Identities

**Short Stories - Literary Devises Title:  __Identities__ **


 * Point of View: **third person


 * Protagonist: ** A wealthy guy who owns a grey Mercedes Benz but is unshaven and is wearing jeans at the time of the story.

 Round / Dynamic. Even though the name of the protagonist was not shown in the story, a deep sense of understanding of the character can be obtained from reading the story. Round and dynamic characters always face conflicts and change through the story and that happens with this protagonist too.
 * What type of character is the Protagonist? **


 * Antagonist: **Himself. (the protagonist)


 * Describe the setting: ** The story starts off at a rich and clean suburb then moves to a poor neighbourhood where it is full of danger and darkness. It seems to be starting in the morning, because in the first sentence it is said that he was going for a drink in “sunshine”. The story ends around the night ( twilight), assuming from a line like “Street lights come on” and “concealed in the shadows of a side street”. The period of the time should be taken around the 1980’s and 90’s because of the car the protagonist drives which can not be very old because it is a Mercedes Benz. In addition, the conclusion can also be made from the descriptions of the people’s appearances in the story :fringed leather jackets, slick hair... and they are definitely not what people wear these days. The mood of the story changes through out the story. In the beginning, when the protagonist thinks about his childhood, the mood is bright, full of good memories. Once he goes into the poor neighbourhood, the atmosphere of the story becomes dark and scary This kind of mood builds up until the climax, where it has the most intense and exciting mood.


 * Type of Conflict: **Man VS himself ( internal conflict)


 * Describe the main conflict: **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The main conflict is generally about the protagonist struggling and fighting against himself because of the stereotype behaviour of humans: judging others, only, based on their appearances.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Describe the Climax of the Story: **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The act of the protagonist reaching into his pocket for his identity with the alert police standing in front him is the climax of the story.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The Protagonist's identity (in his mind) changes through out the story. In the beginning, he is thinking of his childhood where everyone had faith in each other and at that point he feels like when he was little. Then as he drifts and passes his rich neighbourhood, he is full of boredom and loneliness. Once he goes into the poor town, he feels fears because of the dark background of the town and the dangerous people, like the gang. His identity goes back to itself when he thinks about his house and the family, but that does not last for long because he prepares himself to look like one of the gang and tries to hide his real identity when he is in a dangerous situation. At last, when he reaches into his pocket for his identity, he finally lets the real himself to show up.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> In my opinion, the theme of the story is that identity depends on the social context ( external situations ) and that it changes, depending on one's perspective. ( People tend to misjudge others’ identities just because of their outer appearances.)


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The main conflict is about the protagonist fighting against himself because of the human’s stereotype thinking : humans judge others based on their looks. From this concept, it is easy to come up with the theme which is that identity depends on outer situations and that it changes based on one’s point of view.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the climax, the police misjudges the protagonist as a thief because of his suspicious outer look and ends up killing him. The mistaking of identities and judging others just from their appearances, is an act humans intend to do and the climax once again reminds us that identity depends on external situation and that one judges others’ identities depending on their outer looks.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes): **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Simile: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__"-grubby children who dart back and forth like startled fish."__ __"-darkness has quietly been settling like soot."__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Metaphor: __﻿ ﻿" __ __Eagles, tigers,wolves and serpents ride their backs."__ __"- annoyance will have blossomed into alarm."__ __" the police car, concealed in the shadows of a side street, nose out and follow him."__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Personification: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__"The houses are squat, as though they have been taller and have ,slowly, sunk__ __into the ground."__ __"-time has run away with him."__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Symbol: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__his beard, and the jeans :__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> reminding of poverty and uncleanness ( to others) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__his car:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> symbol of wealthiness <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> __him putting away his wallet into his pocket:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">hiding his real identity

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Foreshadowing (give both elements):

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> __"-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."__ __"-he does not notice the police car drift against the curb, nor the officer who is advancing with a pistol in his hand."__ __“When the officer, who is inexperienced, who is nervous because of the neighbour-hood, 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,-”__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- These sentences foreshadows that something bad is going to happen next-

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__"-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"__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- predicts his death.-

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Irony: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__"When he turns part way around and recognizes the uniform, he does not feel fear but relief. 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 his identity."__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- This is ironic because when the guy is finally about to show the true himself, his real identity, he gets shot and dies : situational irony

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__“- in spite of the advancing darkness, wears sunglasses.”__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">-this passage is an irony because why would a person be wearing sunglasses in the dark?

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__“ So intent is he upon the future that 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. ”__

__“He is so intent upon the three men and the girl that he does not notice the police car drift against the curb, nor the officer who is advancing with a pistol in his hand. ”__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">-Dramatic Irony :(occurs when the reader knows something important but the characters in the story do not) The readers know that the police is following the protagonist, but he does not know.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Imagery: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">" <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On the edge of the light, three young men and a girl slouch. One of them has a beard and, in spite of the advancing darkness, wears sunglasses. He has on a fringed leather vest. His companions wear leather jackets. Their peaked caps make their heads seem flat, their foreheads non-existent. The girl is better looking than she should be for such companions. She is long legged and wears a white turtle-necked sweater."

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The story “ identities ”recalls the idea about how human judges others based on their outward aspects. In the story, when the protagonist goes into the poor neighbourhood, he thinks the people living there are all dangerous and rough;he made a judgement on them by their looks and surroundings. Later in the story, the exact thing happens to the protagonist. He gets misjudged by a police officer, who thinks of the protagonist as a thief because of his suspicious appearance. The innocent protagonist ends up being killed by the officer at last. The story is telling us that identity depends on external situations and that it changes based on one’s perspective. It is also trying to tell us that people jump into conclusions without any specific reasoning. Mistaking of identities, making assumptions based on the outer looks, jumping into conclusion are what humans intend to do. They are the characteristics and the aspects of humanity. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Completion 5/5 <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Effort 5/5 <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Content 5/5 <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Paragraph 5/5

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">total 20/20