Short Story Literary Analysis. In the short story The Fix, Percival Everett utilizes various literary devices such as

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Short Story Literary Analysis. In the short story The Fix, Percival Everett utilizes various literary devices such as"

Phoebe Stevenson
6 years ago
Views:

1 Soto 1 Alejandra Soto Mendelsohn AP English Literature 2 December 2014 Short Story Literary Analysis In the short story The Fix, Percival Everett utilizes various literary devices such as diction, metaphor, foreshadowing, paradox, parallelism, and allegory to develop the plot and characters, and to explore the theme of search for individual place in the universe. Percival Everett utilizes diction and metaphors to develop Sherman Olney s character along with the plot, and to support the theme of search for individual place in the vast universe. He uses diction to portray Sherman as a mysterious and generous character, Sherman had said nothing more about himself, responding only to trivial questions put to him. He did, however, repair or make better every machine in the restaurant. He had fixed the toaster oven, the phone, the neon OPEN sign, the electric-eye buzzer on the front door, the meat slicer, the coffee machine, the manual mustard dispenser, and the cash register (Everett ). Even though Sherman is generous enough to help others by fixing their things, he doesn t seem to show any emotion while doing it; he only seems to listen, nod, and fix it (Everett 131), indicating that Sherman is unsure of himself and his actions. He always asks, You want me to fix it? (Everett 122) before fixing something because he understands the consequences of fixing things, yet he still fixes them anyways, You have to be careful about what you fix (Everett 133). Sherman doesn t know where he belongs in the universe, and he seems to fix things only because he can, not because he wants to; he knows what could happen because of fixing things, and he seems to

2 Soto 2 receive no pleasure from doing so. He might even believe that fixing things is his place in the universe. Towards the end of the story, Sherman explains, If you irrigate a desert, you might empty a sea. It s a complicated business, fixing things (Everett 133), and then says, I am the empty sea (Everett 134). This use of metaphor illustrates Sherman s place in the universe, with him representing the sea and the people he fixes things for representing the desert, so if Sherman attempts to irrigate a desert (fix the people), he would have to empty the sea (sacrifice himself). Sherman sacrifices a part of himself every time he fixes something for someone, making him more and more lifeless, Sherman s face looked lifeless. He seemed drained of all energy (Everett 132). This causes Sherman to feel lost in the universe because the only thing that gives him a purpose in life is also the thing that makes him lifeless. Diction and metaphors are used to develop the characters and plot in the story and to explore the theme of search for individual place in a vast universe. Literary devices such as foreshadowing, paradox, and parallelism are used to develop the plot and characters of the story. The author uses foreshadowing in the beginning of the story, Sherman Olney whom Douglas had seen beaten to near extinction one night by a couple of silky-looking men who seemed to know Sherman and wanted something in particular from him Sherman Olney crumpled to the ground, moaning and clutching at his middle, saying he didn t have it anymore (Everett 121). This foreshadowing develops the plot that Sherman has something that is desired by others, which is used to add mystery to Sherman s character. The author utilizes paradox at the end of the story, The masses of people pressed in from either side. Sherman stepped over the railing and stood on the brink, the toes of his shoes pushed well over the edge. Don t! they all screamed. Fix us! Fix us! (Everett 134). The people in the crowd want Sherman Olney s abilities for themselves so much that they don t even realize they are

3 Soto 3 chasing him away and trying to kill him, which illustrates the selfish characteristics of the people in the crowd. The beginning and ending of the story suggest parallelism because in both, Sherman is running away from people who want him to fix something. In the beginning of the story, Sherman is being attacked by the silky-looking men (Everett 121) who want him to fix something for them. This happens again at the end, when Sherman is running away from the horde of people who want him to fix something, Fix us! they shouted. Fix us! Fix us! The masses of people pressed in from either side (Everett 134). This use of parallelism emphasizes the paradox of people destroying what they want the most. Sherman s mysterious character and unusual abilities seem to leave the mob shocked at first, but their selfish desires lead them to almost killing him. Everett uses foreshadowing, paradox and parallelism to develop the characters and plot in the story. The author utilizes allegory to develop the plot and characters, and to explore the theme of search for individual place in a vast universe. This story serves as an allegory for the story of Jesus Christ, in which Sherman Olney represents Jesus Christ and Douglas Langley represents one of Jesus s disciples. Both Sherman and Jesus have the same purpose in their lives, to fix things, even though in the end of the stories, they are both destroyed by doing so. If you knew this would happen, why did you fix all of those things? Because I can. Because I was asked. Douglas watched him, not believing he was seeing the same man who had fixed so many machines and so many relationships and so many businesses and concerns and even fixed a dead woman (Everett ). Both Sherman and Jesus Christ are able to perform miracles, but after people realized what they were capable of doing, they ended up wanting more and more until both men were either killed or chased off. Douglas Langley represents one of Jesus s disciples in the story, They re telling anybody and everybody that there s some freak in

4 Soto 4 Langley s Sandwich Shop who can revive the dead. Sherman held his face in his hands. Who are you? Sherman stood and walked into the back of the shop. Douglas followed him, not knowing why, unable to stop himself. He in fact followed the man out of the store and down the alley, away from the shop and the horde of people (Everett ). Douglas is shocked into fear after Sherman revives the dead woman, but then immediately returns to helping Sherman. Just like Jesus s disciples, Douglas stays loyal to Sherman and follows him, even though he is somewhat afraid of his abilities. This use of allegory emphasizes and supports Sherman s purpose in life. By paralleling Sherman s life to the life of Jesus Christ, there is a better understanding that Sherman s purpose in life is to fix things, just as Jesus s was, even though Sherman s place in the universe is the very thing that will destroy him in the end. This story serves as an allegory for the story of Jesus Christ in order to develop the plot and characters and support the theme of search for individual place in the universe. In the story The Fix, Percival Everett develops the plot and characters, and supports the theme of search for individual place in the universe by using different literary devices such as diction, metaphor, foreshadowing, paradox, parallelism, and allegory. The author wrote this short story as a way to comment on the selfish and paradoxical nature of humans and to explore the idea that power is not everything. Everett might have also written this story to serve as a modern version of the story of Jesus Christ. I think this was a well written story and I would definitely recommend for others to read.

5 Soto 5 Alejandra Soto Mendelsohn AP English Literature 2 December 2014 Works Cited Everett, Percival. "The Fix." The Best American Short Stories. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, Print.

Short Story Literary Analysis Essay. In A Perfect Day for Bananafish, JD Salinger employs literary devices such as

Erin Timmins Timmins 1 Mr. Jere Mendelsohn AP English Literature December 2, 2014 Short Story Literary Analysis Essay In A Perfect Day for Bananafish, JD Salinger employs literary devices such as metaphors,