Fairy tales have always been told to us as children, they always seem to be a part of everyone's childhood. When the narrator was asked to write a children's story, she replied with a short story titled "Once Upon A Time". Although the title is characteristic of a fairy tale, she leads the tale to an ending that is anything other than "happily ever after." "Once upon a Time" is characterized as an interpretive piece of literature due to the story elements.
             The characters traits add to the interpretative nature of the story. The major characters in this story are the father, mother, mother- in- law, son, and two servants, all of whom are stock and flat characters, with a higher purpose. The father is characterized as a flat character because he has no multidimensional traits in his personality. He is a predictable character with no real challenges to face that divert his ideology. In a reply to his wife about a safety issue he says "Nonsense, my dear, there are police and soldiers and tear- gas and guns to keep them away" (Gordimer.185). The wife is afraid that someone might pose a threat to her well-being. The Husbands response is something a classic Husband would say to comfort his wife. This response is expected of a typical husband, therefore making him a flat character.
             The child is a flat character that shadows other characters until his demise. The little boy has no internal conflict, or complexity, and undergoes no internal change as a character meaning he is a stock character. He is introduced and mentioned very little. He is given little focus in the story other than the fatal tragedy that happens at the end. The parents had recently installed an intercom and "The little boy was fascinated by the device and used it as a walkie talkie in cops and robbers with his friends" (Gordimer. 185). The little boy is allowed to pursue in his mischievous antics wi...