Essay on The Study of Existents in Sandpiper - 1551 Words

The Study of Existents in Sandpiper In a short story like Sandpiper, where the protagonist does little except move around in her beach-house in an uneventful afternoon, thinking her thoughts, readers must look for an attraction alternative to the plot. Indeed, the writer, Ahdaf Soueif, has chosen to offer to us an interesting array of existents, in place of the story line, as the main focus of this narrative. In the following essay, I shall discuss how existents--the collection of characters and setting--are used to invoke feelings of dispossession and displacement in the story Sandpiper, which are essential in raising the main issue of the story, which is the question of ones identity. Having agreed that the event itself, a†¦show more content†¦I-then exists in her memories. Not only is there an age difference between I-now and I-then, I-thens frame of mind has changed greatly over the span of her marriage and its degradation to become I-now. Therefore, the process of retrospection, in which I-now recalls the deeds and experiences of I-then, serves as a basis for comparison, highlighting mainly a sense of loss. In order to enhance the feeling of dispossession, the protagonist herself must have traits that make such a loss possible in the first place and be someone who feels deeply for the loss. Indeed, traits of characters must be aptly depicted to bring out the desired effect of the story. Certain traits predispose people to react in a specific way to a stimulus. We recall I-thens sentiment, as she walked on the beach six-years ago, in the words I did not want one grain of sand, blown by a breezeI could not feel, to change its course because of me (Soueif 23). This remark, together with the fact that she now stays alone in her room, instead of joining Lucy (and the rest of the family) outdoors however much she misses her, tells us that our protagonist is rather passive by nature. She lacks the initiative to look for her child but waits for her lover to return Lucy to her. Her repeated lament that she should have gone but ironical act of staying behind tells us that she will not actively ch ange her circumstances (27). Such a trait predisposes her to be helpless, bound by inaction and