Perks of Being a Wallflower End

 Characterization - Sam
When first introduced to Sam in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the reader can already tell that there is more to her than what is seen at first glance. Sam is a dynamic character throughout the entirety of the story. She changes so much from the beginning of the story to the end; she grows, she learns, and she lives.

Her character is introduced as the fun girl that Charlie has a crush on. She likes to party and likes attention, but in actuality this is a cry for help. Sam is unusual, and it is noted that at one point she was popular, before she got into "good music".

From the beginning it is said that Sam has a troubled past. Charlie's sister mentions names the other students called her, for things she had done with guys. She had a history of getting around, which stems from the later revelation that Sam was molested by a family friend at a young age. This left her traumatized, and the fact that she later gave herself away to feel loved hints that maybe she never felt love before. Not real love. Maybe that's all she wanted the whole time.

Sam grows tremendously throughout the book. In the beginning she's the carefree party girl who seems to keep everything locked up inside. She just wants to have fun, partying, drinking, doing drugs - you name it, she does it. But as the story goes along, she changes. She gets into an actual relationship which opens her eyes later on. Craig tries to control her and she lets him. She lets him tear her down and make her feel like she doesn't matter.

Toward the end of the book, she realizes that, hey, I do matter and nobody should get to walk all over me like that. She realizes that she shouldn't let other peoples' opinions influence her to the point that she can no longer be her own person. She realizes that another person's idea of who she is doesn't matter if they don't know who she is at all. The only relevant opinion of herself is her own. She doesn't let her past and the tragedy that she's encountered define who she is. Only she is able to define herself.

The main thing that Sam highlights, which is a very important part of this book, is that people need to do things. They need to participate in life, no matter what opinions surround them or what views people have. People are going to talk, regardless. People will hold your past and your actions against you, but it's all irrelevant, really.

Sam is dynamic in the realest meaning of the word because of the fact that she really grows and she lives and learns so much more than I could ever begin to explain in one blog post.

Quotes
 "So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be." -Charlie

This is a very important quote in relation to the meaning of the story as a whole. What this means is that basically, Charlie is feeling mixed emotions about everything in life. He doesn't know why this is, but this is really the entire point of the story. This book is about identity and finding yourself and really coming to terms and understand who you are. This quote highlights that fact - Charlie has no idea what he feels or why he feels it, but he grows. He learns. This is the entire point of the book.

"We accept the love we think we deserve." -Bill 

This quote is very powerful and very important in relation with the meaning of the story. The meaning of this quote is self-explanatory; people will only let people love them if they feel they deserve their love. This is based on the person's perception of who they are, their identity per se. This book is entirely about finding yourself, figuring out who you are and who you will be. This quote ties right into that based on the fact that the love you will accept relies solely on how you feel about yourself and what you think you deserve. Charlie accepts the love of his friends because he thinks he deserves it. His sister accepts the love of the boy who hits her because she thinks she deserves it. It is based solely on your own perception of who you are.

"So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them." - Charlie

This may very well be the most important quote from the entire book. In relation with the main theme of finding yourself and figuring out who you really are, this quotes highlights the fact that, yes, people cannot choose where they come from. They don't choose what happens to them or what happened in their past or even in their present. But they have the power to choose where they go from that point. They have the power to choose who they are, who they want to be, and what they're going to do. And they can live, and they can feel, and they can learn, because that's what life is about. That is the main point of the entire story.  

My Mixtape

1. What You Know - Two Door Cinema Club
   I found this song online and I absolutely loved it. To me, it's personal. "I can tell just what you want. You don't want to be alone, you don't want to be alone. And I can't say just what you know, but you've known it the whole time, yes you've known it the whole time." That just sounds like a cry out for someone to help. I don't want to be alone. I feel like this song is about me.

2. River Flows in You - Yiruma 

 I don't remember exactly where I first heard this song, but I know that it stuck with me ever since. It's wordless, obviously, but it gets to me and hits straight in my soul. This is the one song that can calm me down and make me relax, no matter what. This is my go to song on a bad day, or when I'm crying and falling apart, or even when I'm happy. It's soothing. It's perfect for every emotion.

3. Lights - Ellie Goulding

This song is personal for me as well as calming. For some reason, even as sad as the lyrics are, the music just gets to my soul and calms me down instantly. "Voices, I play within my head. Touch my own skin, and hope that I'm still breathing." This part gets to me for personal reasons dealing with my depression, and it hits me hard. Much harder than any lyric has ever hit me before.

