A Hero New Ending
Essay title: A Hero New Ending
A Hero- R. K. Narayan
S- Setting, Situation, Structure
C- Characters
A- Actions, Events
S- Style, Language, Imagery, Point of View
I- Ideas, Themes, Conflicts, Issues
At Swami’s house, 7:30 (his bed time). Swami is forced to sleep in his father’s office room, because after his father read a newspaper article, he felt that Swami was being too spoilt by his grandmother. He wanted Swami to become braver.
The story is written in paragraphs, with quotation marks, etc.
The characters in this story are Swami, Swami’s father, mother and grandmother.
Swami is very young/immature/cowardly (he disagrees when his father says “A man may have the strength of an elephant and yet be a coward: whereas another may have the strength of a straw, but if he has courage he can do anything”), cowardly (he is afraid of sleeping in a dark room) and spoilt unlike boys around his age (�sleeping beside granny or mother like a baby’). He tries to avoid his fears as much as he can. Impolite �Please, please shut up granny’- closer to his grandmother, therefore more contempt. Deceives his father. Spoilt �molly coddle’. Innocent.
However his father is wise, and knows what is best for his son. Swami is aware of his �tenacity’. Has strict moral standards, and expects Swami to follow them. He is dislikable because we feel that he is pushing Swami too much, scaring him. However we can tell he is very caring about his son. Grandmother- Spoils Swami. He takes advantage of her.
Father reads a Newspaper Article about a boy fighting a tiger. Father makes Swami sleep in his office room alone. Swami tries to avoid this, but his father forces him. Swami can’t sleep at night. A figure approaches him, and the frightened Swami bites him. The adults come to find that Swami has caught a burglar. He is praised the next day by others.
Onomatopoeia �scratch, scratch, and then a light thud’ �gloomily gazing’ �
Caesura (semi colons) �Father, cook, and a servant came in, carrying light.’
Ellipses () For changing context, tone, tense. Indicates something is happening but isn’t said.
Dialogue “There are no scorpions, little fellow. Sleep on the bench if you like.”
Short sentences �Swami groaned in despair’
Rhetorical Question �And now what was this rustling?’
Metaphor �Congratulations were showered on Swami next day’
Alliteration �snoring sounds’
Personification �It threatened to continue forever’
Repetition �pleaded’
Assonance �molly-coddle’
*spoiling*
Bravery comes by chance
Accidental Hero (Irony, the title is �A Hero’)
Growing Up
You don’t have to do something great to be respected.
Swami learns a lesson: �A man may have the strength of an elephant and yet be a coward: whereas another may have the strength of a straw, but if he has courage he can do anything’
A man is not necessarily brave, and not all children are cowards.
Swami’s conflict with his father and himself. Father’s conflict with Swami’s grandmother.
Swami gets praise that he was a �true scout’ when he wasn’t even brave.
Culture clash- The society where his father was grown up in VS Swami’s culture.
Women play a minor part in the father’s standards/relationships