks that that is what her mans legal wife looks like. Then she starts telling how her
relationship with her man goes, even though, her best friend Chikwado does not support them.
Then she begins to feel unsatisfied because she realizes that it will never be her that will be his
only one, but his wife instead. The story is set in Lagos Nigeria. The story shows sexism when
their boss makes the persona and Chikwado do tasks like serving the cake in the workplace
because they were women. Both of the stories, Birdsong and Lady with the Pet Dog possess
ironic themes. In Birdsong, the girl feels unsatisfied with her relationship as she comes to the
realization that she will never be the priority of her man because she is not the legal wife. At the
end of the story, she wants to be the only girl of his man so as the traffic moves on, it symbolizes
her being able to move on. On the other hand, in the story Lady with the Pet Dog, despite being
the mistress, Anna Sergeyevna feels satisfied and continues to meet Dmitri Gurov in Moscow
semi-regularly. Another theme of the story that I notice is the kind of love shown. In Lady with
the pet dog, it is clear that Anna Sergeyevna, despite being the mistress is loved by Dmitri Gurov,
who feels in love for the first time. Both of them has fallen into each other. Meanwhile in

Birdsong, it isnt clear whether the man loves the persona. She becomes jealous of his legal
wife because she is not shown any effort or whatsoever that will prove his mans love to her. So
it is like a one-sided love. The conflict in Birdsong is Man vs. himself. The persona says she
could have got dressed, and deleted his number from her phone but she didnt. She regrets the
things she has done for her man. In Lady with the Pet Dog, the conflict is Man vs. Man. If Dmitri
and Anna are not married to another person, then their relationship would have been legal. They
can love each other without limitations.. In the story, the young woman which is the narrator, is
romantically involved with a wealthy married man. She thinks that the girl she sees in the car is a
perfect example of an ideal wife and probably has the same qualities of her mans legal wife. The
narrator uses flashbacks to show how her relationship with her man went on. In the end, she feels
unsatisfied because of not being the priority of her man and probably because of the things that
her best friend Chikwado keeps on telling her. In Lady with the Pet Dog and Birdsong, both of
the sidekicks play a significant role in the outcome of the story. The pet dog of Anna stays loyal
to her until the end of the story whatever sin she committed with another guy. In Birdsong,
Chikwado, the best friend of the narrator, also her officemate keeps on telling the persona that
she doesnt support her relationship with the married guy.
People who will read these stories must learn their moral and never commit the same
mistakes in the future. Before committing to a relationship with someone, make sure that you
love the person, and you will never choose anything over him or her. If you love your boyfriend
or girlfriend, you will not do anything that will make them cry. Having an affair is just a
temptation which shouldnt happen if both parties in a relationship are loyal. If you feel
dissatisfied with your relationship, its better to tell your partner before its too late rather than

having a side chick. And if you know that your man has a girlfriend then do not be with him
because it is you who will get hurt in the end.