Characters In A Short Story example essay topic

Andre Dubus (1936-1999) describes his characters in the short story "The Curse" in great detail. In this story, Dubus describes ten separate characters and helps the readers depict them in their minds very easily. Mitchell Hayes is the main character, Bob the bar owner, Smitty and Dave the cops, the five biker / punk guys, the female victim, Susan - Mitchell's wife, Marty and Joyce - Mitchell's step-children, customers, and Reggie - the bar regular; are all in the short story to give it depth in just a few short pages. Every motion the characters make, feelings that the characters feel, and visual descriptions all contribute to total affect of the story. Dubus is very descriptive about the actions the characters make; his detail encompasses the general to the specific. Mitchell, the main character, explained how he tries to dial emergency 911 but can not due to the restraint of the biker guys.

He explains how the bikers take turns in committing the crime and help hold Mitchell back from being able to dial. The victim continuously cries after the whole ordeal is over, and cannot say a word because of the shock she is in. Susan, Mitchell's wife, does everything for her husband; from cooking breakfast to massaging his weary muscles in order to relax him from thinking about the past situation. The stepchildren are very supportive in their actions, by laying Marty's hand on Mitchell's shoulder to Joyce holding her stepfather's hand during the traumatic story he had to repeat.

Reggie's character is a great ending to the story, due to the acceptance of Mitchell not letting him have another drink when he knew he had had enough, so he just winks at Mitchell and went on with his business. "The Curse" has many different types of feelings that are associated with all of the characters found within the story. Every character feels anger, dismay, regret, hatred, sadness, discontent, and feelings of cowardliness. Mitchell feels as if he could have done something to stop the crime while it was in action, but was being held back by thoughts that he himself could have been hurt as well.

Susan and her children are sad for their loved one to have gone through the horrible scene, but are also glad at the same time for Mitchell to still be alive today and not stepping in to stop it. Officer Smitty feels though Mitchell should have stepped in and stopped the crime from being committed, because he knows that Mitchell should have known better than to let it continue. Great physical descriptions are given to most of the characters by Dubus. One exceptional description is that of the five bikers, Dubus describes them as being drugged up on some type of drug the way their whole demeanor lay and the way their eyes look. Another great description lies in the hands of the main character, Mitchell.

Being the age of forty-nine years old and feeling old, wrinkly, short, and thin, also how and where Mitchell lives describes the main character very well. The author describing the girl also set the plot of the story up to let the reader know what had happened without even saying what had happened to begin with. Describing her as very young, nineteen to twenty-one, tan with dark hair, in jeans and a dark blue tee shirt, and sober let the reader know that she is an attractive and vulnerable young lady. Describing characters in detail give a story it's depth and beauty. Andre Dubus accomplishes this in great detail for this story "The Curse". Many actions, feelings, and visual descriptions are given throughout his story and are perceived very well.

Having so many characters in a short story and describing them in great depth in such a few lines is very accomplishing for any author. After reading this short story many feelings of sadness, and regret were felt from the reader's viewpoint. Recommending this story for future readings would be recommended for further knowledge in such situations, and how to prepare for such a problem..