Part 12

The personalities that enrich the action are: 1. Clem, his wife, and S’norta. They do so (a) by intensifying “Maw’s” sense of poverty, (b) by furnishing contrast in worldly goods and in character; 2. Tom. His misfortune enhances the wretchedness of the main actors, and the probability of his being made sound in mind emphasizes their changed fortunes. 3. Background characters. All, practically, whom Mrs. Haynes meets on her famous day in the town.

Apply to these primary and secondary characters the tests suggested in previous exercises. Do they _live_?

SETTING. What does “Stony Brook, New York” suggest by way of physical and spiritual conditions? How is the locality an integral part of the atmosphere?

DETAILS. The “human appeal” in this narrative will make it hard for any reader, however crusty, to refrain from tears or an awakened sense of pity. By what measures has the author brought about this desired result? The list should be long. After you have made it, see how far you can generalize from it as to provocation of emotional reaction.

“What I like in reading a story,” Mrs. Pulver says, “is a simple gracious English, a shade whimsical perhaps, that concerns itself with a situation and people who palpitate, in whose fate you become sincerely interested, as humans, not merely a clever bit of literary bridge. And the whole must be laced for me with a dash of humor, that tender fun-poking that will save the written human appeal from being heart-throb stuff or the handiwork of a sob-sister.”

Some examples of contrast have already been offered. Point out others, even stronger.

In Division II (pages 421-425) the focus is on Nat, the action seemingly held up, meanwhile. Did you, in reading, feel this long delay to be irksome, or were you compensated by the matter itself and the vision of its promise?

In Division IV, what intensifying value has the rain?

In Division V, what intensifying value has the first sentence?--“It was dusk when Maw came back; dusk of a clear day, with a rosy sunset off behind the hills.”

GENERAL. Mary Brecht Pulver declares she is afraid she is that “hooted-at and disbelieved-in thing,” an inspirational writer. “Given a major premise, an argument, some slight flash of idea, for a chart and I am ready to sail over the smooth white main. My crew will come to me ready named, ready behavioured, and will navigate my bark for me.... All of my stories are pictures. They unroll like a cinema in colors just off my left shoulder. They move so fast my wrist aches to keep up with them. I never rewrite anything unless an editor requests it. My first draft is the only one. As you see, this is not intellectual but emotional work. I can do only a thousand words at a sitting because of the emotional strain. This seems deplorable, considering the product but it seems necessary. Like the Jap in the legend, I must mix a little blood with my clay to get any kind of pottery.”

At first, this passage would seem to say, “There’s no use trying to learn to write.” And it may be urged here that the young fiction aspirant who feels _impelled_ to create, and according to his own bent, should give his genius a full chance. Any student may glean this, however, from the words of Mrs. Pulver: Without emotion of one’s own, success is impossible.

EXTRA MEN

STARTING POINT. “Somewhere I read in the summer of 1917 a reference to a legend of either a poor saint living as a hermit or a holy abbess (I can’t really remember which) who entertained a company of horsemen one night. In the morning the field where the horses had grazed was untouched and the realization came that a troop of angels had been that way. I am sorry not to be more definite as to this source.

“Washington and the war are wholly of my own invention, and the miracle of the meadow grass became incidental as I wrote the story, which I had at first planned to call ‘The Green Meadow.’ As to the actual processes of invention I should say no one can quite explain the least important of them.”--_Harrison Rhodes._

CLASSIFICATION. On concluding “Extra Men” if a reader asks, “What is its purpose?” he will reply in substance, to his self-query: “To convey the thought that spirits of our heroic dead support the boys at the front.” Theme is dominant. “I cannot say that I believe in the supernatural or miracles,” Mr. Rhodes states, “but I believe the story of ‘Extra Men’ to be essentially and symbolically true.”

PLOT. Plot sinks, therefore, into comparative insignificance. A single incident serves to convey the truth. Whereas the miracle of the meadow grass might have been the chief event, its purpose here is rather that of a detail, substantiating the visit.

