Short Story Overview

 

Conflict:

-Person vs. Herself

-Person vs. Person

-She is struggling with her emotions dealing with her family and her own ability to make decisions


Setting:

-Place: gloomy beach in Florida on an old, rotted dock

-Time: dark spring evening

-Circumstance: Julia upset at her life and the inability to connect with her family

-Mood: tense, frustrated, depressed

Character:

Protagonist: (Julia)

-Thick, wavy, dark brown hair that flew in every direction in the wind

-Deep, brown eyes that anyone could lost in

-She kept to herself, mostly because no one gives her a chance to be heard

-She felt left out of her family and felt that no one cared

Antagonist:

-Herself

-She is struggling with the decision to end her life or not

Plot:

Initial action:

-Alice is frustrated with her family and run out of the house

Rising action:

-As she walks, she feels the urge to walk towards the dock

-She sits and tries to sort out her emotions but she just cries

-She stands and glances towards the house, feeling as if no one cares if she is dead

-She struggles whether she should let herself die in the swirling waters of the storm

-She jumps into the chilled ocean water, exhaling the breath from her lungs

Climax:

-She changes her mind while sinking deeper and wants a second chance at life

-She tries to go to the surface, but the waves push her deeper down

-She tries to take a breath, but it’s only filled with the dark ocean water

Falling Action:

- She feels her body slowly shut down while her thick hair and flowing dress move to the rhythm of the sea

Resolution:

-Julia dies depressed and alone, felling deserted by her family and separated from the world

Theme:

-The struggle to be accepted in your own family

-That ending your life is not the answer