4. Asleep - Emily Browning

This is a remake of The Smiths song, Asleep, done by one of my favorite actresses. I've always loved this song. "Don't try to wake me in the morning, 'cause I will be gone. Don't feel for me, I want you to know, deep in the cell of my heart I will feel so glad to go." This part gets to me on a personal level. I've been there. I know what it's like to feel like that and to have it put into lyrics is just.. chilling.

5. Black Balloon - The Kills

I heard this song online for the first time and it sent chills up my spine. It's so raw and emotional. This song is about letting go, something that I really struggle with, so it gets to me on a personal level. "I swear our jet is crashing in my mind. You can hold on but I wouldn't waste your time. Farewell my black balloon." Accepting letting go of something. It's chilling, in all honesty.

 

6. Runaway - Yeah Yeah Yeahs 

This song gets me every time to the point that I tear up each time I hear it. It's extremely personal here so I won't go into detail with my reasoning, but it hits me hard. It's very sentimental and comforting to me, to know that these things happen. I will be okay. "Run, run, run away. Lost, lost, lost my mind. Like you to stay, want you to be my prize." I relate to this. I sometimes feel like I'm breaking and everyone is leaving, and that I want nothing more than one single person to stay with me. 

 

7. Dark Blue - Jack's Mannequin 

One of my close friends showed me this song and it's scary how much I relate to it. "I'll wait, I'll wait, for the ambulance to come, pick us up off the floor. What did you possibly expect under this condition?" This line gets me. This song is about being so broken and bent and learning to live anyway. Dark Blue is a symbol of peace. 

 

8.  Zombie - The Pretty Reckless

This song is extremely personal for me, but I guess I'll explain it anyway. This song is about people pushing you and hurting you and breaking you until there's nothing left for them to kick around anymore. I relate to that so much. "Dear all of you who've wronged me, I am, I am, a zombie. Again, again, you want me to fall on my head. I am, I am, I am, a zombie. How low, how low, how low will you push me?" This explains it all. 

9. Alive - Krewella

"Meet me under shining lights, I've been waiting right here all my life. Feelings, you can't deny that you are living, open up your eyes. And I just want to sink into your crazy laughter. Come on, make me feel until the pain don't matter." This part of the song gets me every time. It's the one line that I really relate to and that makes this song special, to me.

10. Paradise - Coldplay

"Life goes on, it gets so heavy. The wheel breaks the butterfly. Every tear, a waterfall. In the night, the stormy night she closed her eyes. In the night, the stormy night, away she'd fly. And dreamed of paradise." This songs is personal for me. It shows that going on even though life really sucks sometimes is possible and that it's okay to not be okay, and it's okay to escape sometimes.

Perks of Being a Wallflower - Part One

What exactly does it mean to be a "wallflower"?

A wallflower is a person who watches from the sidelines, uninvolved in life, filling space. They observe but they don't participate.

Characterization

Who is the protagonist? How would you characterize him?

The protagonist is Charlie. He appears to be a round character; obviously there is a lot more to his character than is seen in part one of the story.

Which characters are round and flat?

Charlie, Sam, and Patrick are all round characters. Bill, Charlie's parents and siblings, his sister's boyfriend, and the other students are all flat characters.

Examine the family dynamics in "Perks". Would you classify Charlie's parents as good or bad? What textual evidence do you have to support this?

Charlie's parents are indifferent - they are neither good nor bad. They are not there for his soon and his father seems to be a wreck around emotions, like when he hit Charlie for crying. He seems to have an image of what his son should be and he's upholding that image instead of accepting Charlie for who he really is. They put a lot of pressure on him to succeed as well.

Point Of View

• What point of view is used and what style? Why would the author chose this method? How is it effective?

The point of view is first person. It is told from Charlie's point of view with his thoughts and feelings in clear text. This let the reader connect to Charlie and place themselves in his shoes.

Plot

• What conflicts exist in this novel so far?

So far, the conflicts consist of Charlie's inability to participate in life or have friends after the suicide of his friend Michael, and his sister's abusive relationship with her boyfriend.

• What do you notice about the exposition of this story? Does it grab your attention? How?

It's a very slow start but it is still effective. Charlie's problems and his position of starting high school with no place to fit in is relatable with how a lot of students felt their freshman year.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor

Which chapters apply so far?

Chapters 1, 2, 11, and 17.

Quotes

Discuss these quotes in your groups. What do they REALLY mean?

"Not everyone has a sob story, Charlie, and even if they do, it's no excuse."

