Guide to analyze short stories: What should we look for?

PLOT:

What is the story about? What are the main events in the story, and how are they
related to each other?
The story is about a girl called Jane watching a TV programme about the remains of an
expedition. While she's watching the show she remembers the days with Vincennt, her lover,
who passed away from a mysterious disease. They started dating when they were teenagers
but they were never officially together, Jane and Vincent dreamed of a perfect life of freedom
where they would be free to do what they wanted. After realizing that they would never be a
real couple they took different paths until she visits him in the hospital while he's sick.

Are the main events of the story arranged chronologically, or are they arranged in
another way?
The story begins with Jane living alone in her apartment and then it goes back to start during
her teenage years in the form of flashbacks or memories.

To what extent is this a "formula" story? How is the story narrated? Are flashbacks,
summaries, stories within the story used?
The story is mainly narrated through flashbacks and it goes back and forth between the
present with the TV show and the past memories and it is a formula story because it follows
a pattern where we can see an introduction, rising action, a climax, falling action and an
ending that ties the story together.

Is the plot fast-paced or slow-paced?

The plot of the story is quite fast-paced because it is a short story and it doesn't provide
much information about the characters apart from what they do together.

How do the thoughts, behaviours, and actions of characters move the plot forward?
During the beginning of the story they were pretending to be together because they felt
comfortable with each other and wanted to be free, but as the time goes on, Jane starts to
think that she was in love with Vincent. Her thoughts made her try to verify her feelings
which ended up not being corresponded, this caused them to take separate ways.

What are the conflicts in the plot? Are they physical, intellectual, moral or emotional?
Are they resolved? How are they resolved? Is the main conflict between good and evil
sharply differentiated, or is it more subtle and complex?
A conflict is suggested by Jane’s frustrations with her mother always warning her about the
consequences of her actions.
Another emotional conflict occurs when Jane feels that she's in love with Vincent, the conflict
is resolved in a bad way for Jane because Vincent does not let their relationship to develop
any further and they part ways.

What is the climax of the story and at what point in the story does the climax occur?
The climax of the story happens when Jane tries to discover if her feelings for Vinent are real
by having sex with him and ends up realizing that they would never be really a couple
because he didn't see her that way.

Is the ending of the story happy, unhappy, or indeterminate? Is it fairly achieved?

The ending of the story is quite unhappy because Vincent dies and Jane can´t let go the
feelings she had for him.

What use does the story make of chance and coincidence? Are these occurrences
used to initiate, to complicate, or to resolve the story? How improbable are they?
The story uses the tv show to portray similarities between the captain of the expedition and
Vincent, which made Jane recall the moments of her life with him. The coincidences are
seen all throughout the story.
In the beginning with the picture of John's corpse which made Jane think about Vincent.
During the end when they discovered that the crew died of lead poisoning, as a result of
them trying to find a shorter way to India, which was similar to Vincent's death caused by a
mysterious illness.

SETTING:

What is the setting of the story (geography, time, environment}

The social setting captures different perspectives in different socio-historical times, such as
150 years ago, pre-WWII, and in the early '90s. The main physical setting is Jane’s house
where she watches TV. However, the story also mentions other places such as the Arctic
area shown on TV where scientists research the Franklin Expedition, Jane’s childhood
home, or the hospital where Vincent died.

Where and when does the action take place?

The beginning of the story takes place during the ´90s in Jane's house. The rest of the story
is told in the form of flashbacks, within the flashbacks and memories, the raising action and
the climax of the story take place during Jane and Vincent's teenage years in the house
where Jane grew up and the falling action takes place in the hospital.

How does the setting affect characters in the story?

Jane's attitude towards life was affected by her mother because she was always telling Jane
to think about the consequences.

Does their environment give them freedom, satisfaction, or enjoyment, or does their
environment make them feel trapped, dissatisfied, or unhappy? Why?
During the present time, when Jane is an adult, the environment makes her feel dissatisfied
but in the memories of her youth, when she was living a life of freedom with Vincent, she felt
satisfaction and enjoyment.

What are the social forces and institutions that shape the characters and their lives:
political, social, economic, philosophic, religious, educational, etc.
In this story, the social forces that shaped the characters' attitudes and their lifestyles were
their families.
Are the characters influenced by their environment?
The characters are influenced by their surroundings and environment, just like Jane's
attitude towards life was a response to her mother always telling her to think about the
consequences.