CHARACTERS. The spirit of George Washington is the main character of the incident. Since, however, it is fitting that the past be subordinated to the present (in conformity with the author’s purpose), the old lady is introduced previous to the story-action, and is, therefore, the main figure of the entire narrative.

Notice the suggestive method used in identifying the spirit of Washington--nowhere is he openly named. For example, he speaks of Arlington, “the house which once belonged to a relative of mine”; and says elsewhere, “You would not now know Valley Forge.”

Mrs. Buchan was favored with the visit not by accident. The motivation for it is unobtrusively and perhaps even unconsciously conveyed, but none the less with potence. How has the author enlisted sympathy for her.

What is the rôle of young Buchan? Is there a reason for his name--“George”?

What plot value has Al Fenton, “the farmer”?

SETTING. The scene is important, since nowhere else could the action have occurred with equal fitness. “The quaint name” of the hamlet at once calls up the historic episode of Washington crossing the Delaware.

ATMOSPHERE. The realistic mood of the story contributes to its power of conviction.

THE WAITING YEARS

CLASSIFICATION. This short-story illustrates grouping for sake of climactic effect. Events of forty years are illuminated by the happenings of a day. The narrative has both an outer and an inner action.

PLOT. The plot of the combined inner and outer story is quite simple. The _initial impulse_ consists of Mark Faraday’s interest in Miss Allison Clyde. The _dramatic climax_, if such it may be called, lies in the finding of the love-letters which his Uncle William had written and never sent to Allison. The _climax of action_ is his handing the package of letters to Allison.

The inner plot is found in the letters. The _initial impulse_ of William’s love for Allison operates until the _dramatic climax_. This dramatic climax is William’s knowledge that he must die and his feeling that he must never speak again to Allison of his passion. Up to the _climax of action_ (his death) his letters have the note of renunciation; before the dramatic climax they looked to union with the girl he adored.

The two parts are linked in William’s giving the package to Allison. Would you have been satisfied to see him read them without passing them on to her? Are you satisfied to construct your own dénouement--Allison’s emotion, etc.?

CHARACTERIZATION. Since development or deterioration of character is difficult to indicate within the compass of the short-story, this specimen shows a distinct advantage in massing the incidents near the climax. For Allison may be shown finished, perfect,--the lovely “personage,” to quote the oracle, Mrs. Herrick,--whom Mark finds. At the same time, her development is made logical by the emphasis on her youthful beauty of mind and heart as her lover saw it. Study, in the usual way, the many methods by which Mrs. Roof has made vivid her portrait. Mark’s point of view regarding her is particularly good; also, the foil, Stella, serves adequately to set her off. Observe, too, the relation she bears to her setting, her fitness for it.

Since Mark is the one through whom the reader learns the facts of the action, his mind is open to the reader’s vision. Is there too much of the artist about him, not enough of the man? Would you have him different? Is he the nephew of his uncle, from a consideration of sentiment?

What effect is produced by the names, in connection with their owners?--Mark, Stella, Allison, William?

DETAILS. What is the intensifying worth of the sundial? Of the buzzing bee? A second line of interest may be said to lie in the music theme, which intensifies the line of the love interest and Mark’s interest in Miss Allison.

Do you feel jarred or pleased by the shift to Allison’s angle (in her letter, page 204)?

Does Mark too easily come across the daguerreotype, or does the casual manner of his finding it fit into the smooth and leisurely progress of the story?

Why is the picture of Allison “standing by the tall mantle in the candle-light” one that lingers? Why does one remember the picture of Beatrix (in “Henry Esmond”) coming down the stairs in white, with cherry colored ribbons, holding the candle in her hand?

Do the letters of William strike you as having been composed by a man or a woman? Why?

ZELIG

CLASSIFICATION. “Zelig” is a character story, with decided emphasis on the character. There is just enough plot to lift it from the realm of the sketch into that of the narrative.

