Structure

The short story “Early Autumn” by Langston Hughes has a chronological plot structure. The story is centered around a single incident and could be considered an example of flash fiction.

The story begins with an introduction that takes place before the main events. Here, we are given a context for Bill and Mary’s relationship:

When Bill was very young, they had been in love. Many nights they had spent walking, talking together. Then something not very important had come between them, and they didn’t speak. Impulsively, she had married a man she thought she loved. Bill went away, bitter about women.

This beginning sets up certain expectations in the reader. Although there is not much information given about why Bill and Mary’s relationship fell ...