Structure

The short story “iAnna” by Will Self has a simple structure. The plot of the text revolves around the case of a patient who suffers from a form of schizophrenia in which she imagines the world is an iPad. The story is divided into several scenes that make up the plot…

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Title

The title of the short story, “iAnna”, suggests a contemporary— even futuristic— setting as we immediately think about the iPhone and iPad technologies. The title is a reference to the name Dr Mukti …

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Beginning

The short story begins with the exposition which introduces readers to the main characters and the setting: “Dr Shiva Mukti, a psych…

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Middle

The rising action develops as the two doctors meet and examine the patient, Anna Richardson. Her condition is revealed as we find out that Anna perceives the world in a very strange way: “ ‘She thinks the world is an iPad,’ Mukti explained.” (ll. 37-38)

Much of the rising action focuses on the woman’s symptoms and on the doctors’ effort…

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Ending

The story nears its end through the falling action in which Dr Busner and Dr Mukti test Anna to see how she reacts, and Dr Busner explains his method: “ ‘Now, that is something genuinely novel, Mukti – a severely psyc…