PLOT. The _struggle_ lies in Zelig’s attempt to save sufficient money for returning to Russia. It is unsuccessful.

What is the _initial impulse_, the first hint of a story motive?

The dramatic climax is preceded by a minor one: the death of Zelig’s son. The real turning point, the _dramatic climax_, is made up of the wife’s statements (page 224), the most important of which is the reference to the son’s death.

The _climax of action_ and the _dénouement_ fall together in the final speech of the story, being suggested rather than stated.

CHARACTERIZATION. The old man is characterized by the author’s description (the direct method, so called); by the summary of what his brethren felt and said (combination of direct and indirect methods); by the opinion his fellow-workmen held of him; and by Zelig’s own acts and speeches in addition to his habitual manner. Has he the greater part of the stage for most of the time? Purpose of his wife? Son? Grandson? Of the background characters?

SETTING. “New York’s East Side.” The second value of the story lies in the setting. Indeed, the character value would be lost without it, and the unification is therefore noteworthy. Is the setting made contributory to atmosphere, also?

DETAILS. Are you satisfied with the ending? Is the sense of tragedy at the failure of the human element striving against circumstance relieved by the recognition of Zelig’s rehabilitation, or revivification? Has he, in a deeper sense, conquered in that he has conquered self?

GENERAL METHODS. That Benjamin Rosenblatt creates his characters, not “lifting” them from life, is manifest in his statement: “As to Zelig, I really haven’t met any one just like him, so that I couldn’t have had any individual case before my mind’s eye when I wrote the story.”

THE MENORAH

STARTING POINT. “A few years ago I passed one of the congested East Side streets just when a fire broke out in one of the tenements. I saw climbing down the fire escapes of the burning building a very old Jewess dragging some of her belongings with her. Among these belongings was a pair of old-fashioned, common-place candlesticks used for ‘Sabbath blessing.’ That started me on the way to ‘The Menorah.’”--_Benjamin Rosenblatt._

CLASSIFICATION. “The Menorah” offers itself as a fit companion-piece to “Zelig.” In the latter, the setting is New York, the character is an old man, the struggle is successfully unsuccessful. In this, the setting is “a little town in Russia,” the chief character is an old woman, the struggle is successfully unsuccessful. It is to be remarked that the two settings are equally well-known to Mr. Rosenblatt.

PLOT. The _struggle_ is on Lea’s part to preserve appearances in her rapidly deteriorating circumstances, to find a match for her daughter, and to keep the Menorah. The last is the most important. Although she fails, she does so in a way to relieve the reader’s distress at her failing.

A _minor climax_ is in the death of the younger girl.

The _dramatic climax_ is the securing of the proper young man as bridegroom for her daughter.

With the dramatic climax is bound up the _climax of action_ (of the largest struggle): the Menorah must be sold.

CHARACTERIZATION. The story is told, as was “Zelig,” from the omniscient author’s point of view with the omniscience exercised over the chief character. Study the portrayal of Lea, as you were recommended to study that of Zelig. What is the purpose of Reb Schloime? Compare him with “Paw” Haynes in “The Path of Glory” as to his function.

DETAILS. These two stories by Benjamin Rosenblatt perform a service for the Jewish people, in rationalizing the desire for money, a desire about which volumes have been written. It is to be observed in these narratives that the possession of worldly treasure in each case is secondary to another ideal. In Lea’s case it is her love for her ancestors and their glory joined to a sensitiveness at the fall in her worldly station. What is the primary ideal in “Zelig”?

What clue to the disposal of the candelabrum occurs earlier in the narrative?

What national and racial customs intensify the setting?

