Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Response to Lessons


               This story was about a young man riding a train in Italy. He meets an elderly man who strikes up a conversation. The old man seems to want to talk with the young man and begins discuss life and the lessons he has learned over time. By the end of the story we find out the old man was a pick pocket and the young man had realized this in time and switched wallets with the old man surprising the readers with a level of awareness unknown throughout the first part of story.
                The story is told with a third person narrator and we as the readers a purposefully mislead in order to cultivate a surprise ending.
                The old man and young main character were the two most important players in the story. I believe the old man’s character was very interesting and could be built up more. The young man seemed to be more stereotypical because he was sharp, witty and always aware. The main character could be more interesting if we learned more about him and can see beyond the only really aspect described in the story, his confidence and capability.
                One of the best things this story has going for it is the development and pacing. The plot moves along at a speed that keeps the reader interested.
                The imagery in this story is at times very nice and interesting but also at time can be overdone slightly too much to where it distract from the action.
                The dialogue in the story flows nicely, especially knowing there might be a language barrier.
                The plot is organized chronologically as events play out. It is not confusing to follow what is happening and at the end there is a slight explanatory exposition to clarify what had been happening on the train.
                The setting is a moving train and I believe it could have been described slightly more. The subtle movements of the characters were sometimes over described and the setting was almost neglected. The setting was a great choice though.
                Both the opening and closing fit the story perfectly.

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