Analysis

Alan Gillespie’s short story “The Arcade” has a chronological plot structure. The story follows Bill and Gaynor, two elderly people, while they go on a date around the Arcade. The ending is open as we do not know if Gaynor will call Bill.

The main characters of the story are Bill and Gaynor. Bill attempts to make the date more interesting by making up fake romantic stories about his and Gaynor’s life. Gaynor is reluctant to join in at first, but eventually starts making up stories herself. 

The physical setting of the story is the Argyll Arcade in Glasgow, Scotland, and the story takes place over a few hours. The artificial dream world of the Arcade contrasts with the cold wind and rain outside in the real world. 

The story is narrated by a third-person narrator who mainly presents Bill’s point of view. However, the narrator does not really share much about Bill’s thoughts and feelings either, so the readers have to judge both characters through their actions and their dialogue.

The language in lines 61-73 is informal and includes a lot of dialogue. The dialogue has many features of spoken language as well as a bit of imagery. The short story in general also contains two contrasting symbols: the Arcade and the cold weather outside. 

The story often makes use of contrasts, such as the contrast between the glittering world of the Arcade and cold reality outside, or between Bill and Gaynor’s real lives and their fictional stories about themselves. 

You can read a full analysis of the short story on the following pages.