Plot

Sharipova El’za 10.1-411 (gr. B) “The Language of water” by D. S. Mackenzie The plot:

This short story tells us how a young man called Sandy goes on a fishing trip with his father’s old friend Garfield McLeod.

The story begins with a description of the place where the main character and Garfield go fishing. It is a bright, cloudless morning, a pool on the river is very beautiful, but there is no fish, it is lifeless. Both characters are aware that they will catch nothing, but they pretend that they anticipate a fine catch of fish.

Then we find more about Garfield. He is an uncompromising, straight, tactless old man. He is approximately seventy. He had been a friend of the narrator’s father for about thirty years and used to go fishing with him only. But he gave up fishing 6 years ago, when the protagonist’s father died. Garfield has a variety of cancer and has only about two years to live.

Throughout the story we see the narrator's uncertainty about his attitude to the old man and their relationship: at one moment Sandy feels dislike for Garfield, then admiration, then fear. He strives to like the old man, but it is difficult. For example, when the protagonist presents a book to Mr. McLeod about the place in South America where he lived, the old man scathingly criticizes it only quickly leafing through and it hurts the narrator.

Garfield is truly very stubborn, he refuses help which the protagonist offers, to change the car’s wheel, for example. Then, when they go to the pool, the narrator is even afraid to offer the old man to carry his bag for fear of calling him weak.

Then the story takes us into the flashback, memories of Sandy’s childhood. He was nine years old and rode the landrover to the barn with Mr. MacLeod. The boy was afraid of Garfield, afraid of asking something or doing something that Mr. McLeod would not like. They went to the barn, and the boy saw Garfield poked with a hoe at the roof. Then the narrator saw how baby pigeon whirred down to the concrete floor and ran to him, but Garfield caught a bird and killed it before Sandy’s very eyes. Then he went to kill another pigeon. The boy was too shocked and depressed to say anything, and they went home in silence.

The narrator decides that things will get better and something will be saved if one of them catches a fish. He thinks that he will forgive Garfield his rudeness and even the murder of the pigeons if they catch one small fish. But it is impossible, the pool is lifeless, and the characters are left with empty hands. “The river said no”, as the narrator concludes. The narrator is torn between feelings of guilt and the desire to hit the old man.

At the end of the story the characters walk back through the fields. Garfield himself asks the narrator to carry his bag and rod, and Sandy agrees.

Plot structure:

1) Exposition: the description of the river and characters attitude to going fishing. 2) Conflict: the description of Garfield’s character and appearance show readers the complexity of the relationship between Sandy and Garfield. It is very important because from this description we know about Garfield’s stubbornness and directness. These qualities become the reason of characters conflict. 3) Flashback: Sandy remember a moment from his childhood which had change his attitude to Garfield. 4) Climax: in Sandy’s memories we see how Garfield kill baby pigeon in front of little protagonist. The main character is too shocked and he can’t cry or say anything. He can’t forgive death of these birds to Garfield. 5) Denouement: both of characters try to catch a fish, but it is impossible. “The river said no” Sandy decides. None action does not pass without a trace. At the end Garfield and the main character are left with empty hands.

Narrative method:

The narrator – the main character – is a man. We look at events in the story with his eyes. The author uses this narrative method