SHORT STORY ANALYSIS

MAN FROM THE SOUTH (1948)

By: Roald Dahl

Man from the South is a classic short story which written by Roald Dahl in 1948. This story told us about someone who plan to embarrass another people with his crazy bet. And I am as the reader was made surprise and anxious by this story. It is really good and interesting story, I can understand this story easily and certainly it is compatible read by all.

Now, after we read and understand it, let’s we analyze by looking for the element of prose such as the character, characteristic, characterization, setting,  plot, and also the point of view from that story.

1.    A character is a Person or an animal that appear in some literary works.

The characters and characteristic from The Man from South are:

• “I” as the narrators of the story.  He is as the minor character because he is not active in that story he just be a narrator and he is a protagonist.
• Man / the little man who give bet challenge to American cadets / boy. He is as the major character of the story and an Antagonist.  
• American Cadets the boy who make a bet with the little man. He is as the major character too in this story and a Protagonist.
• An English girl or the American cadet’s friend
• The maid who bring / gave the things which the little man orders to her. She is as the minor Character and a Protagonist.
• A woman who appears and stopped the bet in the last story and I think she is as the minor character in this story.

2.    Characterization is the way how the author gives a characteristic to the character.

The characterization from this story is showing (indirect) / dramatic method because we just can guess the characteristic of character from the character’s action and dialog in that story. 

3.    Setting is a background of the story / how, when and where the story takes place.
      the settings from the story Man from the South are:

Ø  Place :

• In Bar the place where the narrator get / buy some beer
• In Jamaica name of the country.
• Garden where the narrator going across when he will go to the swimming pool
• Swimming pool where the narrator sits and meet a little man and the boy ( American Cadets)
• Driveway the place where the little man show his bet car to the boy (American cadets)
• Annex is where the little man lives. 
•  Little man’s room the place where the man doing the bet

Ø  Time :

Toward six o’clock in the evening

4.    Plot is the structure / sequence of the story :

• The plot is close plot story because consist of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and also a resolution.
• Exposition : when I (narrator) went to the swimming pool to have a little evening sun
• Rising action : in my opinion the rising action when the little man try to making a bet with the boy (American cadets)
• Climax: when the little man and the boy ready to do their bet in little man’s room / annex.
• Falling action : when the woman come to the room and stop the bet and says sorry to the narrator, a boy and a lady (an English girl)
•  Resolution: is the final story when the narrator knows that a woman hand only one finger, she lost the finger because she always makes a bet with the little boy.

5.    Point of View is the position in which the narrator stands in relation with the story.

The point of view from the Man from the South is observant first s person point of view because the narrator here not as the main character, he is telling another character and he is not active in the story although he is inside the story.

Comment :

After I finish reading story The Man from the South I can take the moral value from this story that don’t be an easy people in making a bet which can damage our self.