Adventures in Everyday Life

The following project consists of three sections. The first section is an analytical essay which discusses the role of culture in intimate relationships as depicted in literature. Two original, fictional short stories follow the analytical essay. The narrator of these stories has the same cultural background and life experiences as myself. In both stories, the narrator is the same character, though portrayed at different points in his life. The central question of this project is “What role does culture and cultural difference play when two individuals come together to try to form a long-term intimate relationship?” The analytical essay explores this issue in depth, looking at novels written by Moshin Hamid and Jamaica Kincaid, as well as at my own two short stories. My primary definition of culture comes from Edward Burnett Tylor’s seminal work Primitive Culture. Hamid and Kincaid depict relationships that navigate complex social and cultural issues. My short stories are meant to accomplish the same objective.