Structure
The short story “Monster in a Ryokan” by Mary Roach has a traditional plot structure, with an exposition, a rising action, a climax, a falling action, and a resolution – elements which we will outline in what follows.
Title
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Beginning
The exposition of the story introduces the main character – the narrator – and the context – the narrator’s travel to Japan. Here, readers also read about the concept of being a monster and...
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Middle
In the rising action, the narrator talks about the mistakes she makes while she spends her night in a ryokan, a Japanese inn. A first tension point is marked when she enters the building with her dirty shoes on, which is something unthinkable in Japan:
As an American, I was raised to believe that the simple act of passing one’s soles across a nubbly plastic mat sporting a cute saying will somehow magically dislodge an accumulated eight hours of filth, muck, and germs. The Japanese do not share our faith in doormats. The Japanese remove their shoes at the door. (p. 146, ll. 7-10)
The narrator also contrasts the Japanese organization with the American way of being comfortable and disorganized:
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Ending
The ending of the short story is very short. In the falling action, the narrator feels a sense of relief because “every wrong thing that could be done had been done” (p. 148, l. 28).
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