CHARACTERIZATION:

Who is/are the main character(s) in the story? What does the main character look
like?
Jane is a developing character because the story presents the way she changed over
time.Her outer characterisation suggests that at the time of the narration she is probably
middle-aged.
Jane’s inner characterisation first suggests that she is lonely. Her memories about her youth
and her relationship with Vincent suggest that as a teenager she was attracted to Vincent.
Furthermore, we find out that she was frustrated by the fact that her mother always told her
that she was a negative consequence of war time.

Vincent is a secondary character in the story. He is absent from the present action because
he died a year before and only appears in Jane’s memories.He was about the same age as
Jane and studied film in Europe. His physical portrait as a young high school student is
conveyed occasionally.

Describe the main character's situation. Where does he/she live? Does he/she live
alone or with others? What does the main character do for a living, or is he/she
dependent on others for support?
In the beginning of the story Jane is an independent adult and works, but during the
flashbacks of her youth she lives with her mother.

What are some of the chief characteristics (personality traits) of the character? How
are these characteristics revealed in the story? How does the main character interact
with other characters? Note the degree of complexity of his/her behaviour, thought,
and feelings; their appearances, their habits, mannerisms, speech, attitudes and
values. What is the main character's attitude towards his/her life? Is he/she happy or
sad, content or discontented? Why?
Jane and Vincent wanted a life of freedom without consequences, however, when they go to
college, Jane becomes frustrated by Vincent’s attitude. While she stops seeing other people,
Vincent avoids taking their relationship further. As Jane gets older and she and Vincent
move to different cities, Jane develops attachment issues as she never commits to any
relationship.

What sort of conflict is the character facing? How is this conflict revealed? Is it
resolved? If so, how?
During the first part of Jane's childhood, the main conflict was with her mother because she
was always talking about the consequences of relationships and Jane wanted to live with
freedom.
During the second part of the story, when Jane and Vincent were in university, the main
conflict Jane faced was with her emotions, Jane started thinking that she was in love with
Vincent. Jane tried to verify her feelings but Vincent doesn't allow their relationship to
develop any further so they part ways. The conflict is resolved in a bad way for Jane
because she realizes that they would never be able to be officially together.

What means does the author use to reveal character? Are the characters sufficiently
dramatized? What use is made of character contrast?
The author uses flashbacks to portray the different phases of the main character, Jane is
portrayed as a teenager with an opposition towards consequences within the memories and
as an adult facing the consequences of her actions in the present time when she's watching
the TV show which made her remember the past.

Is each character fully enough developed to justify his role in the story? Are the main
characters round or flat?
In my opinion, yes, they have the correct development to play their roles within the story.
The main character is quite flat because she couldn't leave her past behind after Vincent's
death.

Is any character a developing character? If so, is his change a large or a small one? Is
it a plausible change for him? Is he sufficiently motivated? Is the change given
sufficient time?
At the end of the story, is the main character different from how he/she was at the
beginning of the story? In what way has the character changed? What has caused
this change?
Jane is a developing character because the story presents the way she changed over time.
Her change is large if we consider the emotional aspect. She wanted to live a life of freedom
with Vincent, but at the end she ended up as a victim of the consequences of their own
lifestyle because she couldn't forget Vincent after his death and that made her feel trapped in
the past memories.

POINT OF VIEW:

Limited point of view:

Third person narrative: the author tells the story from the point of view of one of the
characters.

IMAGERY:

What scenes, moments, descriptive passages, phrases, or words stand out in your
reading of the story?

- “Now, gazing at the television as the lozenge of ice gradually melts and the outline of
the young sailor's body clears and sharpens, Jane remembers Vincent, sixteen and
with-more hair then, quirking one eyebrow and lifting his lip in a mock sneer and
saying, 'Franklin, my dear, I don't give a damn.'
He said it loud enough to be heard, but the history teacher ignored him, not knowing
what else to do. It was hard for the teachers to keep Vincent in line, because he
never seemed to be afraid of anything that might happen to him.
 He was hollow-eyed even then; he frequently looked as if he'd been up all night.
Even then he resembled a very young old man, or else a dissipated child. The dark
circles under his eyes were the ancient part, but when he smiled he had lovely small
white teeth, like the magazine ads for baby foods. He made fun of everything, and
was adored. He wasn't adored the way other boys were adored, those boys with
surly lower lips and greased hair and a studied air of smouldering menace. He was
adored like a pet. Not a dog, but a cat. He went where he liked, and nobody owned
him. Nobody called him Vince.”

