Question

Read this excerpt from Virginia Woolf’s short story “A Society.” Then read this excerpt from Solomon Northup’s memoir Twelve Years a Slave. What differences did you notice in the narration between the excerpts from Virginia Woolf’s fictional “A Society” and Solomon Northup’s memoir Twelve Years a Slave?

Answer 1

Hello!

Both stories share themes such as oppression, dominance, control, slavery, equality and desire for a change. But the stories were different in their narrative structure and there are many details that differentiates between them.

Virginia Woolf's piece "A Society" is considered to be a short story, wirtten in first person by a woman called Cassandra, who starts to tell the story of a group of girls forming a complete society structure.

In Solomon Northup's piece "Twelve years a slave" is a memoir that tells the story of the author, in its narrative he plays the role of main character as well as narrator. It is written as a memoir, so first person is not recommended.

Answer 2

Woolf’s piece focuses more on describing and developing the actions of the characters, while Northup’s work presents the order and relevance of certain events. For example, Northup makes this recollection:

With the return of spring, Anne and myself conceived the project of taking a farm in the neighborhood. I had been accustomed from earliest youth to agricultural labors, and it was an occupation congenial to my tastes.

Woolf, on the other hand, focuses on the interaction between characters, as in this example:

Not only was she very beautiful; she seemed also in the highest spirits. "How happy you look!" I exclaimed, as she sat down.