English assignment on a short fiction and analysis of short story

Question

Task: Draft a short fiction including one developed character, a consistent point of view, and a narrative structure or notes on your plan for the narrativeEnglishassignment. Analyse one short story that inspired your creative work. The story can either be chosen from the short story collection After Australia or be of your choice. Discuss at least one technique used in the story that you felt was successful; consider character, point of view, narrative, scene, setting, tone, and/or atmosphere. Identify the story's theme. Explain how the story was inspirational to you. You should use examples from the story to support your points.

Answer

Draft of Short Fiction in the English assignment
“On the Brighter Side”
Jasmin Virk Singh was welcomed with many improprieties in what was envisioned to be a happy story. Jasmin was born in 1960 into a Punjabi family in rural India and lived a normal life until 1980 when she married Sunny Grewal and moved to Australia. Jasmin tried to adjust to the new course of her life and did everything in her capacity to make her in-laws and her husband happy. Jasmin's life is a perfect case of deep-rooted socially accepted inferior positioning of females across traditional communities.it is found in this English assignment thatSouth Asian cultures have long tussled with the cultural notion that women's gender is a burden and the male gender is celebrated. As a child and in her early teens, Jasmin was abused mentally, physically and verbally and even her father tried to kill her and wanted to exchange her for a boy. It was at her brother's wedding that Jasmin bought him his wedding suit with her own money which was dubbed by her entire family as a sign of manhood (bad luck). While her brother defended her in front of the whole family, it was her parents who asked her to leave the celebration as she apparently 'brought shame to her brother'. It is analysed in this English assignment that while education was never an option for Jasmin, she tried to make the most of the books that belonged to her brother. Marrying her off to a wealthy family was one of the main concerns of her family and it was only when the Grewal family approach the Singh family that Jasmin started to receive some sort of care and affection. It was only after she moved with her new family to Australia that she was revealed to a process of enlightenment which she found as she journeys through two nations and cultures.

It is found in this English assignment that soon after moving into the new country with her husband's family, Jasmin knew that her life did not change for the better but for the worst. While her brother Jaggu was always a supporter and defender of Jasmin in her paternal family, she craved single support in her husband's family. Her husband would be away for most of the day while her mother-in-law, father-in-law and sister-in-law pushed her into working hard the entire day and transformed her into a household servant. A year after the marriage Jasmin birthed a baby girl who was further discriminated against in her husband's family and was treated poorly. It is revealed in this English assignment that they further pushed her to birth a boy child and due to severe physical and emotional trauma, she underwent two miscarriages. Three years after her marriage, Sunny died in a car accident which further worsened her situation. Jasmin was forced by her in-laws to live in a dimly lit room without a bed or any other amenities. Frequently widows in the Indian culture are ostracised and Jasmin’s case was no exception. Jasmin was not allowed to eat with the rest of her family, not allowed to wear bright colours or do anything which resembled a normal life after the death of her husband. Jasmin was looked after by her husband's family but after the death of her husband; she was cut off by her in-laws financially. It is found in the English assignment that she was ruminating about these things, her fate, and her daughter's fate while sweeping the floor when she got a call from her brother in her in-law's landline. Jasmin had tears running down her cheeks as she heard a familiar voice on the other side of the phone. Suddenly, it came into her mind how she was an unwanted daughter that nobody cared about and was the daughter that had massive responsibility at home. She had so much responsibility that it was difficult for her to regularly go to school. Eventually, Jasmin had to quit her schooling when her mother underwent a kidney operation to take care of her entire family, cook food for them and fulfil her mother's role when she was just 12. As per the English assignment she was illiterate in India due to her responsibilities at home and while her husband promised to fulfil her dream of getting a higher education, her dreams were crushed after his death.

