Question 1 (Parker)
Throughout the short story "The Waltz", the narrator seems to have two conflicting sides. One is her external self, which is compliant to the gentleman who wishes to dance with her, and the other is her internal voice, which is continually criticizing and belittling the man she dances with. From this we can tell she clearly doesn't wish to dance with him, so it doesn't seem to be a matter of personal choice. She expresses this after his initial invitation, "What can you say, when a man asks you to dance with him? I most certainly will not dance with you, I'll see you in hell first.... No. There was nothing for me to do, but say I'd adore to" (Parker 491). The narrator is clearly feeling some sort of societal or social pressure to say yes. Saying no isn't an acceptable option; she feels as if there's no escaping the situation. I think Parker here is using the waltz as a metaphor to the intertwined nature of men and women during her time. Men, just like the one in the story, are pursuers of "the dance", trying to find a suitable female partner. But they are always the one to choose, never the other way around. Women are to be pursued, whether they prefer it or no. This can perhaps explain why the narrator doesn't refuse the man's invitation to dance. She feels stuck in her role as the woman who, by society's standards, is there to eventually be a man's partner. Her external self must be passive to this phenomenon, although her inner dialogue reveals the anger she is not allowed to show.
Question 2 (Harper)
In "The Two Offers", Harper uses the two main characters Laura and Janette in order to contrast the benefits women receive from being educated and more independent to the potential woes of a woman who relies solely on a man for her happiness and well-being. But are there larger messages in this piece as well? One of the surprising elements of Harper's work is her ability to avoid assigning a race to her characters. Depending on the audience, these women can be visualized in a number of ways. This effectively demonstrates the masks that Ong constantly refers to in his essay "The Writer's Audience is Always a Fiction." He states, "Often in the complexities of present-day fiction, with its 'unreliable narrator' encased in layer after layer of persiflage and irony, the masks within masks defy complete identification" (Ong 20). Harper uses the concept of "the masks within masks" to obscure her characters from being pigeonholed. Her piece wouldn't be nearly as effective if it was solely directed at African-American women, when she can reach a larger audience by leaving space for the reader to interpret the piece as he or she will. While it is difficult to find direct evidence of her promotion of different social problems (excluding the one mentioned previously), it is clear the broad message she is trying to send with the contrasting characters of Laura and Janette. Ignorance and reliance solely on custom will not be the ultimate path to happiness. Harper sums it up beautifully at the end of her short story by saying, "true happiness consists not so much in the fruition of our wishes as in the regulation of desires and the full development and right culture of our whole natures" (Harper 119). This statement is far from vague but definitely open to interpretation. "Our wishes" change from person to person. What is the meant by "full development"? Who decides what is the "right culture of our whole natures"? In this slight obscuring of meaning, the reader is able to take away from the piece that he should not be satisfied with solely reaching his goals. He should be more concerned with the complex process of self-fulfillment in terms of the bettering of his soul. And that can mean a lot of different things to a wide variety of readers.
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