Identities

Short Stories - Literary DevisesTitle:__Identities__

Point of View: __I believe that the story is written in third person instead of omniscient because you don't see get to heard the thoughts or points of view of the police officer. I think this affected the story because if we had been able to hear the thoughts of the police officer we might've had to infer less. Also, if it had been written in first person we would have been able to see more from the point of view of the protagonist, maybe we would have been able to see why he would've wanted to get away from his family a little more. If the story had been written any other way we would've had more information about the story itself.__

Protagonist: __What type of character is the Protagonist?__ __I think the protagonist is a flat character because he seems like the typical suburban father, clean-shaven, with a steady job the prevents him from being creative, a nice car with family living in a crime free neighborhood where all the houses look the same. At the end he seems to change his mind about wanting to get lost and get away from his family, making him a dynamic person. At first he wanted to get away, but he soon realized that he needed his family and that they would worry if he didn't show up for dinner.__

Antagonist: __The main character is also the antagonist because he;s fighting against himself. This 'darker' side of himself wants him to keep going away from his family, where as the good part of him tells him to go back. In the end he comprimises by deciding to call the, to let them know he's okay.__

Describe the setting __The setting changes from a steriotypical high class neighborhood with perfect lawns and expensive carsin the driveways to a slummy, dirty part of town as the story progresses. __

Type of Conflict: __I think the conflict was Man Vs. Himself__

Describe the main conflict: __At first he thought he wanted to be away from his family, but as he got further away he realized how much he needed his family, and fought against the two parts of himself, one of which wanted to tell them he was okay while the other wanted to let them worry. The man saw how much he cared for them, and needed their absence to see their presence.Also, his vision is clouded by his own prejudism. If he could see past previous opinions that he had made, he would be more open to opportunities and would be less likely to trust or mustrust the wrong people.__

Describe the Climax of the Story: __The climax comes just before the ending of the story when the police officer takes out his gun. It seems suspenseful because you wonder whether the people outside the store are as bad as he thinks, if the police officer will arrest the man and if he'll be able to contact his family.It was made even more intense when you didn't get a direct answer to any of those questions.__

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? __The protagonist goes from being a judgemental, self centered man to being a person who cares for his family and their well being. Even though he remains judge mental, proven when he sees the police officer and automatically assumes he's safe, he learns that he does care for his family and isn't the self reliant person he thought he was.__

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. __The title connects to the theme because an Identity can either be who we are, or a piece of plastic specially made with all the information our government cares about, such a height, weight and a picture of us. In this story you have a man judging others by what they look like, such as the way one could do by looking at an ID. Also when the police officer sees the man he doesn't wait for the man to take out his iodentification. Judging others by their ID or appearance can lead to misconception, false hope and assumptions.__

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? __The main conflict helps to illustrate the theme in that he is a man judging other people by what they are on the outside, He even judges himself, by seeing a business man who doesn't need other people. By judging others he led himself to be judged.__

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? __When the climax arrives you see a police officer make the same mistake as the man it seems a little ironic at first, but but something usually doesn't happen twice for no reason.__

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

Simile: __Darkness was settling like soot---compares darkness to soot because soot is very black, and it settles quickly, covering everything around it.__ Store lights illuminate the sidewalk like a stage---it wasn't actually a stage, but the lights made it seem like a spot light on one area Paper clogs the fence like snow---made the way the paper was stuck between fence posts seem like the way snow covers everything

Metaphor:

Personification: eagles, tigers and serpents ride their back---those things can't really ride backs, especially as they're just pictures

Symbol:

Foreshadowing (give both elements):__

Irony:

Imagery: -a Saturday liquid with sunshine -

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. In this story you meet a man who at first seems a little bit lost in his own life, caught up with everything around him so much that he doesn't have time to look around and notice the little things. Because he is so preoccupied he doesn't care to get to know people, and judges them just by the way they look. This connects to the class theme because it portrays the worse parts of humanity that we don't usually think about, such as selfishness, guilt and jealousy.

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