‘I Spy’ by Graham Green Essay

1. SettingWe pot understand exactly that all the described events take place in England, particularly, they happen in the Eastern part of England. The perplex of the Charlie Stowe, of the main character, was supposititious to be in Norwich that night we know well-nigh it directly from the school textbook ( tonight he verbalize he would be in Norwich). Norwich is the regional administrative center and country town of Norfolk. Besides, matchless sentence tells us that place isnt far from water supply (the wind blew from the sea, and Charlie Stowe could hearthe beating of the waves) and now we brush off say precisely that it is just by the North Sea that washes the shores of England. The events happen at night in the house where the family of Charlie Stowe lives, particularly, at the tobacconists shop that was kept by his arrive. It is said in second paragraph of the text. It was time of the World War I.The side by side(p) clues help us to understand it enemy airships, Zeppe lin, which was a type of airship pioneered in Germany in the stem of XX century and used wide to bombard England during the period of the World War I, such features of fashion of that time as bowler hats and belted mackintoshes, brands of cigargonttes that Charlies paternity was selling (Gold Flake, Players, Woodbines were wide-spread that time). Moreover, in the text Huns were mentioned. It is an Offensive slang used as a disparaging term for a German, especially, a German soldier in World War I.2. patchCharlie Stowe, the main character, gets mocked by his schoolmates at the County school, because he has never tried a cigarette at his 12 in his life. One night he decides to view a smoke and sneaks to the tobacconists shop run by his father whom he doesnt love. His mother is sleeping and his father isnt supposed to be at home. But when Charlie let outs himself at the shop he hears footfalls in the street. It is his father and two strangers. They have a brief chat and then subm it the shop. Charlie goes up the stairs, he is precise frightened but the attitude to his father changed. We squeeze out observe the body structure of the text. The expositions of the news report include the description of that night and Charlies family. The flood tide happens when his father and two strangers have a talk, particularly, on the phrase Welltheres nothing to be done about it, and I whitethorn as well have my smokes.It was said by Charlies father and it is the most important moment of the story, because here we see strong likeness in the midst of the father and the boy during boys attempt to commit a crime (to smoke a cigarette) he tries to encourage himself with grown-up and childish exhortations and what is interesting Charlie uses the kindred words to encourage himself in the forth paragraph and his father saying the phrase above excessively tries to encourage himself. Maybe he committed a crime being a spy because two strangers seem to be policemen or secret- service agents and the father tells them that The wife will sell out, talking about his tobacco line of work.Also unusual behavior says to us this fact his voice has an unfamiliar to Charlie note and he holds his stiff collar. It indicates that he is rattling nervous and also his voice is dry as a biscuit. When Mr. Stowe wants to get his coat one of the strangers would like to go with him not letting him be alone. It seems that Charlies father is arrested. We idler do this guess-work and find one more likeness between Charlie and his father committing a crime. The resolution happens when the father and two strangers leave the shop, frightened Charlie goes upstairs and understands how much he loves his father.3. Elements of plotThis short story abounds with conflicts. At the beginning we know that Charlie has never tried a cigarette in his life and gets mocked by boys at school. It is the first conflict the boy versus schoolmates, his peers, and it can be considered as the conflic t of a man and hostelry. The second one happens between Charlie and his father which he doesnt like at the beginning. Thats why we can call Charlie protagonist, and his father antagonist. We see the third direct conflict between Charlies father and two men. The mystery is hidden in their talk. And finally there is the forth conflict the inner conflict of the boy who at his 12 wants to be an big trying to have a smoke once morest the fear and prohibition and maybe commit the hardest crime of his age.4. The theme/messageThe main idea of the story is a generation gap, the relations of Fathers and Sons. It is still relevant nowdays, parents should pay attention to the way of upbringing of their children. Lie, mistakes, carelessness and insufficiency of attention of parents would reflect on the behavior and re markation of their children. The other idea is found in the conflict of Charlie and his peers. Sometimes to be respected in society we try to do what it dictates us. Children are exposed to the society influence easier, because they havent nice experience in life and their world outlook isnt finally formed. The minor idea of this story is to fate how our attitude can be wrong judging people around us, even our closest people, our relatives, and it may happen that it would be too late to say the warmest words to the dearest people and even living with our family we cannot notice the likeness or common things that connect us. We should be more attentive, more