“To me, a narrative that has for its aim to interest the reader in its plot is an anecdote, be its plot ever so thick. A narrative that aims to interest the reader in a slice of palpitating life--the joys or sorrows of people--be its plot ever so thin, I call it a short story.”--_Benjamin Rosenblatt._

THE SURVIVORS

CLASSIFICATION. This work, and the following one, “Penance” might be characterized as stories that are short, rather than short-stories. If the point were argued, however, it might be said that because of the situation, the theme quality, and the historic interest, all of which contribute to unity of effect, the two are outlying specimens of the _genre_. The time of the action, here, is forty years. So it is in “The Waiting Years” (Page 172), but whereas there the time of the action is only twenty-four hours (see the management) here it is the full forty.

PLOT.

_Initial Incident_: The initial impulse of the struggle lies in the unseen, and therefore unreturned, wave of Adam’s hand. The _struggle_ lies in Adam’s own soul. He holds out against the friendly overtures of Henry at the same time he desires Henry to ask him for something. He wishes a position of superiority. Is the termination of the struggle successful?

_Steps toward Dramatic Climax_: Fill in the chief incidents occurring in the forty-year period. Do they form part of the transition? Why does the author emphasize the time element?

_Dramatic Climax_: Ed Green’s being kept in bed is really the turning situation, since it means that Henry must walk alone, and Adam will have his long desired opportunity of serving Henry.

What are the immediate steps preceding the climax of action?

_Climax of Action_: “Henry’s face blanched ... Henry’s step faltered and grew uncertain.”

_Dénouement_: Adam joins Henry: they walk together.

THEME. It arrives fully in the reader’s understanding the significance of the dénouement, or seeing in it a symbolic unity between North and South.

DETAILS. What trait of human nature is displayed in Adam? Is it consistent in its operations?

What is the setting? What integrative worth has it? How greatly does the possibility of a “story,” in the first place, depend upon it?

PENANCE

CLASSIFICATION. See classification of “The Survivors.” Here the elements all work toward unity of effect: even the thirty year period contributes to the same unity. It is even necessary to the working out of the penance. (Could it have been massed in such a way as to give the reader the same consciousness of retribution as it here conveys?) But the length of the action is not the length of the best short-story action.

“Penance” provides an interesting companion-piece to “The Survivors.” Notice that whereas in the former instance the _initial incident_ was separated by the long space from the turning point of the action; here the plot is completed except for the fact that Buckingham’s understanding (the _dénouement_) comes after thirty years.

PLOT. The _initial impulse_ lies in Buckingham’s interest in Minnie.

Fill in the steps that follow immediately, culminating in

_The Dramatic Climax_: Minnie detains Buckingham.

Fill in the steps that precede

_The Climax of Action_: Buckingham loses the battle: the tide of war is turned.

_Steps toward Dénouement_: They consist in a summary of the penance. What contributory value has the idea “... she kept before his eyes the girl’s eyes” (page 292)? After thirty years he returns to the battlefield.

_Dénouement_: Buckingham learns of the trick to detain him.

DETAILS. What is your opinion of Buckingham? By what methods did you receive the data on which you base it?

Where is the guide (page 292) first mentioned? Why is this an instance of good workmanship?

Is it better that Minnie drop out of the story, not to reappear?

“Minnie stood on the stairway and looked down at him, the light from the candle in her hand flickering over her.” (Page 287.) See the query on “The Waiting Years,” page 173.

FEET OF GOLD

CLASSIFICATION. This is one of a series of stories centering around the life of Ferdinand Taillandy, a lovable hero akin to William J. Locke’s “Beloved Vagabond” and “Aristide Pujol.” In such a series it is not necessary or even desirable that the short-story type be sought. All the narratives, from start to finish, as a complete series, are more likely to reveal a general structure culminating in a climax (which will probably require a whole story) than any one of them is likely to possess definite and clear-cut mechanism.

The three necessary stages of narrative, according to Aristotle, are beginning, middle and end. These stages, as to action, are well-defined in the present story. But one feels at the beginning that here is a hero brought over from a preceding adventure, as one knows at the end that he is off for new experiences. Is the action in regard to Diane complete?

PLOT.

