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General Questions for Analysis and Evaluation – “The Shining Houses”
Plot
1. Who is the protagonist of the story? What are the conflicts? Are they physical,
intellectual, moral, or emotional? Is the main conflict between sharply
differentiated good and evil, or is it more subtle and complex? The protagonist
in the story “the shining houses” is Mary. The conflict that Mary was
dealing with is a moral battle. The moral conflict with Mary is put into the
story because she personally finds it morally wrong to force an old lady out
of her house but struggles to say that to her friends because she thinks
she will be outcast for speaking up. The main conflict is one that is more
subtle and complex with no differentiated right or wrong side. The decision
that the neighbourhood is making could be seen as both good and bad
because they aren’t doing it in a vicious way, they are just caring for their
family and neighbourhood at the expense of Mrs. Fullerton and her house.
2. Does the plot have unity? Are all of the episodes relevant to the total meaning
or effect of the story? Does each incident grow logically out of the preceding
incident and lead naturally to the next? Is the ending happy, unhappy, or
indeterminate? Is it fairly achieved? The entire short story is written in
complete unity; all of the episodes are relevant and play a part in the plot of
the story. The incidents and episodes that occur are placed in the story
locally and flow into another both smooth and natural. The ending of the
story I would say is almost intermediate because it looks as though Mrs.
Fullerton will be forced out of her house but there is still a seed of hope
that Mary will end up helping her keep her house. But for the most part the
ending is sad because more than likely Mrs. Fullerton will be forced to
leave.
Characters
7. What means does the author use to reveal character? Are the characters
sufficiently dramatized? What use is made of character contrasts? The author
reveals characters through the means of conversation. The characters are
not very dramatic for the most part which works for this type of short story.
The contrast of the story is one of the old versus the young, Mrs. Fullerton
being the old and the rest of the neighbourhood being the young.
8. Are the characters consistent in their actions? Adequately motivated?
Plausible? Does the author successfully avoid stock characters? Throughout
the entirety of the story I would have to say that the characters are
consistent with their actions. No character ever waivers from their actions,
such as Mary who in her mind is against the idea the entire time. All
characters are motivated, for example the neighbours are motivated to give
their kids a better life and they believe they can if they get Fullerton out.
There are no stock characters in my mind.
9. Is each character fully enough developed to justify her role in the story? Are
the main characters round or flat? Each character was developed to the point
where you are able to understand why they are doing what they are in the
story, each character was developed enough to justify their role. Both Mrs.
Fullerton and Mary are round characters. I believe there are lots of levels to
Mrs. Fullerton that we have yet to really start to explore. Mary is not just
your typical character either, she faced her fears and was able to stand up
for what she believed in and stuck with her beliefs by not signing the
petition.
10. Is any of the characters a developing character? If so, is the change a large
or a small one? Is it a plausible change for her? Is it sufficiently motivated? Is it
given sufficient time? The closest the author got to creating a developing
character was with Mary by making her come out of her shell a little bit and
stand up for the rights of Mrs. Fullerton. It is only a small change because I
believe Mary had inside of her all along. However by Mary making this
change she has started to isolate herself from the neighbourhood group.
Theme
11. What is the theme of the story? Is it implicit or explicit? In order to not be
seen or treated like an outcast in modern civilization you need to be willing
to move with the time.
12. Does the theme reinforce or oppose popular notions of life? Does it furnish a
new insight or refresh or deepen an old one? It reinforces popular notions on
life but I think it also furnishes a new insight on life.
Point of View
13. What point of view does the story use? Is it consistent in its use of this point
of view? If shifts are made, are they justified? The point of view is in third
person. The point of view is consistent in which the fact it follows Mary
around.
14. What advantages has the chosen point of view? Does it furnish any clues as
to the purpose of the story? The main advantage of third person point of view
is the fact we can view each individual equally and see what some of their
thoughts are too.
15. If the point of view is that of one of the characters, does this character have
any limitations which affect his interpretation of events or persons? The point of
view is in third person.
Symbol and Irony
17. Does the story make use of symbols? If so, do the symbols carry or merely
reinforce the meaning of the story? I think that the neighbourhood has been
used as a symbol of modern civilization and Mrs. Fullerton is the outcast
because she is not moving with the times.
General
26. What light is thrown on the story by its title? The tittle to me means that the
other four houses are forced to stand out or “shine” due to the damages
Mrs. Fullerton and her house do to the neighbourhood.