On The Sidewalk Bleeding – CONFLICT & THEME
There are three narrative elements to the short story, “On the Sidewalk, Bleeding.” The ones that will be discussed
are conflict, theme and setting.
“On the Sidewalk Bleeding” has two different kinds of conflict. First, there is a man vs. man conflict. In the
beginning of the story, Andy is stabbed by a rival gang called the Guardians who, during the stabbing, say “This is
for you, Royal!” These two gangs stand for different things and hold different territory. Therefore, their
confrontation is an example of a man vs. man conflict.
There is also a man vs. himself conflict in the story. This conflict can be seen on several occasions in the story. In the
middle of the story, a young couple stumbles upon Andy, who is lying on the sidewalk, about 10 minutes after he
was stabbed. The man in the couple walks up to Andy and considers helping him but then he sees his jacket, which
is a jacket for the gang, the Royals. The man fights with himself over the issue of whether to help Andy and get him
to the hospital. In the end, he decides not to and says to his girlfriend, “I don’t want to get mixed up on this. If we
find a cop, the Guardians will find out who.” In this man vs. himself conflict, fear won the battle. It is appalling to
me that this man would not help Andy while he is dying in the rain. This man’s fear of being hunted down by a gang
is the key moment in the story that led to Andy’s eventual death.
The other man vs. himself conflict is between Andy and himself. As Andy continues to wait for someone to help
him, he begins to lose hope. He fights with himself over man issues. He fights with himself over whether or not he
will live after being stabbed. He admits to himself that he is losing this battle, when he thinks to himself, “Laura, I’m
dying!” This is one of the worst things Andy could have done. When someone accepts that he is dying, that is when
he finally starts dying because he has lost confidence. Andy also fights with himself over the decisions he has made
in life. It turns out that, as Andy was dying, he began to regret the decision he made to become a Royal. He gives
the reader the impression that it was one of the worst decisions he ever made. When he found out he had been
accepted by the gang, he was on top of the world. Now, as he lies on the sidewalk, bleeding, he wishes he had
never been a part of the Royals in the first place. Andy is also in conflict with himself over his girlfriend, Laura. He is
angry at himself that this had to happen because he was going to spend the rest of his life with her in the Bronx. He
wonders to himself if Laura will be mad at him for being gone for so long.
The theme of the story “On the Sidewalk, Bleeding” is identity. Andy is angry at everyone for not giving him a
chance because of how people identify him. All anyone sees him as is a member of the gang called the Royals. Andy
wants to be known as Andy, the man who is going to marry Laura and move to the Bronx. Andy faces prejudice
because of his identity at many points in the book. At the beginning of the story, Andy is stabbed by the Guardians.
If Andy had been walking around without a Royal jacket, he may not have been killed. Later, in the alley, Andy
comes across the young couple who decide not to help him. They don’t help him because of the jacket he is
wearing and everything that comes with it. Then, there is the most painful part of the story, when Andy is lying
dead and Laura says, “His name is Andy”. The policeman at the scene responds that Andy is just “a royal”, giving
the reader the impression that the policeman feels the death is justified because there is gang warfare involved.
People often judge each other’s identities based on what they wear. If Andy walked around without that jacket,
people would just see another man. Instead, Andy is judged instantly because of this jacket. In the end, this jacket
cost him his life.
The third element of the story is setting. The setting of this story takes place on a sidewalk outside an alley, late at
night. The setting of the story is very gloomy. It is also raining, which, coupled with the alley, makes the story very
spooky. In this story, the setting makes a huge difference to the power of the book. The author tries to create as
horrific a setting as possible. The rain is the key to the story. One can imagine Andy, lying on his side with blood
spilling out and it being washed away by the rain, creating a murky red puddle. For example, if Andy was lying in a
field with no clouds and the sun was shining brightly, the reader might not feel as frightened while reading the
story. The gloominess of the setting in the story is connected to the terrible thoughts of dying Andy had going
through his head as he lay there.
On The Side Walk Bleeding Summary
Plot:
Andy, a Royal, gets stabbed under the ribs by a member of a rival gang, The Guardians,
Introduction:
on the way to buy a pack of cigarettes, Andy is stabbed in an alleyway, and not being able to make a sound, nobody
helps him.
Setting:
A sidewalk and an alley.
Character Protagonist:
Andy
Type Of Character:
Andy is a round character, and a Dynamic character, because of the way you put the most effort in trying to understand
him, and how he changes throughout the story.
Character Antagonist:
Guardian
Drunken Man Type Of Character:
This man is a static character, because he doesn't change or really effect the story.
Couple (Boy, Girl) Type Of Character:
These two characters are stock characters, just the same as the drunkard.
Police Officer Type Of Character:
The Police Officer is also a stock character, because he does not change the story.
Laura Type Of Character:
Laura is a Dynamic character, because of how she changed after the death of Andy.And sexy.
Conflict:
Man vs. Man.
Initiating Incident:
Andy is caught in an alleyway with a rival gang member, who stabs him.
Rising Action:
1. Andy is stabbed in the alley.
2. When nobody attempts to help him, he realizes that he is dying.
3. Andy's life is taken about 20 minutes after the incident.
Climax:
Andy makes a powerful effort to remove his jacket, as he does not want to be remembered as Royal, he wanted to be
remembered as "Andy".
Falling Action:
When Laura gets back to Andy with the Police Officer, Andy is dead.