There are no excuses for peoples' actions. They are at fault for their own decisions and should not try to justify any of them with a story from their past.

"Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve."

Self-esteem plays a key part in determining who is allowed to love you. When a person has low self-esteem, they think that they can't get anyone better than the usual stereotypical jerks and idiots when they deserve so much more. They don't think they're good enough for something they actually deserve.

So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.

Charlie is growing up and has no idea who he is or what to feel about all the different parts of his life. This makes him both happy and sad, and he doesn't know why. It's normal to feel this way, and people feel this way quite a lot, but it's new to Charlie. The fact that he feels so much at once scares him beyond belief, but it's okay to feel everything at once and it's okay to just not be completely okay all the time. Once he adjusts and learns, he will realize that.

Reflection

The past four weeks in this class have been really interesting, to say the least. I came into this class with a general idea of what to expect, but Mrs. Endicott has taken my expectations to new levels. I've loved every single activity we've done, the stories we've read, and the assignments we've had. I really feel like Mrs. Endicott is doing a great job with this class, mainly because she has gotten me to really think in a new way and see things differently, which is an accomplishment all by itself.

I've learned so many things from this class, already. I've learned that I do have the ability to think in new ways and to continually get better and better at both writing and analyzing. I've learned that literature doesn't suck, contrary to what I used to think of it. I learned that a little positive encouragement is all that it takes to get me to focus and really try my best.

My favorite short story was The Sorrowful Woman, mainly because of the message that it sends out to the readers. At first, I didn't understand the meaning of the story at all. But as I've learned how to analyze and look into these things, I now understand that this story is all about feminism. It highlights the fact that women are expected to fill so many roles and always be in the right role, to the extreme point that women are dying because of the work they have to do that is deemed "unfit" for men to do. I really enjoyed the fact that a story with such a deep message is out there.

My least favorite short story was definitely Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. I think that I didn't like it because it was a little hard to follow, mainly because it brought history into the story. I also didn't like that the ending could be taken in many different ways. I dislike open ended stories. I have to have a solid ending for closure.

In the future, Mrs. Endicott should just continue doing what she's been doing. She's doing a great job. :)

P.O.V. Terms

• 1st Person - Narration from the perspective of "I" or "we". Usually narrated by main character and chronicle their thoughts, actions, etc.
• 3rd Person Omniscient - God perspective/higher power perspective. Narrator is completely unrelated to the story yet knows the thoughts and actions of each character.
• 3rd Person Limited - The narrator experiences the story through one character and only knows his/her thoughts.
• 3rd Person Objective - The narrator is not involved in the story and does not know any of the characters' thoughts.
• 3rd Person Collective - An offbeat form of omniscient point of view in which the narrator goes into a set of minds at once, reporting the group response.

The Black Cat: Cat's P.O.V.

It was raining the night my owners left me alone. The box they had placed me in was water-logged, seemingly just seconds away from caving in from the weight of the liquid. My fur clung to my body and I curled into a ball, my meows for help no match for the volume of the water pouring down outside my shelter. My eyes closed and the sound of the storm lulled me to sleep.

                 

The next morning I awoke to the lid of my box open and a face looking in at me. My shelter had miraculously made it through the night. Rising to my feet, I arched my back and stretched before poking my head out of the opening. One tentative meow was all it took. The lady picked me up, gently, cradling me in her arms. She walked to her vehicle and sat me inside before getting in herself. My eyes darted all around and I curled into a ball once more. This was unfamiliar territory – I didn’t know what to expect.

                 

A long car ride later, she took me into a house and handed me to another human. This one was a man, a friendly looking one, who I liked instantly. Rubbing my head against his hand, I purred, marking my territory. He was to be mine and I was to be his.

*

                 

My owner called me Pluto. I quickly learned to answer to my name, as I learned that my owner favored me over the other pets. My owner was very nice and affectionate, always petting on me, always playing with me. He was perfect. We lived in harmony for months before the changes began to set in. Owner would come home later and later each night, acting entirely out of character. One night was worse than the others. Owner came home with the strange smell on him once again, stumbling around the room. I ran the other direction, steering clear of his feet that were going in every direction.

                

 “He’s avoiding me!” Owner’s voice sounded throughout the room and he dug something pointy out of his pocket. “C’mere, Pluto…” A vicious scowl appeared on his face and he seized me, pulling me into his arms and against his chest. My teeth sank into his hand and he yelled. I squirmed, wiggled, tried to force my way out of his eyes but I was too late. Searing pain spread through my eye as he jabbed the pointy object into it. I yelped, jerking this way and that, trying to lunge out of owner’s arms. Owner’s fist closed around my throat and my cries cut off as the object pulled, taking my eye away with it. Pain overtook me once Owner placed me back on the ground and I collapsed, red liquid coating my fur.

