Short Story Analysis : The Dowry

I. The Dowry                                                                
by Guy de Maupassant

II. SYNOPSIS

Maitre Simon Lebrument and Mademoiselle Jeanne Cordier got married recently, and people knew  it was for money because Mademoiselle Jeanne Cordier was rich and Maitre Simon Lebrument needed money to pay for the firm of Maitre Papillon which he bought. On their trip to Paris, right after she handed him a big amount of money intended to be a dowry, he left her on an omnibus—left her for good.

III. SHORT STORY ELEMENTS

A. CHARACTERS

1. Mademoiselle Jeanne Cordier - Protagonist, Dynamic, and Round
2. Maitre Simon Lebrument - Antagonist, Dynamic, and Round
3. Mademoiselle Jeanne Cordier’s parents - Static and Flat
4. The omnibus conductor - Static and Flat
5. The omnibus inspector - Static and Flat
6. Henry, Mademoiselle Jeanne Cordier’s cousin - Static and Flat

B. PLOT - Linear

a) Exposition

The major characters and the short story’s setting were introduced as the two major characters were getting married.

b) Complication

The start of the major conflict was when the male major character had just taken in his motto.

c) Crisis

Tension started when the new husband invited his new wife to eat nearby but instead of taking the cab, he wanted to ride the omnibus.

d) Climax

The peak of this short story was when the new husband was revealed to have just left her.

C. SETTING

a) place –in Boutigny-le-Rebours

b) time- a long time ago

c) weather conditions- fine

d) social condition- the female major character belonged to a well-off family, the male major character was poor

e) mood or atmosphere- fine at first, then it became gloomy when the female major character was left by her husband

D. POINT OF VIEW

The Point of View used in this short story is Omniscient Objective – The author tells the story in the third person. It appears as though a camera is following the characters, going anywhere, and recording only what is seen and heard. There is no comment on the characters or their thoughts. No interpretations are offered. The reader is placed in the position of spectator without the author there to explain. The reader has to interpret events on his own.

E. LITERARY DEVICES

In my opinion, the literary devices used in this story are Foreshadowing and Irony. Foreshadowing when the marriage was clear to be a “forced” one for the husband because of his financial needs, and the wife’s wealth. There was Irony when the marriage was described as a “forced” one, an “ironic” one because unlike most marriages, this one was clearly because of the man’s financial needs.

F. THEME

For me, the theme "Some people don’t appear as what or who they really are" is appropriate for this short story.

G. CONFLICT

The conflict here is Internal, that of Man vs. Man - that of the wife vs. the husband, because it was clear to everybody that their marriage was because of the husband’s financial needs. --ARV

Short Story Analysis: The Lottery

I. THE LOTTERY 

by Shirley Jackson


II. SYNOPSIS

It had been the yearly tradition of this village to have a lottery; families whose respective members would gather to draw a piece of paper each from a box, and the one who would get the paper with a dot in it was the winner .

Mr. Summers had always been the one in charge of this lottery.

After several slips of paper had been drawn, it was Tessie Hutchinson who got the “winning” paper, and the prize as usual was throwing of stones at her by the people.

III. SHORT STORY ELEMENTS

A. CHARACTERS – all of the characters in this short story could be considered as antagonists

     DEVELOPING:

1.   Mr. Summers - a round-faced, jovial man who ran the coal business

2.   Mr. Graves – the postmaster

3.   Tessie Hutchinson – the one who won in the lottery

4.   Bobby Martin – a grocer in that village

STATIC:

1. Harry Jones

2.   Dickie Delacroix

3.   Mrs. Adams

4.   Mrs. Dunbar

5.   The rest of the people in that village

B. PLOT – the entire plot is Linear

a)  Introduction

It was June 27, at around 10 am, and the village people started to crowd in the square, between the post office and the bank, for their traditional lottery.

b)  Rising Action

Mr. Summers finally announced that the lottery would start. He had with him the list of the names of the families and their respective members.

c)  Climax

The village people used to have a or black box, but the lost it, so they only prepared stones to be used once the lottery winner was declared. Tessie Hutchinson was the winner, and the people, including the children started to throw those stones at her, to her death, as her prize.

d)  Falling action

Poor Mrs. Hutchinson was crying that it was not fair, it was not right.

e)  Denouement

The lottery winner could not do anything about it since it was their village's tradition.