_Initial Incident_: Taillandy meets Diane. No particular struggle is initiated, however. Taillandy merely takes Diane under his protection, here in Paris, and after some days leaves with her in a two-wheeled cart.

_Climax of Action_: Diane is restored to her mother; Taillandy again becomes a wanderer.

_Body of Story_: Among the chief points of interest are Taillandy’s reversion to the _boulevardier_ type, and his writing the poem inspired by Diane. Mention others.

CHARACTERIZATION. For what reasons do you like Taillandy? Wherein lies the significance of “Feet of Gold”? Read the final story in this series, “At the End of the Road,” and observe whether the author has kept Taillandy’s character consistent. Take note of the characters who know Taillandy in the present narrative, observe the feeling each has for him, and see how well Mr. Smith has used their opinions to emphasize Taillandy’s character as described. What does Taillandy think of each of the other characters?

By what means has the author chiefly pictured Diane? How has she been enhanced by the two settings? What interaction have character and setting throughout the story?

DETAILS. What value has the following statement as compared with the more direct one, “Taillandy was generous”?

“Of that thousand francs Taillandy spent seven hundred and ninety-six during the next four days--ninety-six, possibly, on himself, and the balance on his friends.”

What other characteristic is implied, also?

Study the management of suspense (pages 313, 314, 315). Why are you held waiting?

Why (on page 317) did Taillandy whisper to the driver?

Why (page 298) did Diane weep at the mention of Madame Nicolas’s name?

What place references keep the locale before you?

How in the speeches and manner of the characters are you kept aware of the French race?

SOLITAIRE

STARTING POINT. “You ask about the origin of ‘Solitaire,’ which chances to be rather easier to trace than the origin of most of the stories I have written, since I more often begin with an abstract ‘idea’ and work outward to character and plot. When a story begins otherwise I have discovered (and all such things are matters of discovery after the fact, and never of premeditation) that it is almost invariably the result of some purely _visual_ impression of a single person, detached from any incident or complication. A stranger, seen once, who recurs again and again to my mind, and about whom my curiosity increases, I have learned to rely upon, in a kind of occult unstatable way, to bring home his own plot.

“The opening scene of ‘Solitaire’ is an exact transcript of one of those visual impressions. I did see the man who afterward became ‘Corey’ in the restaurant of a small Paris hotel. My vis-à-vis did say, ‘Look at the American!’ and I did turn to meet the twinkle I have described in the story. The curious thing is that I cannot now remember whether he wore a decorative ribbon or not. My impression is that he did not, for it was not until several weeks later that the idea of decorations as a ‘motive’ occurred to me. What mattered, what really roused my curiosity, was my _surprise_ at seeing him there, when I knew nothing at all about the man,--my immediate sense of his playing a strange rôle, of his being away from home. He _was_ a physician, he had been working in the Balkans, and he was going back again the next day. Also he had been in Russia. These things he told me after dinner in the salon, when we talked together; and he was from the Middle West, and called it ‘God’s country’ and said he wanted to get back. I did not see him after that night, but he kept coming into my mind, and each time I would wonder how he had ever come into my mind, and each time I would wonder how he had ever come to leave his home in the Middle West, and in the end it became, I suppose, a kind of subconscious abstract problem. At any rate the solution appeared one day--and all I had then to do was to write the story. So, after all, it was a story of ‘idea’ worked out to plot,--but a visual impression put the idea into my head. One thing only, I believe, I knew all the time,--that whatever his motive was, he was as much in the dark about it as I. That, perhaps, was what attracted me, what kept my curiosity alive, and what, in the end, made it an acceptable story.”--_Fleta Campbell Springer._

PLOT. Unsheathed from the tissue of its presentation, the essential plot of this character story is as follows:

_Initial Impulse_: Dr. Jim Corey, of Dubuque, Iowa, happening to be in China at the time of the Boxer Rebellion wins, by his medical skill, the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, and the French ribbon of the Legion of Honor.