Analysis

This is a brief summary of the analysis of the short story "Dead Man's Shoes" by David Evans that you find in this book. 

We begin with looking at the structure of the short story which is interesting as we find that it resembles a fairy tale. Additionally, it turns out that the short story has a plot twist.

Then we focus on the characters in the short story, the most important of which is Anne Bezuidenhout, who is the main character of the story. Besides characterising Anne, we also take a look at the seven suitors and outline their specific characteristics.

Evans is a South African writer and the story is indeed set in South Africa in the last half of the 1990's when Nelson Mandela served his first term as president. The specific location where the action takes place is a typical Boer farm. Of course, we also take a deeper look at the social setting, which is closely linked to racial issues.

Finally, we also discuss the literary devices that the author uses throughout the short story. One of the most interesting traits, we discover, is the extensive use of irony. We also give examples of how the author applies similes, allusions and symbolism.

Read on in the next pages to get the full analysis of the "Dead Man's Shoes"!