Structure
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Beginning
The short story begins in medias res, in the middle of events, with a woman asking McCreedy what he wants to do for his birthday. The narrator continues with a short backstory – the woman is called Hilda, she is McCreedy’s wife, and she always calls her husband McCreedy instead of John.
McCreedy thinks about going to the pub for his birthday but does not say it out loud: “The pub, he thinks but doesn’t say. With the fellas from work. Get the Guinness down. Tell some old Dublin jokes. Laugh till you can’t laugh anymore.” (ll. 10-11). This suggests a backstory which alludes to his Irish origins and his habit of going to the pub. It…
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Middle
In the rising action, McCreedy goes out into the garden, where his nine-year-old daughter Katy is playing with her dolls. We find out McCreedy “tries so hard to love” (l. 33) his daughter, suggesting an inner conflict.
We learn that the family lives in North London (ll. 31-32), which contributes to McCreedy’s backstory as an Irish immigrant to Britain.
McCreedy tries to discuss his birthday with Katy, but she is more concerned about the nettles stinging her dolls. The nettles are “crowding out the roses Hilda planted years ago” (ll. 41-42), which provides a brief backstory on Hilda.
McCreedy refuses to cut the nettles because he is keeping them for soup, to make Katy beautiful. She isn’t sure whether to believe this: “For nine years she’s believed everything he’s said. Now she’s on the precipice of disbelief, almost ready to fly off the edge.” (ll. 45-46). This backstory suggests that McCreedy has been telling Katy for a long time that she will eventually be beautiful. This part of their discussion also creates a tensio…
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Ending
In the falling action, McCreedy’s family is confused and frightened. They say nothing and quickly shift their attention elsewhere. Hilda looks for a new pack of cigarettes in her bag, Michael swears and heads to the toilet, and Katy puts her thumb in her mouth.
Katy expects McCreedy to sweep the stack off the table and break the plates – the narrator suggests a certainty which indicates McCreedy has had some angry outbursts before (ll. 198-201).…
