Analysis

An analysis of the short story “Born of Man and Woman” by Richard Matheson shows that the text is structured in the form of a journal. The story contains six journal entries, which the child marks down with one “X” up to four “X”s. There is also no clear evidence that the events take place chronologically. 

The main characters of the story are the child and its parents. The story mentions several other characters as well, including the little girl, who is probably the child’s sister. The child is probably physically deformed and its gender is unknown. 

The story’s physical setting is the house where the family lives. The child is kept in the cellar, in horrible conditions. The window also plays an important role in the physical setting, as it allows the child to see the outside world. 

The main character is also the first-person narrator of the short story. The child is an unreliable narrator because it lacks basic knowledge of the elements that surround it. 

The story is told in broken English, which is the consequence of the narrator being locked up all its life. The language contains many metaphors, as the child does not understand basic notions and does not know how to express itself. 

A full analysis of the short story can be found in the following pages.