Jaggu who was on the other side of the landline knew the trauma his sister was subjected to and how being in a foreign country with people that resented her and blamed her for her husband's death must be for her. It is found in this English assignment while he applauded and even respected Jasmine for the bravery she has shown throughout her life he could not fathom how she was wronged by all the people in her life. Jaggu knew that he was the only one that could pull Jasmin and her daughter from the gruesome situation she was in. A month after practically living in the darkness, Jasmin got another call from her brother, the only difference was that this phone call was about to change her life for the better. Jaggu wired Jasmin $2,000 after selling their ancient plot of land in India. The surprising thing was that Jasmin had no clue what to do with that amount of money. Jaggu informed her that she could leave her in-law's house and find a house where she can live with her daughter and lead their own lives. While looking for a house, Jasmin came across Raina, a young 24-year-old college psychology student who was partaking in a social work campaign targeted at the discriminated section of society. It is said in this English assignment that Raina quickly befriended Jasmin and tried to assist her in regaining power in her life. Jasmin had always been overtly protective about her daughter as she considered her daughter, Mannat to be the only ray of hope and saviour of her life. After spending more time with Raina, Jasmin realised how she had been wronged her whole life and how she had been discriminated against her whole life by people around her. When Jasmin finally found a place for herself and Mannat, she began to pack up her belongings from her in-law's house. As per the English assignment this move did not go well in the Grewal house as Jasmin was shouted at, humiliated and even thrashed by her in-laws for considering leaving the house. Her father-in-law went up to the extent of calling her a free servant from Punjab and the fact that she 'ate their son’. While Jasmin was indifferent to the humiliations it was when her mother-in-law snatched her daughter that she lost her cool. Jasmin knew that Mannat would not be safe under their roof and she had to do everything in her power to protect herself and her daughter from that house and the people living there. Jasmin was not a coward, but all her life she was never given a voice, she was shushed, and she was denied the right to talk, behave and act as she pleased. When she saw her mother-in-law grabbing her small daughter by her hand and screaming at her incessantly, calling her a demonic child who ate up her father, all she could remember was the voice of Raina saying, 'Jasmin it's time to be unapologetic and confident by breaking away from the ropes of patriarchy'. It is found in the English assignment that it was after Jasmin met Raina that she saw the value of being a woman and how many women shared similar stories of being discriminated against. Jasmin knew that she did not want to be a bad role model for her daughter and that she wanted her daughter to look up to her and be proud, not ashamed. She wanted her daughter to live a free life with no regrets, a life where she could pursue anything she wanted without the burden of barriers pulling her down. Jasmin pushed her mother-in-law away, snatched her daughter and moved out of the house. When her in-laws followed she asked them to not bother her or her daughter again lest she would call the police. Fearing spoiling their reputation in the neighbourhood, the Grewal family watched Jasmin leave with Mannat and did not do anything to stop her. It is found in this English assignment that this was one of the first steps that Jasmin took for herself in her whole life and while it was not easy, it was vital to lead her towards a path of becoming a renowned social worker. Raina was proud of Jasmin and the step she had taken. She offered her a position in her social work campaign wherein Jasmin was provided with all vital resources which can allow her to become a better mother to Mannat and better help in society. It is analysed in this English assignment that Jasmin knew that the step she took was the first of many, however now she had the confidence of taking the step and doing things according to her wishes and conditions. Jasmin sat before her windows, watching the sun go down as she remembered her husband. As per the English assignment the grass before her had become long, she felt a sudden surge of loneliness and uncomfortableness when she heard her daughter calling out to her. She knew that while nobody ever accepted her, her daughter celebrated her and that gave her joy. The fact that Jasmin knew she saved her daughter from the darkness gave her hope to live and it was then that she realised she was meant to be a saviour, if not a supporter to all women in need.

Reflective Statement
For the English assignmentshort story “On the Brighter Side” specific elements have been drawn from the renowned story "The Drover's Wife" by Henry Lawson. The Australian writer Henry Lawson accounts for a dramatic short story about an outback woman that is left alone with her four children in an isolated hut. The English assignmentstory begins with a two-roomed house which is built of slabs, round timber and stringy bark floored with split slabs(Lawson 1892). In this story, the reader is introduced to the theme of isolation and being located far from society. The bushwoman has to take care of her children and herself in the absence of her husband. The quick action undertaken by the bushwoman to save her children from the snake suggests that she has had this before thereby establishing the constant nature of the threat that she and her family are subjected to. It is found in the English assignment that the Alligator tries to catch the snake and the family also establishes that they do not want to lose him. While analysing Drover's Wife it can be noted that the main theme surrounding the story is that of struggle, identity, hardship, isolation, resilience, responsibility, vulnerability, unity and aspirations. The main issue facing the protagonist of Lawson’s short story is the snake lying in the floorboards of their shack in the Australian outback. The Drover's Wife initiates when the snake first enters the house and concludes when the mother of the family kills the snake to save her family. Further, there is a strong connotation of racism and colonialism in the story wherein although the bushwoman is of European descent is represented coloniser throughout the context of the story. The story is about survival and solitude much like that of Jasmin’s life story wherein it has very little action. The drover’s wife is full of symbolism and meaning, a rugged and replete carving of language that conjures the Australian bush as if their unfolding plains were outside the window(Zhou 2021). The English assignmentstory is an excellent text to amplify the understanding of indigenous and other marginalised voices in Australian society for informing balanced perspectives and for promoting intercultural and reconciliation understanding. The story corresponds to the loneliness, discrimination and isolation faced by Jasmin throughout her life and how a woman can survive without her husband while tackling threats along the way. Further, the story has been written in a neutral style wherein the narrator does not use contractions or abbreviations, but the vocabulary is not extremely advanced and uses common phrases or words. Further, Lawson has made use of language to paint distinctively visual images to shape the meanings of his texts. Through the use of this technique in the English assignment, Lawson formulates images based on the struggles and isolation of life in the Australian bush. Drawing inspiration from Lawson's masterpiece I have included most of the themes chosen by Lawson such as isolation, discrimination, female oppression, death and the saving mother to formulate the story of Jasmin.

Bibliography
Lawson, Henry. 1892. “Short Stories: The Drover’s Wife by Henry Lawson.” Www.eastoftheweb.com. 1892. http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/DrovWife.shtml. Zhou, Debbie. 2021. “The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson Review – Riveting but Heavy-Handed Outback Western.” The Guardian. November 8, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/nov/08/the-drovers-wife-the-legend-of-molly-johnson-review-riveting-but-heavy-handed-outback-western.