Literary Analysis Essay on "Cat Person" and "A Life of Adventure and Delight"

Introduction

Sex has been used in art from its earliest form of cave painting to the modern art of today where it is incorporated in literature works to represent the human figure, show passion towards two people in love or even fertility. Sex is also seen with violence in the form of rape or defilement, and it is an important part of human life. Literature reflects the human condition and sex being part of human life should be expressed in literature but with variations to how and to what extent. Many works of literature have been banned because of their treatment of sex and sexuality in literature. This essay reflects on the two stories of Cat Person by Kristen Roupenian and A Life of Adventure and Delight by Akhil Sharma representation and use of sex and sexuality in their works.

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Are These Stories about Sex?

The first story Cat Person by Kristen Roupenian incorporates the dynamics of gender between males and females and the fine lines between human interaction and sex (Roupenian). Roupenian explores how badly people can misread each other and how sexual encounters are always frightening especially for women (Roupenian). This story reveals the lengths women go through to manage men's feelings, and in part, it reveals the gendered Rorschach test. Women see this as a story of how youth, compassion, tipsiness, and inexperience lead women into embarrassing and compromising sexual encounters with older men. It states in part that,

It wasn't that she was scared he would try to force her to do something against her will but that insisting that they stop now, after everything she'd done to push this forward, would make her seem spoiled and capricious, as if she'd ordered something at a restaurant and then, once the food arrived, had changed her mind and sent it back (Roupenian).

In her article, Bennett describes this as a place of no return and explains how it is easier to say 'yes than no' saying that it is a nuance woman instinctively understand (Bennett). The sex portrayed in this story is not rape or even a casualty of aggressive coercion because Margot had the option of leaving Robert's house, where she was not pressured to stay (Roupenian). However, Margot's anxiety not to seem selfish or foolish guided her to the casual and regrettable sex which is so common among college students (Roupenian). The beauty of this story is that it has become a case study of why and how heterosexual sex is always so confusing. In her interview, Roupenian reiterates how the subject of nonconsensual sex between younger women and older men has become one of the pressing issues today (Treisman). With the rise of rape cases in campus and man purge, there is a need to define consent

The second story of A Life of Adventure and Delight by Akhil Sharma tells of a story of an Indian graduate student in New York who fights the temptations of having sex with prostitutes or settling down in an honorable marriage with Nirmala who is a fellow student (Sharma). It states that,

Gautama was an ordinary middle-class boy. He knew he would have to get married one day, and he hoped to have as much sex as possible before then, but he also believed that any Indian girl who had sex before marriage had something wrong with her, was in some way depraved and foul and also unintelligent. He wished he could have sex with Sunny Leone (Sharma).

This story also depicts the dynamics of race and the Indian culture twisted in a way to portray the social indifference and awkwardness of youth especially when Nirmala introduced Guatama to her friends (Sharma). Sharma depicts a society of male freedom and dominance of the female gender by describing how Guatama treats his prostitutes (Sharma). When Guatama engages with prostitutes, the sex itself is always an afterthought, and he is seen using tactics such as fleeing his apartment or haggling so much about the price to avoid sex.

The story portrays the inherent cultural conflict for many students especially those students new to America and the sexual guilt. For instance, Sharma uses shame in his story as a recurring idea when Guatama feels shame at his behavior with prostitutes, with his sister's epilepsy and the shame it brings to his family and how Nirmala's family may feel after knowing about their relationship (Sharma). Sharma in his interview claims that Guatama aspires the life of happiness, and in this story, Guatama is at a moment of extreme happiness when he is with a prostitute (Treisman). This explains how sex is associated with human happiness, especially for the male gender.

Comparison between Cat Person, A Life of Adventure and Delight and Literary Sex And Sexuality

In comparison, Roupenian and Sharma have two different versions of sex and sexuality in their stories. Roupenian in her story Cat Person portrays a society where women are very vulnerable and are always abused by men sexually (Roupenian). Roupenian describes a society where women go through unimaginable lengths to manage men's feelings. She describes how heterosexual sex is confusing leaving many women full of regrets. Her subject revolves around the consent between younger women and older men and the guilt experienced by nonconsensual sex (Roupenian). Sharma in his story A Life of Adventure and Delight describes a society where the male gender uses sex to gain dominance over the female gender. In this story, Guatama pays for prostitutes to have sex with and thereafter thinks of sex only as an afterthought (Sharma). Sharma depicts a society where male dominate the female gender for sex but still regard sex with prostitutes as a taboo, and claim that the only way to get out of this misery is by having an honorable marriage.

