Identities

Layma Maslova

Short Stories - Literary DevisesTitle:___Identities___

Point of View: 3rd person

Protagonist: What type of character is the Protagonist? round, dynamic Antagonist: police man, the man, the invironment.

Describe the setting Where: suburbs- clean, nice, family friendly; bad neighborhood- not safe, trashed, dingy. When: 1950-1970’s, autumn, morning-twilight Atmosphere: depressing, unpleasant, shady.

Type of Conflict: man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. invironment.

Describe the main conflict: The main conflict is when the policeman tells the man to put his hands up in the air, but instead he reaches towards his wallet for identity and gets shot.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The climax of the story is the the main conflict, which is described above.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? The protagonist changes when he realizes that judging people by their appearance is not fair. He thinks back to how he made assumptions about those people in the leather jackets, and how he thought they were criminals, and then thinks about how the police man assumed he was a criminal as well. He realized this about a second before he got shot, while he was reaching for his identity.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. The relationship between the theme and title is basically the theme is the title. The whole story is about not judging people’s identities by their appearances.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The main conflict illustrates the theme because it once again highlights the fact that you shouldn’t judge by the way people look.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax is the main conflict, and the answer is in the answer above.

Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):

Simile: Paper clogs the fence like drifted snow.

Metaphor:

Eagles, tigers, wolves and serpents ride their backs.

Personification: Time has run away with him.

Symbol: drifting leaves

Foreshadowing (give both elements): He does not notice the police car drift against the curb, nor the officer who is advancing with a pistol in his hand. The officer, who is inexperienced, who is nervous because of the neighbourhood

Irony: He is so intent upon the three men and the girl that he does not notice the police car drift against the curb, nor the officer who is advancing with a pistol in his hand. Instinctively relaxing, certain of his safety, in the last voluntary movement of his life, he reaches his hand not in the air as he was ordered to, but toward his wallet for identity.

Imagery: The store window illuminates the sidewalk like a stage. Beyond the light, everything is obscured by darkness.

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. I believe there is a strong relationship between the class theme, humanity, and the theme of the story, which is making assumptions. I think that making assumptions based on appearance is a trait of humanity. It's what people do. For example, imagine you see a guy on the street who is covered in tattoos, smoking and and pierced just about everywhere possible. Are you going to think, "he seems nice, I want to go and talk to him!", or are you thinking, "I think I'm going to cross the road!". Yes, I would cross the road as well. But what you're really doing there is making an assumption, that may or may not be true. You're judging by the way he looks. And that's OK, judging by appearance is a very common human trait, and that is why the story and our class theme are related.

Completion: 5/5 Effort: 5/5 Content: 4/5 Paragraph: 4/5

total: 18/20