The contemporary debates on literature revolve around originality and depiction of reality in literature work. Both Atwood and Bulawayo are arguably realists whose message oscillates around the practical world. One outstanding point from Atwood’s “Happy Endings” is that there is a need to appreciate life because death is the same.
While the story directly displays sex and lust as the major events preceding a happy ending, individuals can invent their unique “Happy Endings”. Bulawayo’s “Hitting Budapest”, on the other hand, depicts the reality of life in Zimbabwe and the pride individuals view in their simple life. By referring to their little village as ‘paradise,’ the narrator helps the readers understand the pride of being home. Bulawayo compares life in Budapest and the narrator’s little “Paradise”.
The story integrates much drama to enable its visualization and make it entertaining. Besides, Bulawayo incorporates the idea of traveling to Africa and experiencing different ways of life in such places. Travel depicts the movements of human beings and the imagery they create at various points in time and space.
The narrator and their friends constantly travel to Budapest to eat guavas and experience life in the place. In addition, they compare what life in America would be like. Bulawayo perfectly incorporates the theme of travel which is highly valued in contemporary literature. Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings” portrays the reality of life, which is unique and the most important compared to the end, which is the same for every individual.
In the story of John and Mary, the author perfectly portrays the reality of life marked by love, marriage, divorce, lust, and affection as major transitions. The transition from one scenario to the next and the introduction of new characters portray the theme of travel. Markedly, Atwood and Bulawayo use different types of narration, which have different significances.
In “Happy Endings”, objective narration helps the audience use their judgment to comprehend the literature work. In “Hitting Budapest,” the author uses a narrator who links the readers to the story’s plot. The narrative style is contemporary in the literature that helps give extensive information objectively to the readers.
Many authors use objective narration to allow the readers to assess their literary works and judge accordingly. As a representation of realism and modernism, the masterpiece is relevant to contemporary literature. In addition, the short story is also acceptable and impactful on the modern audience.