Identities

//Short Stories - Literary Devises//

//Title:// Identities

//Point of View//: Third Person

//Protagonist:// A man who lives a happy life with his wealthy family.

//What type of character is the Protagonist?// The protagonist is a Dynamic Character.

//Antagonist:// The man himself, the policeman, and the environment.

//Describe the setting.// Identities could be from any recent time frame, but probably in the late 1960's. The story could take place in North America, as the narrator mentions all the stories the man has read in childhood about the North. The mood and atmosphere are quite mellow at the introduction, but slowly turn mysterious during the rising action and then creepy and even scary by the climax and conclusion. The man starts out at his house on a Saturday morning in Autumn, first in his study, then backyard, then frontyard. He then drives around in his grey Mercedes Benz through his happy, wealthy neighborhood where nothing is out of place, then through a poor and crime filled neighbourhood. This neighbourhood is full of crime, dirt, and many things are locked up.

//Type of Conflict:// There are more than just one type of conflict. The man has a conflict with himself (man vs. himself), and with the policeman and the girl in the white turtle-neck sweater (man vs. man). He is also uncertain of being in a neighborhood he doesn't know well (man vs. environment).

//Describe the main conflict:// The main conflict is that the man is shot by the inexperienced policeman. The man didn't steal a car or commit any crime, yet he was killed.

//Describe the Climax of the Story:// The climax of the story is basically where the man slips his wallet into his jacket, makes a plan if he is assaulted, then edges along the side of his car. The inexperienced police officer orders him to halt, which surprises the man but actually makes him feel safe. Then the man reaches for his wallet. This is the most suspenseful and climatic part of the story because the reader has no idea what will happen next. The most intense part of the story is when the man reaches for his wallet and is shot.

//How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?// Over the course of the story, the protagonist changes from a relaxed to panicked man. During the introduction, he is very mellow and actually bored until he leaves his house. He is quite happy while driving through his neighborhood, than becomes nervous while driving through an unknown neighborhood. He becomes quite scared when he comes across the girl, then is relaxed and almost relieved when he sees the policeman, until he is shot.

//Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.// The title 'Identities' is exactly like the theme because this story is all about mistaking someone for somebody else...the policeman mistook the man for a criminal, and the man mistook the police man for coming to help him. The theme is about a mistaken identity, which relates perfectly to the title.

//How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?// The main conflict the man has with the cop helps to illustrate how people can be mistaken for their identity. The cop thought the man was a criminal and stole the car, as he looked out of place unshaven and wearing beat up clothes in a fancy car. The man also thinks that the cop comes to help him, but he really came to investigate him. The man also judged all the people in the bad part of town, just like the cop did to him. The cop assumed he was a bad person, just like the man assumed he would get assaulted by all the so-called bad people in the town.

//How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?// The climax involves the man reaching into his jacket to take out his identity to show the policeman that he is, indeed, innocent. The cop, however, thinks that the man is a dangerous criminal who is reaching for his gun, so he shoots the man. The man thinks that the cop will keep him safe just by looking at his identity: he is a policeman. That doesn't, however, mean that the policeman is there to help him. The cop thinks the man is a threat just by looking at his identity: he looks to have stolen a car, and is now reaching into his jacket for what is most likely a gun. The man is really not a threat though, as he was reaching for his ID. They both judged a book by its cover and mistook an identity.

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

//Simile//: "Darkness has quietly been settling **like** soot."

//Metaphor:// "**He drifts**, instead, through the neat suburban streets and cul-de-sacs, losing and finding his way endlessly."

//Personification//: "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."

//Symbol:// "Street lights come on. He takes them as a signal to return the way he came, but it has been a reckless, haphazard path." The street lights symbolize his conscience telling him to turn around and go back to his family, but he can't because he thinks he's lost.

//Foreshadowing (give both elements):// "Faced with this, he decides to call the next time he sees a store or phone booth. 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." This lets the reader know that the end will somehow involve the police...maybe this man is a criminal or thought out to be a criminal.

"Although he has on blue jeans - matching pants and a jacket made in Paris - he is driving a grey Mercedes Benz. Gangs of young men follow the car with unblinking eyes." This foreshadows that the man is standing out and that something is likely to oppose him for looking kind of off.

//Irony:// "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 identity." It's ironic that the man feels safe and relieved to have been found by the policeman, when instead the policeman feels he is a threat and shoots him. It's very ironic that the man put his wallet inside his jacket to keep his money safe in case he was assaulted, but it later on led him to being killed.

//Imagery:// "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. The smell of burning leaves stirs the memories of childhood car rides, narrow lanes adrift with yellow leaves, girls on plodding horses, unattended stands piled high with pumpkins, onions, or beets. Always, there were salmon tins glinting with silver, set above hand-painted signs instructing purchasers to deposit twenty-five or fifty cents. This act of faith containing all the stories he has read in childhood about the North – cabins left unlocked, filled with supplies for lost wanderers – wakes in him a desire to temporarily abandon the neat yards and hundred-year-old oaks." This paragraph paints a picture of Autumn in my mind and makes me feel like I've actually seen what the man has seen.

//Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.// Having an identity is a huge part of humanity. Our identity sets us apart from others, either in a good way or a bad way, depending on how we put ourselves out into the world. In 'Identities,' the man may have thought he was making himself look like a good person when he was really looking like a bad guy. He made one mistake - putting his wallet inside his jacket. If he hadn't have done that, he'd still be alive. It's the same concept with humanity; sometimes we can make one tiny mistake and it can mess up EVERYTHING. As humans we do things for the better, thinking that good results will come out of whatever we are doing, just like the man did. He thought: 'If I put my wallet in my jacket and leave a ten in my pocket, I'll won't lose very much money if I'm assaulted.' As humans we usually judge a book by its cover and sometimes act without thinking. Humans don't tend to look at what consequences our actions can have, which is why our identity is one of our greatest weaknesses.

Complete 4/5 Effort 4/5 Content 5/5 Paragraph 5/5

revised total 18/20