*

                

 I didn’t die. When I awoke, the red liquid was dried into my fur, crimson on black, everywhere. Days passed and all I could do was lay around. Recover. I had to recover. I adjusted to only having one eye; it wasn’t as bad as most would think. The loss of my eye caused my hearing to heighten and sharpen. I became an excellent mouse hunter which occupied my time. Owner spent more and more time away from home, always coming home with the strange smell on his clothes and the anger from the night he took my eye. I would hide from him, under couches, under chairs, anywhere I could fit to avoid upsetting him once more.

                 

More days went by and Owner watched me more intently with each one, almost as if he was studying my patterns and habits. I rarely moved on these days; Owner had become a monster. He would lash out at me and the other animals, sometimes even his wife when he would come home from the strange smelling place. “Alcohol,” Owner’s wife had mumbled under her breath one evening, shaking her head. It was hurting my Owner. I never understood what that was – then again, I never had to time to understand anything else.

                

 It was dawn when Owner cornered me, scooped me into his arms, and carried me out to a tree. Was he going to let me claw it? Was he going to set me loose? My feeble mind pondered what was happening as Owner placed the rope around my neck. Seconds later, he released me, the noose suspending my small form in mid-air. My eyes locked on Owner; he was the last thing I saw before I slipped away. He was the last thing I thought of before my tiny heart stopped beating.

*

                 

In the spectrum of existence, there is life and death. What most others don’t know is that there is an in between. I was sent to the in between, my spirit still on earth, my body dead and broken. Owner couldn’t see me, but I was there, always at his heels, always watching. Even though he had betrayed me – even though he had taken my life – I yearned for things to be the way they used to be. I missed my owner, the one that used to love me. I watched him sleep. I watched him go about his days. I watched as the house caught fire; some neighborhood vandal grabbed my body and threw it into the flames. This distressed owner, but I’m sure that’s because he really loved and missed me, too.

                 

A few days went by. Owner and his wife found a new home and moved all of their things and the other pets in. I followed, my spirit still attached to them. I meowed and cried out, learning quickly that they could not see or hear me. I technically didn’t exist anymore. But then… it happened. One moment I was in the void, invisible to everything and everyone, and then… I wasn’t. Darkness surrounded me and my breathing cut off, my eyes sliding shut.

*

                 

When I opened my eyes, there was warmth and light surrounding me. Blinking, my eyes adjusted to my surroundings. I was in a room with Owner… but where? Examining my paw, I realized that this was not my old body. These paws were slightly larger, and upon further exploration, I noticed a patch of white on my chest that was never there before. I’d gotten a new body, but this one was injured, too. Just like my former body, this one was missing an eye.

                 

Owner’s eyes locked onto me and he went pale, just staring. He asked a question which someone answered before moving over to me. He ran his hand along the length of my back and I instinctively purred, arching my body against his hand. Oh how I’d missed my owner! He continued to pet me then, just as he was about to exit the building, I made my intentions known. Jumping off of my perch, I followed him out the door and down the streets. He stopped every so often to pet me as we made our way to his home and I followed right inside. This was my home. This was my family. I was so excited to be back.

                

 I was friendly, often trying to snuggle with my owner and show my affection, yet he avoided me. Like before, his actions were strange – perhaps he was drinking the strange smelling things again. Owner would steer clear of me at all costs, isolating himself from the rest of the household. The more Owner ignored me, the more I wanted to receive his affection. I would follow him, right at his feet, never far behind. I would pop up onto his lap and smother him with snuggled, rubbing my head along his skin.

                 

Nothing worked and I began to grow impatient, wanting nothing more than my Owner’s love. My attitude began to change and I began to resent Owner for not caring for me any longer. I became engrossed in figuring out why Owner didn’t like meat the same time Owner’s wife became fascinated by the white on my chest; it’d begun to take shape, something she called gallows, though I never knew what that was.

                 

I began to follow Owner more closely, watching him and sitting right next to him as he slept, often hovering over his face to make sure he was alright. Something was really… off. One day, everything changed.

