The History of Repeated Madness and Violence in The...

Victor Sejour’s short story â€Å"The Mulatto† from 1837 and Alice Walker’s story â€Å"The Child Who Favoured Daughter† from her collection In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Women in 1973 are fine examples of African American gothic representing the complexity of racism within society and the theme of female sexuality. The stories have several themes in common that they address in their distinct manner. For instance, the representation of the slave community surrounding the main characters in â€Å"The Mulatto† is cooperated whereas, in â€Å"The Child Who Favoured Daughter,† the protagonist appears to have chosen to stay aloof from the society he belongs to. Another difference is in their respective narrative strategies; â€Å"The Mulatto† allegorizes the†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Mulatto† for instance, reflects the slave community as a helpful community that looks out for each other in every possible way. Fr om instances such as the sudden realization of the kinship between Laisa and Jacques as siblings, which is of course short lived, to the group of independent slaves- Maroons who support Georges until he finally sets to kill his wrongdoer; the story reveals various kinds of independent efforts that are courageous. Another reflection of the integration of the slave community is how Georges for three years â€Å"maintained close ties† (The Mulatto) with the plantation slaves and manages to one may say, spy on Alfred. This complicates the general mentality of slaves of not attaching themselves too deeply with the near ones as stated by the narrator Antoine, as there is a sense of tendency to help each other as and when needed. This however, is not true always seeing the fact that this very community preserves secrets that maintain peace in the lives of both, the slaves and their master. The fact that Alfred is Georges’ father has been purposely kept a secret primarily due to Alfred’s order and secondarily to maintain peace to let the things be they have always been. Nevertheless, Laisa letting out this secret in the â€Å"little pouch† when she dies already hints to some kind of catastrophe that is to follow. This is unlike â€Å"The Child Who Favoured