Theme
One of the themes
what is Grieving
The symbolic meaning of the pen
what is the death of the son?
What part of the plot is this- The story starts with 2 friends in the office talking about their life, Mr. Woodifield is retired and frail, while the Boss is still working and seems strong and powerful.
The language device that Mansfield uses in this sentence: “ with that boyish look and his habit of saying “Simply Splendid!””
what is alliteration?
another Theme
what is Trauma
The symbolic meaning of the fly
what is the bosses son?
What part of the plot is this- The boss is now left confused and upset, he now does not understand his own feelings, and he realises that it was partly his fault that his son died because he pushed him too far just like the fly.
Conclusion, ending of the story
The language device that Mansfield uses in this sentence: “ Six years ago, six years… How quickly time passed!”
what is repetition?
One of the Themes
what is memory?
The symbolic meaning of the inkpot
What is the war/the bosses old expectations for his son?
What part of the plot is this- They talk for a while about Mr. Woodifield daughter and how they visited a graveyard, and this brings back memories for the boss and Mr. Woodifield leaves the boss deep in thought and seems to be struggling.
Rising Action
The language device that Mansfield uses in this sentence: “ dodged in and out of his cubbyhole like a dog that expects to be taken for a run.”
What is a simile?
a theme in the story
What is Consequences of the war
The symbolic meaning of the boy's photograph
What is perfection
What part of the plot is this- The boss is grieving for his son's death alone, and notices and flies struggling in a puddle of ink. He starts helping the fly but keeps dropping more ink on it to see how much it can endure.
The climax
The language device that Mansfield uses in this sentence: “ He plunged his pen back into the ink, leaned his thick wrist on the blotting paper, and as the fly tried its wings, down came a great heavy blot.”
What is metaphor
One more theme
What is Performance of masculinity
The symbolic meaning of the office
what is claustrophobia?
What part of the plot is this- He continues to push the fly until it dies and after the death the boss loses focus and tries to go back to thinking about his son but can’t seem to feel anything anymore.
What language device does Mansfield use in this sentence: “ and he peered out of the great green leather armchair by his friend the boss’s desk,”
What is Imagery?