Conclusion:
After Andy's efforts of wanting to be recognized as himself, the officer see's his jacket and judges him for being a Royal.
Type Of Ending:
The main character dies, leaving Laura by herself.
Irony:
1. The main character who is a Royal, gets stabbed, and bleeds to death.
2. People who should help him, either don't realize he's hurt, or leave for their own safety.
Foreshadowing:
I think it was very obvious, that Andy was going to die at the end of the story.
Symbol:
The symbol of the story is the Royals jacket, for it's what got Andy stuck in all of this.
Point Of View:
Third Person Omniscient, for the narrator knows everything happening around Andy, and they know what Andy is
thinking.
Theme:
The Theme of this story is dealing with death, as it is something we all have to face eventually.
Elements of Fiction : On the
Sidewalk Bleeding
ELEMENTS OF FICTION
STORY: “ON THE SIDEWALK BLEEDING”
Plot
Introduction
Andy
A sidewalk in an alleyway
Evening; 11:13 pm
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Who
Where
When
What
Andy is laying on the sidewalk bleeding
Inciting Incident
Andy was in the dark alley when a gang member stabbed
him, and leaven him alone in the alley
Rising Action
1. Andy is stabbed
2. A drunk man finds Andy in the alleyway but didn’t
help Andy
3. A couple “ Freddy and Angela, finds Andy in the
alleyway but refuse to help him because they didn’t want
to get involved with the other gang
Conflicts
1. Man vs. Man – gang conflict; Andy was stabbed by
another gang called Guardians because of the conflict
between his gang, the Royals
2. Man vs. himself – Andy refuse to accept that he is
dying, Andy is having second thoughts about being in
the gang
3. Man vs. Nature – repeated information about the rain
and the dark; “ it was cold rain , but his body was hot all
over “
Climax
Laura finds Andy
Falling Action
1. Laura finds a cop
2. Cop confirmed he was dead
Conclusion
Andy died in the alleyway, alone.
Atmosphere/Mood
Dramatic Atmosphere
Evidence: “ He lay struggling with the shiny wet jacket.
His arms were heavy. Pain ripped fire across his body
whenever he moved. But he squirmed and fought and
twisted until one arm was free and then the other. He
rolled away from the jacket and lay quite still, breathing
heavily, listening to the sound of his breathing and the
sounds of the rain thinking: Rain is sweet, I’m Andy.”
Main Character
Andy
Description:
Andy is a gang member of the Royal
He is a cigarette smoker
He loved a girl name Laura; He wanted to marry Laura
and live somewhere in Bronx, New York or Staten
Island.
He realize he wanted to be himself, after being stabbed
He wanted to join the Royal because of the title
He loves the rain
Other Significant Characters
1. Freddy and Angela = a couple who found Andy in the
alleyway but refuse to help because they don’t want to
be involved with the gangs
2. Drunk Man = He is drunk, individual and old. He
didn’t help Andy because he doesn’t why and how he
got hurt.
3. Old Woman = old, homeless and alone. She is deaf
and didn’t notice Andy at all.
4. Laura = Andy’s girlfriend; has brown eyes and jet
black hair, loves dancing, finds Andy dead. He tried to
tell the cop he is Andy, not a Royal.
5. Cop = The cop confirmed he is dead and doesn’t care
he is dead. He judges Andy by his jacket.
Setting
Where: New York; Alleyway
When: Evening; around 11 pm
Point of View
The Main character: Andy
Evidence: “ He heard footsteps at the other end of the
alley, and he lifted his cheek from the sidewalk and
looked into the darkness and tried to cry out, but again
there was on a soft hissing bubble of blood on his mouth.
Themes
1. You don’t need a title to be accepted
2. Accept your identity
3. You don’t need something or someone to be happy
Stylistic Devices
1. Symbol: The Jacket
Evidence: “ Had they stabbed him, Andy, or had they
only stabbed the jacket and the title and what good was
the title if you were dying? “
Adds to the text: The jacket symbolizes the conflict
between the 2 gangs, Guardians and the Royal. It also
symbolizes the conflict between him.
2. Irony: Andy
Evidence: “ He could remember how happy he was when
the Royals had taken him… There had been meaning to
the title … Now, in the Alley, with the cold rain washing
his hot body, he wondered about the meaning”
Adds to the text: He was happy when the Royals had
taken him because they were one of the two biggest
gangs and having the title meant a lot of importance. But
later in the story, he didn’t want to be a Royal; he just
wanted to be himself.
3. Personification: Rain
Evidence: “rain drilling his jacket and drilling his body”
Adds to the text: the rain was described with human
qualities to produce an image to the readers.
CLASS NOTES
STORY: “ON THE SIDEWALK BLEEDING”
Climax
Andy takes of the jacket
Conflicts
Man vs Society, Man vs Circumstances
Laura gets the cop
cop write him of as a royal
sad, depressing, serious, somber, hopeful ,dark, relief
( a bit) from the people who pass by
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Falling Action
Mood/Atmosphere
Conclusion
Andy dies as a Royal even though he wants to die as
Andy
loving ; wants to marry Laura ,
Description of Andy
Other Significant Characters
they are describe as society stereotypes; they
represent the how society view gangs
Setting ( Clues of finding them )
1. language – ( ex in the story; jump, pharmacies )
2. clothing – ( ex in the story ; around the 1950′s)