Structure

...

Beginning

The short story begins directly with the intrigue that starts the action: “Last night I decided it was time to kidnap an old lady. Not any old lady. Not a loud mouth.” (l. 1)

The opening phrase seems to suggest an evil and criminal narrator who intends to harm an old lady. Later, we find out that the opening of the story is somewhat misleading because Paul does not want to kidnap an old lady to harm her or to ask for ransom, but to take care of her as if she was his mother. Nevertheless, his actions are still illeg…

...

Middle

The middle of the short story includes the rising action constructed using tension points and backstories. First, the story introduces Paul’s motive behind his desire to kidnap an old lady: “I wanted a mum like the one I saw on TV last night, when I was having dinner.” (l. 13)

Several backstories reveal details about Paul’s past and age: “I've worked in the auto-wrecker's yard since I was fifteen. It's my home, metal is my family.” (ll. 19-20); “I had a young mum once. It didn't work. I was always running away from her until the day Black Jack scooped me up and gave me a home” (ll. 67-68). The story does not offer too many details about why Black Jack took Paul a…

...

Ending

The ending of the story has a short falling action, announcing that Paul takes the old woman back to the nursing home: “After dinner I took Mum back to the nursing home. I knew I was a rat for dumping her. But what else was I to do?” (ll. 167-168)

However, the resolution reveals that Paul has become trapped in a fantasy: “Anyhow, I visit Mum all t…

Teksten herover er et uddrag fra webbogen. Kun medlemmer kan læse hele indholdet.

Få adgang til hele Webbogen.

Som medlem på Studienet.dk får du adgang til alt indhold.

Køb medlemskab nu

Allerede medlem? Log ind