C. SETTING

a)  place -  in the square, between the post office and the bank,

     b)  time -  June 27 at 10 am

c)  weather conditions – clear and sunny

d)  social conditions – normal village people (but with a strange tradition)

e)  mood or atmosphere – the start of the story sounds normal, but towards the end, the shocking revelation of a strange ritual is unfolded

D. POINT OF VIEW

The point of view of this short story is Omniscient Limited,  the author tells the story in third person (using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc).  We know only what the character knows and what the author allows him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts and feelings of characters if the author chooses to reveal them to us.

E. LITERARY DEVICES

For me, the author used IRONY in this short story. At the beginning, when I was starting to read it, I really thought that the lottery here was just like any usual one, but later on, especially after reading it again, I figured out the shocking, ironic portrayal of this lottery that they have in this particular village. SYMBOL is also used, like the black box where the slips of paper were placed. For people a long time ago, the color black meant something negative.

F. THEME

  Things are not always as they appear to be and Some people are afraid of change.

G. CONFLICT

 The conflict here is External, and  Man vs. Circumstances (classical) - The leading characters (especially the winner) struggle against fate, or the circumstances of life facing them.   Man vs. Society (social) - The leading characters struggle against ideas, practices, or old customs.                                                                                                           -- ARVillanueva

How to Make a "Found Poetry" Poem

• From old magazines and/or newspapers, cut out words or phrases at random

• Accumulate all cut-outs and set aside until you're ready to glue them on a bondpaper

• After a moderate amount of cut-outs, start assembling them as a "draft" on the table

• When finalized what sentences/lines to form, start gluing each cut-out side-by-side

• Continue until your poem is formed

My sample of Found Poetry:

Steps on How to Start Collecting Stamps as a Hobby

1. Prepare the needed materials: a pair of scissors, a small bowl filled with water, and of course, the stamp/s that is/are still attached to the envelope.







2. Cut out the stamp/s from the said envelope; the part of the envelope to which such stamp/s is/are glued to is untouched

   
3. Soak the cut-out stamp/s that is/are still attached to that part of the envelope

4. Wait for the stamp/s to “voluntarily” separate from the envelope part glued to

5. Let dry

6. When dry, “preserve” in a stamp album

Happy collecting! :)  --ARV

A Former Hobby: Collecting Stamps

Collecting stamps is called philately . In my teen years, way, way back, I was so engrossed with this. But as the years went by, I completely forgot about this particular hobby, and my collection composed of three stamp albums got lost when we transferred from CDO to San Fernando, Pampanga, then to Metro Manila, then to Surigao City, then back to CDO, within the span of 19 years. Just recently, I happened to find one remaining stamp album among my heaps of papers and files. Though worn out by age and by non-maintenance, some of the stamps are still there (photos posted here).

Photos no.1 (above), 2 (below), and 3 (below) show my oldest Philippine stamps (pre-war, early 1940's).  Kindly take note of the details. --ARV

Some Reasons for Cheating

 

• One reason a student cheats is that he/she clearly hates everything about tests:

C – Clearly

H – Hates

E – Everything

A – About

T – Tests

                     Or, in studying, he/she can’t have enough attention time:

C – Can’t

H – Have

E – Enough

A – Attention

T – Time

• A husband may cheat because from his wife, he can’t have enough attention tonight:

C – Can’t

H – Have

E – Enough

A – Affection

T – Tonight

• A wife may cheat due to her husband’s possible cheating on her, in which she is convinced hitherto, eternally at times

C – Convinced

H – Hitherto,

E – Eternally

A – At

T – Times --ARV

What Is Happiness for Me?

My keys to happiness are the letters H-A-P-P-I-N-E-S-S:

H- Health and Henry(bestfriend)

A- Angels(two of them) and Acquaintances

P- Prayers

P- People of the entire Rivera and Reanto clans

I- Insights from the Holy Bible

N- Nanay Vivs (my mother)

E- Eating, eating, eating

S- Siblings Bam, Tin, Dais, and Bim

S- Sons Nic, Pat, and Ed

Before being separated from my hubby, the “H” above stood for “Husband”. But between him and health, I would definitely choose the latter . --ARV