Structure
Introduction
Your exam question asks you to focus on narrative techniques. The short story “Self Defense” by Samuel Wilkins uses a traditional linear plot structure while also including narrative techniques like in medias res, backstory, and foreshadowing. You can also read more details about the story's use of a first-person narrator h…
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Title
The title of the short story “Self Defense” indicates that the plot will involve an act of self-defense.
The meaning of the title is both literal and symbolic. In the literal sense, it refers to the elderly man shooting Daniel in an act of self-defense when Daniel and Norman break into his house, trying to rob him:
‘Take another step and I shoot,’ an unseen elderly voice warned from the darkness of the room, as if God himself had spoken.
‘Now, now old man, we ain’t here to hurt nobody, just tell me where your safe is and we’ll be on our way,’ Daniel said stepping forward.
I heard a soft click before the shotgun blast pierced th…
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Middle
In the rising action, Daniel asks Norman if he wants beer or sex first (l. 14). They stop at a 24-hour gas station, and Daniel goes inside alone. He returns with Budweiser beer which he shares with Norman (l. 30).
Their backstory is further developed, and we learn that the two men have known each other for a long time: “I didn’t like to initiate conversation unless I knew Daniel was in the mood to talk. Over the years we had talked about nearly everything under the sun; we no longer had need for words.” (ll. 37-38).
The protagonist then provides a backstory about himself and his relationship with Daniel. He has always considered himself heterosexual, but he formed a bond with Daniel in prison. Daniel picked him and stood up for him. The protagonist loves Daniel but never said it to him and wishes he would have told him that night (ll. 41-45). This reveals Norman’s inner conflict, which is further developed as the story progresses. Norman’s wish to have shared his feelings is a foreshadowing element of Daniel’s death.
Daniel then decides to stop at Green Duck (l. 50), a strip club. The protagonist pretends to be excited about the i…
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Ending
The falling action shows Norman running away frightened: “I knocked over a table of pottery and tore the screen door off the rusted hinges. I ran, crying and stumbling, through the dirt.” (ll. 173-174). This creates another tension point in the story.
He gets into the Camaro and drives for 30 miles before he runs out of gas. Later, the Alabama State Troopers catch him at a Waffle House begging for breakfast. It is confirmed that Norman and Daniel had recently br…
