Identities

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: Identities

Point of View: 3rd Person

Protagonist: "He", the man

What type of character is the Protagonist? Round. Dynamic.

Antagonist: police officer

Describe the setting 2 settings 1. Neat, tidy, uniform houses. 2. Rough neighbourhood. Untidy. Gangs.

Type of Conflict: Man vs. Man

Describe the main conflict:

The police officer shoots the protagonist before he can prove who he is.

Describe the Climax of the Story:

The police officer approaches the protagonist.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?

He comes to understand the situation he's in. He goes from indifference to panic.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.

It relates to stereotypes and assumptions. Because of the situation and the protagonist's appearance, it is assumed that he is dangerous. The protagonist does not have time to show his true identity. You cannot judge someone before you really know who they are.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?

The protagonist is judged too quickly, which proves fatal.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?

The police officer is very cautious because he doesn't trust the protagonist. He assumes he is dangerous.

Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):

Simile: "The store window illuminates the sidewalk like a stage."

Metaphor: "Normally, he goes clean-shaven into the world, but the promise of a Saturday liquid with sunshine draws him first from his study to the backyard, from there to his front yard."

Personification: "Eagles, tigers, wolves and serpents ride their backs."

Symbol: "He wears black pants, a tartan vest, a brown snap-rimmed hat." It suggests that someone wearing these things is a bad person.

Foreshadowing (give both elements): "So intent is he upon the future the he dangerously ignores the present and does not notice the police car, concealed in the shadows of a side street, nose out and follow him."

"Instinctively relaxing, certain of his safety, in the last voluntary movement of his life, he reaches his hand not in the air as he was ordered to, but toward his wallet for identity."

Irony: "In spite of his car, he hopes his day old beard which he strokes upward with the heel of his hand, will, when combined with his clothes, help him to blend in - to remain unnoticed."

"When the officer, who is inexperienced, who is nervous because of the neighbourhood, who is suspicious because of the car and, because he has been trained to see an unshaven man in blue jeans as a potential thief and not as a probable owner, orders him to halt, he is caught by surprise."

Imagery: "Now, as he passes grey stone gates, the yards are all proscribed by stiff picket fences and, quickly, a certain untidiness creeps in: a fragment of glass, a chocolate bar wrapper, a plastic horse, cracked sidewalks with ridges of stiff grass."

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.

The story shows different sides of humanity, both good and bad. A definite trait of humans is our ability to judge a situation very quickly. We were evolved to do so for our safety, but in modern times it has become a hinderance. We are ready with judgements upon meeting a new person. In this story, that habit of humans was fatal.

Completion: 5/5 Effort: 5/5 Content: 3.5/5 Paragraph: 4/5

total: 17.5/20