                 

Owner had been on his way to the cellar to get something for his wife and I followed along, right at his heels, hoping he would give in and at least pet me or hold me. It had been far too long since Owner had even touched me. Owner grabbed an object with a long handle and a silver blade, dropping it toward me. I ran, my furry little legs carrying me as quickly as they could. Perching in the corner of the room, I watched as he lifted the object and swung it at his wife; it hit her head and with a sickening crack, red liquid spurted from the wound.

                 

Owner deliberated before tearing down one of the cellar walls and shoving the body inside like it was so meaningless, like she was a stranger to him. Quickly he began putting the bricks back in place, sealing the body inside. Three. Two. One. I jumped swiftly inside and hid myself as Owner placed the last few bricks in order and locked me in the tomb.

               

Several days passed and I stayed inside with Owner’s wife, nuzzling her body with my face. I never got a response. I cried out for her, to get her attention, but I never got it. Something was wrong with her. Why was she ignoring me, too? This depressed me and I lay at her feet, curled into a ball, meowing softly.

                 

Silence filled the tomb, until the day that the police officers came. I could hear voices outside of the chamber, filling the room. Owner laughed and tapped on the wall, so close to me. Scurrying up Owner’s wife’s body, I perched on her head and began to wail and cry out, my meows mixing in with yelps and screams.

                 

The wall crumbled before my eyes and I stayed in my place, more screams escaping my small form. They had found me. They had found Owner’s wife. Now they could help her. I had kept her safe until they came for her. Maybe now they could help my Owner. I leapt from my spot as they took the wife out of the tomb and marched Owner back up the stairs. I’d done my job. I’d kept my family safe.

Characterization Terms

• Direct Characterization - the reader is told directly by the author how a character is
• Indirect Characterization - the reader learns about a character through their actions, decisions, etc.
• Round Characters - complex, easier to analyze, more personality
• Flat Characters - characters without a deeper meaning, they're just there to fill space, no explanation as to why they are the way they are.
• Stock Characters - stereotypical character
• Static Characters - same throughout the entire story, don't change at all
• Dynamic Characters - develop and change throughout the story

A Rose for Emily - Character Analysis

Many of the characters in A Rose for Emily are simply there to fill space, to keep the story moving when the main character, Miss Emily Grierson, is not in focus. They are nameless, flat characters who are not really important in the overall story. Out of the three characters that are vital to the story, Emily Grierson is the most complex, the center of the story.

The first given view of Emily is in the form of the opinions of the people in town. Emily is said to stay home constantly, never really seen by the public, which leads to a generally misconstrued opinion of her as a person. It is said that Miss Emily is stuck in the past, in simpler times when she was a younger woman. She simply just did not adjust to the changing times and the way that society works in the present. She is a mystery – little is known about her by the people. Their basic knowledge extends to the fact that Emily rarely ventures out of her home, she broke down after her father’s death, and her lover disappeared without a trace. 

As her past comes into light, Emily goes from being a flat character to being the center focus of the story, the most important part of it. Throughout her life, everyone that managed to become important to her has departed from her life. The result of this was that Emily became clingy and bitter to the point that she snapped and murdered Homer, her lover. She feared his imminent departure, and in a fit of desperation, took his life, keeping his body concealed in the home. 

The fact that Emily is a murderer adds onto her character. She was a strong willed woman who put on a charade of mystery to everyone surrounding her. If one managed to get close to her, it would be seen that beneath her hardened exterior, she indeed had a heart and was afraid of it being broken once more. Her heart, as fragile as it was, was capable of feeling emotion, specifically love. This love extended to Barron so much that she was able to lie beside his dead and decomposing body every night. Overall, Miss Emily Grierson is a very complex character, twisted by tragedy and molded into a mystery.

Plot and Structure Literacy Terms

1. Exposition – Introduces the story and tells what brought it to the current point 2. Rising Action – Where the action starts. The part of the plot that sets the story in motion. 3. Climax – Most interesting and suspenseful part of the entire story. 4. Falling Action – After the climax, action that leads toward resolution. 5. Resolution – The ending of the story. The thing that generally solves the problem/conflict. 6. Conflict (include different types) – External – the problem is between a character and himself. Internal – the problem is between several characters, things, etc. Conflict is the problem. 7. Protagonist – the good guy 8. Antagonist – the bad guy 9. Flashback – recalling previous details to add suspense/detailing to the story 10. In medias res – in the middle of things. Something basically happens while several other things are happening

The Lame Shall Enter First

The Lame Shall Enter First is a story that is jam packed from start to finish with both suspense and foreshadowing to hook readers into it. The story follows Sheppard, a man who works at a reformatory with troubled youth, and his young son, Norton. Sheppard decides to take in a troubled young man named Rufus Johnson, which begins the toughest journey of his life. The exposition of this story is explained through Sheppard’s thoughts back to his time spent with Rufus in the reformatory. Sheppard is revealed to have been his doctor (or an equivalent of a doctor), working with him to free his mind from the thought that he is in control of the devil. Being abused by his grandfather and with a mother in the penitentiary, Rufus soon finds himself in need of a place to stay and winds up on Sheppard’s doorstep. It is decided that Rufus would live with Sheppard and Norton, which is where the rising action of the story begins.

