Loss of Control:

A comparison of Alice Munros Red Dress 1946 and W.D Valgardsons God is Not a Fish Inspector

Felixe Denson Mrs. Ireland ENG3U Period 2 Thursday March 8th, 2012

While searching such a broad range of possible comparisons between two very different short stories, can amount various similarities. The short stories Red Dress-1946 written by Alice Munro and God is Not a Fish Inspector written by W.D Valgardson are both very different but were made very alike by the use of divergent styles of writing. The story Red Dress-1946 is regarding a girl who is going to her first high school dance, and though she wants to be given respect, her mother has yet to treat her as an adult. God is Not a Fish Inspector is tells the story of an old man named Fusi who likes to fish illegally. It shows the struggles he faces with his daughter when she tries to tell him how he should change. A similar theme, which would be change, conflict that is person verses self and symbolism, using colours are all used throughout these short stories. One of the themes used in both short stories Red Dress-1946 and God is Not a Fish Inspector is subject of change. In the composition God is Not a Fish Inspector, Fusi is very afraid of change and the impact it might have on him. He spends every day going about the same routine of unlicensed fishing, and when his daughter tries to stop this he gets very infuriated. She was aggressive and overbearing, but he knew her too well to be impressed.(Valgadson 81). He not only dislikes the thought of change, but he is not keen on how his daughter is trying to manipulate him. Not different from Fusi, the narrator in Red Dress1946 does not like the control her mother tries to have on her life. Her mothers attempt to keep her a child and not allow her to grow up frustrates her, as she is looking for freedom. She enraged me, talking like this to Lonnie, as if Lonnie

were grown up and I were still a child.(Munro 9). In these stories, change transforms into conflicts for both the main characters. The conflict that arises in both Red Dress-1946 and God is Not a Fish Inspector is a person verses self conflict. The narrator in the story Red Dress1946 constantly worries about the embarrassment her mother causes her. I was embarrassed by the way my mother crept around me, her knees creaking, her breath coming heavily.(Munro 9). While she is concerned with the bad things her friend Lonnie might think of her mother, she does not realize all the good attributes her mother has. This creates a stress in her mind that should not be there, and therefore has to battle her thoughts. Throughout the short story God is Not a Fish Inspector, Fusi struggles with his own sense of self. As Fusi, becomes too elderly to go boating and fishing, he struggles to swallow his pride and pushes himself to work through his pain. A few minutes, he whispered through clenched teeth.(Valgadson 86). The conflicts in these compositions can also be seen through the use of symbols used throughout the writing. The symbol used throughout both short stories Red Dress-1946 and God is Not a Fish Inspector is colour. Colours can be very eye catching in real life, and while reading they can also have a big affect on the way things are interpreted. Certain colours hide deeper meanings in which the reader can connect with on an emotional level. The colour used in Red Dress-1946, is in fact red. The red velvet material was hard to work with, it pulled, and the style my mother had chosen was not easy either.(Munro 8). The mother of the narrator makes her a red dress for her first high school dance, and though it is not appreciated, the

dress acts as a transfer. Red is more of a decrepit colour, and this can symbolize the maturing of the narrator. She wants to be respect and seen as an adult, and while wearing this colour she represents more power and control. In God is not a Fish Inspector, Fusi sees many flashes of white, he could do nothing but watch the white flash of its belly.(Valgardson 86). This flash of white could be representing the bright light you see before you die. Fusi is so old that it could be suggesting he is getting closer to the age of death, in which he could live at the old folks home his daughter wanted. Some similarities may not be evident at first, but when taking a closer look you can always make a comparison. In the stories Red Dress-1946 and God is Not a Fish Inspector the same theme of change, a person verse self conflict and symbolism while incorporating color are found. Change is unstoppable, and when faced with people become scared because they like a constant. Struggling within yourself can also be hard to overcome when youre facing a self conflict, and colours can be used to epitomize the feelings you have during these struggles. Though these stories are very dissimilar, it is possible to find alikeness through different techniques in which they were written.

Works Cited

Valgardson, W.D. Literary Experiences: Volume One. God is Not a Fish Inspector. Ed. Oster Iveson McClay. Scarborough, Ontario: Prentice-Hall Canada INC, 1989. Munro, Alice. Literary Experiences: Volume One. Red Dress-1946. Ed. Oster Iveson McClay. Scarborough, Ontario: Prentice-Hall Canada INC, 1989.