Pearl Crayton (American)

CHARACTERS

The narrator

Rena

Miss Daya

The narrator’s mother

The narrator’s father/the deacon

Reverend Davis

Catherine

Sam

SETTINGS

1936

United States of America

Louisiana

Plantation

SUMMARY OF STORY

Flashback is used in the story as the narrator recounts an experience she had when she was just twelve years old. The story is set on a plantation in Louisiana, USA in the early 90s where plantation life revolved around the church and religion. Her childhood experiences become clear when she learns from her cousin Rena that the world coming to an end. Rena overhears the adults speaking of the eclipse that will occur the next day (Saturday). She believes that the world will end and tells her twelve-year-old cousin. The narrator is not ready to accept the Lord as her saviour and so she is afraid that the world will end, and she will go to hell.

She goes to her father who is a deacon at their church and asks him about the coming of the Lord. Her father’s response leaves her more worried as her father reveals that the world may end at any time, and no one knows when the Lord will come.

The narrator goes to bed worried as she does not know what will happen. When she hears an old airplane, she believes it was the world ending. She runs from her house screaming and shouting to her neighbours that the world was ending. She meets her father along the way. He comforts her by telling her that her fears are unfounded.  He points out to her that the noise she heard was coming from an airplane and that the world was not coming to an end. In the end, the narrator realizes that she cannot live her life in fear of the world ending but instead that she should live each day fully.

CONFLICT

Narrator versus self.

She believes that she is too young (12 years old) to become a Christian; but that she should be aware of where she would go if the world ended, and she was not a Christian.

RESOLUTION

The conflict is resolved when the narrator realizes that the world is not ending but that an airplane was flying overhead. She then accepts that one cannot live their life being afraid that the world would end.

THEMES

Childhood Experience

The theme of childhood experience is presented through the author’s use of flashbacks.

Religion

Religion surfaces as a theme through the narrator’s experiences. She believes that the world is ending, and this brings across biblical allusions. There are references to John, Revelation, and even Miss Daya’s misinterpretation of the narrator’s kneeling for praying to reflect the theme of religion. The language also influences the themes. The author uses the words Christian, sinner, the Lord, devil, and hell to reinforce the theme in the story. The story forces the readers to reflect on when and how the world will end. But the writer answers this question at the end of the story by making the readers aware of the fact that man cannot predict or understand the power and working of God.

Family Relationship

The narrator’s relationship with her father is strong. She seeks his advice when she learns that the world will come to an end. This highlights the trust the natator has for her father. When she hears the airplane, she runs from the house screaming and shouting. Her father is there as a reminder of the strength of their relationship and the bond that father and daughter share.