Name:
Date:
“The Open Window”—Comprehension & Analysis Notes
Directions: As you read “The Open Window,” fill out the chart below about the story’s
plot, setting, and characterization.
(Exposition: Characters and Conflict)
Who is the protagonist?
What is the protagonist’s INTERNAL
CONFLICT?
What is the protagonist’s EXTERNAL
CONFLICT?
(Complications, or Rising Action)
What role does Vera, the little girl, play
in the rising action of the plot?
(Climax)
What is the CLIMAX of the story?
Defend your response.
(Falling Action & Moment of Irony)
What shocking discovery do we make
about Vera? (This is the moment of
irony.) Why is this “shocking” to us?
(Resolution)
What, if it exists, is the PHYSICAL
RESOLUTION of the story? Defend
your answer.
What, if it exists, is the EMOTIONAL
RESOLUTION of the story? Defend
your answer.
(Setting)
What is the setting of the story?
What MOOD does this setting create for
the story? How does this mood make the
ironic twist at the end of the story that
much more shocking?
How does the setting of the story create
CONFLICT for Mr. Nuttel?
(Setting & Characterization)
How does the setting of the story reveal
Mr. Nuttel’s personality? (Look at how
he interacts with strangers.)
Using at least three methods of
characterization, characterize Mr.
Nuttel. (Let’s see what you remember from past
experience with characterization. )
How could what we see about Mr.
Nuttel’s personality affect how we feel
about the fact that Vera lied to him?
How do you feel about the fact that
YOUR emotions or reactions to
situations can be influenced by the
details that an author gives us about a
character? Do you think that people in
“real life” can have the same effect on
us? Explain.