Structure

The short story “The Fly” by Katherine Mansfield is structured around the character of the boss and his trauma of losing his son in World War I. In the structure of the text, we can notice three main scenes. The first one is the conversation between the boss and Mr Woodifield, who reminds the boss of his dead son. The second one shows the boss recalling his son and trying to weep. The third one presents the boss being distracted by a fly that has fallen in his ink pot.

Authors belonging to Modernism tend to discard the importance of the traditional moments in the narrative. “The Fly” basically lacks a clear exposition, while the rising action does not lead to a climactic moment but an anti-climax (the fly distraction) and eventually ends without any clear resolution.

We will explain the short story’s structure in what follows.

Title

The title of the short story is quite intriguing at first but hints that the story is probably going to be symbolic,...

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Beginning

The opening scene of the short story starts in media res (in the middle of events – in this case, a conversation) and it can appear misleading at first because readers tend...

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Middle

The middle of the short story is comprised of the depiction of the feelings and thoughts of the boss, upon being reminded by Mr Woodifield of his son’s death six years prior, in World War I. The man recalls how he had built his business for his son,...

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Ending

The story ends by leaving readers somewhat puzzled.

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