- “Jane switches off the television and goes into her kitchen – all-white, done over the
year before last, the outmoded butcher-block counters from the seventies torn out
and carted away – to make herself some hot milk and rum. Then she decides against
it; she won't sleep anyway. Everything in here looks ownerless. A toaster oven, so
perfect for solo dining, the microwave for the vegetables, her espresso maker –
they're sitting around waiting for her departure, for this evening or forever, in order to
assume their final, real appearances of purposeless objects adrift in the physical
world. They might as well be pieces of an exploded spaceship orbiting the moon.”

- “Increasingly the sidewalk that runs past her house is cluttered with plastic drinking
cups, crumpled soft-drink cans, used take­out plates. She picks them up, clears them
away, but they appear again overnight, like a trail left by an army on the march or by
the fleeing residents of a city under bombardment, discarding the objects that were
once thought essential but are now too heavy to carry.”

Did a particular image make you feel happy, or frightened, or disturbed, or angry?
Why?
I think that the part in which Jane describes the corpse of the Seaman is supposed to disturb
or frighten the readers and it managed to disturb me, just as if I was staring at the corpse
myself.

Which of your five senses did this image appeal to? · What do you associate with this
image, and why? What do you think the author wants you to feel about a certain
image?
This image appealed to my sight because I felt like I was there, seeing it with my own eyes. I
personally associate this image with death and loneliness because it makes me think about
funerals and the loss of beloved ones.

SYMBOLISM:

What are some of the symbols in the story?

The corpse: which represents Vincent

The lead: which represents the consequences of our actions

Are there any objects which seem to have a symbolic meaning? What are their
meanings?
The TV is an object used to represent an escape from reality for Jane, used to travel to the
past and re-experience once again her moments alongside Vincent.

Do any people act as symbols in the story? What do they represent?

The late John Torrington was a symbol which represents Vincent

Is one symbol used throughout the story or do the symbols change?

The symbols change throughout the story, in the beginning of the story the main symbol is
the corpse of John Torrington but at the end the most important symbol is the lead.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:

Metaphor:
- But what you can see on the television, at whatever time of day, is edging too close to her
own life; though in her life, nothing stays put in those tidy compartments, comedy here,
seedy romance and sentimental tears there, accidents and violent deaths in thirty-second
clips they call bites, as if they are chocolate bar
- Free as the birds
- Love was like a steamroller

IRONY:

Is the situation ironic? Is what happens in the story different from what you or what
characters hoped for or expected (for example, when a character expects that a
certain action will result in victory when in fact that action results in defeat)?
Irony is present during the story in the form of consequences. Jane wanted to live a life of
freedom without consequences and ended up as a victim of her own lifestyle.

THEME:

What was the author's purpose in writing the story?

The message the author wants to convey is that there are always consequences, even for
the things we do not know we've done

Does the story have a theme? What is it? Is it implicit or explicit?

The main theme of the short story “The Age of Lead” by Margaret Atwood is consequences
The theme of the negative consequences of human beings’ actions is explored at many
levels in the story
The narrative goes from order to chaos, which is one important consequence of human
action.

The first level of consequences is explored through the TV show about John Torrington and
the Franklin Expedition. While searching for a cheaper route to India, the crew dies because
of lead poisoning.
The second level of consequences is explored through Vincent´s death. He died because of
a mysterious illness, those were the consequences of something he didn't even know he did.

The last level is explored through Jane life. She wanted a life of freedom but Vincent´s death
brought chaos to her life, even though she wanted freedom she was attached to Vincent.

What lesson or message does the author want the reader to understand from the
story?
● The story reflects the illusions we fall into and how relationships can keep us tied
down. It shows that sometimes we can only see the mistakes we make in looking
back at our past and that relationships can often be illusions.