     Sheppard is the obvious protagonist of this story. He is the good guy that everything is centered around. He is a troubled man, widowed and a single father beginning to notice the bad qualities in his seemingly perfect son. Sheppard sees Rufus as a vision of himself – someone he can save and polish into his own perfect son. This unfailing desire to save Rufus makes Sheppard a Christ figure. In more ways than one, Sheppard is self-sacrificing on his quest to save Rufus, even taking responsibility for him when the cops come around to pick him up. Sheppard’s name alone is enough to give the reader clues into the fact that he is indeed a Christ figure. If one looks back to John 10:11, which says “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”, the relation is very clear. Sheppard is the good shepherd, putting his own life on the line to save Rufus, no matter what the cost.

     Throughout the course of the story, Sheppard suffers many blows from Rufus, who is single-handedly destroying his life. Rufus’s one goal is to tarnish Sheppard’s reputation. He does this by breaking into houses and trashing them, peeking through windows, and several other things. Anything that can make Sheppard look or feel bad, he does. An example of this would be the climax of the story, in which Rufus reaches “grace” and eats a page from the Bible, yelling that he will never eat earthly food again. Another example of this would be when Rufus is arrested by the police the last time and is driven off while screaming that the lame shall enter first and that Sheppard is under the devil’s control.

     The conflict of the story also lies within Sheppard himself, meaning that this is an internal conflict. He wants nothing more than to save Rufus and make him into the son he always wanted, leading to him neglecting his own son in the process. In media res, Sheppard is torn between his desire to save Rufus and his desire to see him leave. After all, Rufus caused him nothing but torment and suffering during his stay in their home. Will he let him stay and continue to suffer, or will he tell him to go? Sheppard debates this throughout the story, often wishing that Rufus would just decide to go, hoping that something will push him too far and he will simply disappear.

     Next there is the antagonist, the bad guy, the person causing the conflict in the story. In this story, the antagonist is none other than Rufus Johnson, bad boy and problem causer extraordinaire. Rufus does nothing other than cause problems for Sheppard from the point that he arrives, even down to the moments before his leave from the home. Rufus’s actions toward Sheppard are there to do nothing more than ruin his life and cause chaos to ensue. Rufus, believed to be under the devil’s control, could be seen as the opposite of Sheppard, the story’s Christ like figure.

     With the antagonist comes a very important literary device – foreshadowing. There is heavy foreshadowing in this story. The reader can begin to piece together the ending early on when the changes in the boys’ personalities begin. Norton goes from a prideful, bright little boy to a blank slate, to what could be considered crazy in a very short amount of time. Rufus goes from being cruel and seemingly emotionless to joyful, perhaps even prideful. The changes in Norton’s personality foreshadow his demise, and also symbolize his decent into madness. Rufus literally drives the boy mad, prompting him to hang himself, the biggest plot twist of the story.

     The entire story seems to relate back to one bigger picture, bringing intertextuality into the mix.

The Sheppard ordeal relates back to the bible – Sheppard being a Christ figure, self-sacrificial and determined to save Rufus at all costs. Rufus himself could be symbolic of the devil, who creeps in and causes utter destruction and torment to anyone weak enough to be trapped in his grasp. Norton could be symbolic of what happens to the conflicted people – they are either saved or completely destroyed, his fate being the latter. Symbols are everywhere in this story, such as Rufus’s club foot referencing back to his own shortcomings or the fact that Sheppard purchased the new shoe to make up for the aforementioned shortcomings.

     The most influential part of the story, though, is the message that it indirectly sends to readers. One should always care for their own before others. Sheppard was guilty of neglecting his own child, putting Rufus before him, and he paid dearly for it. Even when Norton tried to show an interest in things his father liked, he was still pushed aside, ultimately giving his own life because of the pain and madness that consumed him. One should always be ready to help others, but not to the extent that their own are cast aside into the shadows. After all, it is never certain what consequences may follow such actions.