Structure

Title

The title of the story, “Do Not Pass Go”, is intriguing because it does not reveal much about the plot. The phrase “do not pass Go” is a reference to the board game Monopoly, where players are sometimes instructed to travel around the board without passing the starting square, called “Go”. The phrase is also used to suggest that someo…

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Beginning

The short story begins in media res, showing the protagonist being driven by his wife to the airport: “Hamid Zebari smiled at the thought of his wife Shereen driving him to the airport.” (p. 19, ll. 7-8)

As the exposition continues, we find out…

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Middle

The middle of the short story follows Hamid during his trip to Turkey and back.  A foreshadowing element is introduced when, before boarding, Hamid thinks about the more expensive Pan Am flight: “As he passed the Pan Am check-in desk on B5 he observed that they would be taking off an hour earlier than him, a privilege for those who were willing to pay an extra sixty-three dollars.” (p. 20, ll. 5-8)

Later in the story, when Hamid returns from Turkey, he decides to take the more expensive Pan Am flight.

The rising action includes a detailed backstory about Hamid, as the character thinks about his past during the plane flight. In this way, we find out that Hamid and his wife left Iraq illegally, as refugees after Hamid had been dismissed by Saddam H…

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Ending

The falling action shows the American flight crew relieved to have saved Hamid. It also lets readers know that Hamid landed in New Delhi and was transported to New York fro…