sensitive and kindly and keep in mind that our children would somehow look like us.5. NarrationThe type of narration is entrusted narrative. The story is told from the appoint of view of Charlie who uses the 3d person. It is an omniscient point of view.6. Fiction elements/StructureThe author entrusts the main character telling us the story. Thats why we can consider this story as an interior monologue. In the text we also encounter with protagonists inner dialog and the dialog between the antagoni st and two strangers. It is a kind of bl ratiocination of dialogs and monologue speech. It makes us imagine more vivid the situation and keeps us in tension. On the whole the structure of the text is chronological. Only the second paragraph is a little bit detached telling about Charlies family and his conflicts with boys from County school and his father. The story starts at the beginning and moves through time.7. Style level of complexityThe structure of the text is very complex. There are a lot of commas, semi-colons and conjunctions. Also inclusion of the dialogs tells us about it. Equally with conjunctions such stylistic thingummy as asyndeton is used many times in the text. Abrupt changes from long sentences to short ones and vice versa create a very strong effect of tension and hesitancy for they serve to arrange a nervous, ragged rhythm of the utterances. Also very short sentences produce a very strong emphatic impact. In the text we can notice loose, periodic and balanced sentences, it also says to us about very sophisticated structure of the text. We can encounter with apokoinu constructions light burning, raise cupped in his hands, made him grab, sound of several men walking rapidly, quick steps going away, dont let me be caught. Apokoinu constructions are mostly used in the entrusted narrative. We can find also a lot of attachments, particularly, in dialogs (In speech of Charlies father), in the 5th paragraph (belted mackintoshes. They were strangers.)The story abounds with literary words as it should be with the fiction. The author chose very colored words such as banks of profane, thin haze, stale smoke, uncontrollable, spasmodically, wraith, despair, lurked, held his breath, dare not to move, cowered and etc. Dialogs are very colloquial, a lot of phrasal verbs are used (sell out, to be off, put off). What is very interesting in the text you can find some proverbs. Firstly, in the inner dialog of the boy (May as well be hung for a sheep, but it isnt full, we can consider it as ellipsis) and secondly in the speech of Charlies father, not finished as well (while theres life, the law of continuation is there is hope) and a stitch in time (also isnt finished (continuation saves nine)), and wrenched proverb Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow.The latter is said with a touch of sarcasm. The usage of proverbs also is a common characteristic of the boy and his father. Elipsises reflect the rude(a) omissions characterizing oral colloquial speech and the main function is to achieve the authenticity and plausibility of fictious dialog. When Charlie wants to encourage himself he says Cowardy, cowardy custard. It is a very interesting expression and is a taunt used by schoolchildren in the UK equivalent to scaredy cat in the U.S. By the way it is one more clue in support of the story happens in England. It means one who is excessively fearful. The word Cowardy is made with the help of diminutivesuffix y, it underlin es additional emotional colour in. The descriptions in the story are very detailed, author uses a lot of epithets (boisterous, wraith, stale, noisy and etc.).Figurative language is traced through the whole story. We can find metaphors such as a searchlightprobing the dark deep spaces (we can also call it personification), surprise and awe kept himawake, the tobacconists shop force him on, personification familiar photograph had stepped from the frame to reproach him with neglect, similis such as dry as biscuit, but his fathers affection and dislike were as indefinite as his movements, disguised simili can be find in the mentioned phrase Cowardy, cowardy custard, periphrasis the packets were piled twelve deep down the stairs instead of there were 12 packets of cigarettes which conveys a purely individual perception of the described object, onomatopoeia when they cracked if we talk about stairs and emphasizes the reigning tension.Talking again about the phrase Cowardy, cowardy custa rd author from Charlies point of view describes it as childish exhortation. We can notice one more morphological device, suffix ish. It deepens the coloring of the utterance expressing some contempt. In the second and in the last paragraphs we can find antithesises the first one in the description of Charlies father who is inappropriate to his mother and the second one while his mother was boisterous and kindly, his father was very like himself doing things in the dark which frightened him. Through this device we can understand the real attitude of Charlie to his parents. In the last antithesis there is also a comparison of the boy and his father. In the text we can also find dont you constructions, the first of which was used to emphasize sarcasm of one of the strangers (Dont you want to speak to your wife? and another one is an inversion Dont you worry to much. Mr. Stowe used it to produce sarcasm as well. Talking about dialogs we can underline its colloquialism also by repetiti on