Short Story English Essay
People are affected by the human weaknesses and faults, found both in themselves and in others around them.
In "The Girl Next Door" the author, Norman Levine, writes of how a recent returnee to Ottawa, is drawn to a newcomer out of need and loneliness. However, as their relationship develops, the excessive demands on his time by the girl next door eventually lead to their separation.
Human weaknesses are ridiculed, people are stereotyped and classified, and immoral behaviors are all illustrated in various nursery rhymes, which have been in existence for years. The essay "Nursery Crimes" by Bergen Evans suggests that these nursery rhymes are a concern and will likely continue to influence and affect society.
Several characters interact in the short story "Skin" by Roald Dahl. We are immediately drawn in and feel for the main character Drioli, as the author writes of him shuffling painfully. As the story develops, we learn that Drioli has a tendency to be treated without respect by the boy he befriends, and ultimately by strangers in the picture gallery, which lead to his demise.
Written in the 1st person, Norman Levine depicts, in this fiction, the time when he as a writer returns to Ottawa. Through his detailed description of his surroundings, detailed account of his activities, and the statement that he "was quite happy to stay by a window," the reader perceives that his first two weeks were spent in solace. Because of this, the reader is lead to understand that the writer is for the most part content on his own and not a needy person. However, having already been alone for two weeks, he befriends a newcomer, the girl next door, Lynn, who is also drawn to him due to her needs. However, ultimately their needs are not fully compatible and their relationship breaks down.
The author uses symbolism by describing the view outside the writer's window, on the day that he meets Lynn, in muc...