In relation to the essay of Sex and Sexuality in Literature, the stories of Roupenian and Sharma affirm that all human beings have sexual impulses and sexual desires and literature being a mirror of the human condition, sex stories should be incorporated in our literature (Literary Articles). The stories of sex and sexual desires are both inspiring and impure, depicting the level of creativity in depicting sex as the life's greatest pleasure and greatest pain (Literary Articles). For instance, in the story of Roupenian, Margot is left in a state of doubt and regrets having sex with Robert, while in the story of Sharma, Guatama is seen to be in extreme state of happiness by having sex with prostitutes.

Sex was initially considered positive energy for fertility and an honorable act, especially by the early writers as they illustrated in their works. It, however, became an issue when sexual immoralities such as homosexuality transgressed the social order (Literary Articles). Many works of literature involving sex were banned because sex was deemed to corrupt the mind disturbing the social order. Some great writers such as William Shakespeare in his work King Lear acknowledge this proposition by writing that men who pursue sexual desires are fools and are doomed. Other works, however, hold the opposite view of sex and morality and are not afraid to openly describe sexual behaviors in their work.

How these Stories Apply to Other Disciplines

The stories of Moriya, Cat Person and A Life of Adventure and Delight can be used in other studies such as sociology, cultural anthropology, behavioral psychology among others. For instance, the story of A Life of Adventure and Delight portrays the cultural differences and the lives of foreigners who study in America. The Indian culture does not approve of sex before marriage but Guatama and Nirmala are affected by the cultures of America, and they have sex before marriage (Sharma). This story also depicts the difficulties faced by foreign students studying in America. These stories also depict the studies of sociology involving the study of college dormitory life, where students have the freedom to engage in sexual experiences in their dooms. The behavioral psychology depicted in these stories is that of consensual sexual intercourse. These stories depict the shameful feelings experienced by Guatama for having sex with prostitutes and Margot for having sex with an older man when tipsy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in this modern day where rape cases, sexual harassment cases, defilement, and nonconsensual sex seem to be very common, it is advisable for writers to express these feelings in their works. In is through writing that human nature can connect with larger society and express their feelings on sex and sexuality matters which are very pressing. Some writers are very oblique in their works requiring writers to infer meanings from their wiring and metaphors which are hidden in their texts. Modern art should influence writers to be bolder and more expressive in their writing because it is only through literature that these issues such as homosexuality and rape can be expressed and addressed.

Works Cited

Bennett, Jessica. "When Saying 'Yes' Is Easier Than Saying 'No'". Nytimes.Com, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/sunday-review/when-saying-yes-is-easier-than-saying-no.html?_r=0. Accessed 18 Jan 2019.

Literary Articles. "Literary Sex And Sexuality". Literary Articles, 2012, http://literacle.com/literary-sex-and-sexuality/. Accessed 18 Jan 2019.

Roupenian, Kristen. ""Cat Person"". The New Yorker, 2017, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/11/cat-person. Accessed 18 Jan 2019.

Sharma, Akhil. ""A Life Of Adventure And Delight"". The New Yorker, 2016, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/16/a-life-of-adventure-and-delight-by-akhil-sharma. Accessed 18 Jan 2019.

Treisman, Deborah. "Kristen Roupenian On The Self-Deceptions Of Dating". The New Yorker, 2017, https://www.newyorker.com/books/this-week-in-fiction/fiction-this-week-kristen-roupenian-2017-12-11. Accessed 18 Jan 2019.

Treisman, Deborah. "This Week In Fiction: Akhil Sharma On The Complicating Forces Of Shame". The New Yorker, 2019, https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/fiction-this-week-akhil-sharma-2015-05-16. Accessed 18 Jan 2019.