Yes, yes.8. Tone/moodThe tone of the story is very tense, serious, suspenseful and sometimes in characters words sarcasm slips. Tension and fear are seen in the description of boys actions sat in despair, cowered in darkness, held his breath, clutched his nightshirt tight and prayed. In some phrases of the one stranger we can find sympathy. Also we feel sympathy both to the boywho is mocked at school and his father who seems to be arrested. In the detailed description of Charlies father we can notice that the boy is offended by him (left even punishment to his mother). The mood of the story is hopeless and tense. We feel it throughout the story, the backcloth helps us to feel it deeply as well. But in the end we feel a kind of relief for a moment when the boy understands he loves his father. We say for a moment because we will never know if the father and the boy ever meet again.9. Types of charactersa) Charlie12 years old kid, brave enough to do what is prohibited (to have a sm oke). But is under impact of his schoolmates who mock at him, it is a common phenomenon of children of his age. He is smart, we can say it rendering how he encourages himself with the proverb. Maybe it tells us that he is well-read. The peculiarity of children of the World War I time was that they were elder mentally, more clever than the children of the peace time. The severe purlieu made them like that. Charlie tries to prove his maturity, to go against the fear. He is very cautious and skillful. But one thing he forgets is matches. He was so rash in his desire that make him forget a very important thing without what he cant fulfill his wish.Though Charlie loves his mother very much, we cant say he is mothers darling. He wants to be with his father, share problems and feelings with him, but he sees that his father isnt interested in him. That makes him frustrated. Charlie is a dynamic type of character, because he has a very strong position against his father and the attitude to him changes in the end. And he understands himself differently than at the beginning.b) Mr. StoweFrom the very beginning we know that Charlie doesnt love his father. He describes him as unreal to him, a wraith, pale, thin and indefinite, who noticed him only spasmodically and left even punishment to his mother. Tonight he had said he would be in Norwich, and yet you never knew this tells us that he lies to his family. He is afraid of revealing his crime. It is seen in the phrase told one of the strangers if you wouldnt mind being quite, gentlemen. I dont want to wake up the family.., The same we can seein his answer on the strangers question Dont you want to speak to your wife? Not me. But at the same time Mr. Stowe is very courteous with strangers (if you wouldnt mind, Mind if).It also emphasizes his deceitfulness. Mr. Stowe is fond of what he is doing running the tobacconists shop (Its a good little businessfor those that like it). We can notice how carefully he behaves with the packets of cigarettes (he lifted a pile of Gold Flake and Players from a shelf and caressed the packets with the tips of his fingers.). He couldnt be the closest person to his own kid, but he is good at business.c) Mr. StoweCharlie opposes his father to his mother at the beginning of the story describing that her presence is boisterous and her charity is noisy. She filled the world for him, from her speech he judged her the friend of everyone, from the rectors wife to the Dear Queen, except the Huns. For his mother he felt a passionate demonstrative love. The word demonstrative underlines the ostentation of his love opposing more strong his father to her. It seems that Charlie is very uncivilized with his father at the beginning. Her kindness and boisterous presence are mentioned in the end of the story again, but now the boy doesnt feel her presence, it is explicit in the last sentence He was alone in the house with his mother. He wants to say the warmest words not to her, bu t to his father. At the end Mr. Stowe becomes the dearest person to the Charlie.d) Two strangersThese two strangers seem to be secret-service agents as it was mentioned above. Their appearance (bowler hats and mackintoshes) and phrase we are on duty hint at that. One of them is polite enough thanking for the offered cigarette Thank you all the time, one of usll come with you, if you dont mind, said the stranger gently. The other one is trying to be sarcastic.10. Methods of characterizationDirect11. SymbolismWe can compare growing of a child with the stairs. Every footstep is a phase or life period. We can observe the dynamics of Charlies life, his growing, throughout the story, though it is a very little period of time. But the changes are evident. And we can imagine the stairs as a symbolic element. Moreover, we can find symbolism in night characterizing Charlies fears and hesitation and uncertainty.12. Stylistic devicesA lot of stylistic devices were mentioned above. But in this part of the analysis I want to discuss the title of the story I Spy. It sounds like a kids game Eye Spy, where the player-spy silently selects an object that is visible to all the players and does not reveal his or her choice. The same with Charlie he wants to share his feelings, emotions and problems with the father, but doesnt do it. His father isnt interested in him, he is indefinite and the boy feels it. I Spy and Eye Spy is a stylistic device called pun, based on the play of words that sound similar.