Literary studies
Danuta Kruła
1st year FA
The Time of the Dead Alice Munro is the story settled in Maitland Valley in Ontario. The author showed the social relations, poverty in a rural environment in Canada where she has born and lived. The story is about poor, dysfunctional family which is perceived as a white trash, although thanks to their daughter`s talent had a chance for better life but they lost it.
Beginning of the narration is in media res, starts after an accidence when little boy Benn died, and readers are informed about circumstances of what was happened, by flashbacks. The narration is authorial and not connected with the story is also external and third personal. There is an anachronological order of an events with associative digressions flashbacks. There are two main characters, Leona Parry as a antagonist which is in conflict with her daughter Patricia as a protagonist, after Benny`s death. Leona`s character is flat, she doesn`t change, is also opaque and static. Patricia is portrayed as a heroine, she seems matured for her age and has a great voice which her mother is going to use as a ticket to the family success. However the girl is steam-filled boiler ready to burst, after her brother`s death. She is additionally dynamic character, when she sees scissors man again, she goes hysterical.
There are also minor characters: Mrs. McGee (the neighbor), George and Irene ( Leona`s younger children) and Mr. Parry, who has problem with alcohol, which are the witnesses of all events told in the story. Techniques of character used show all persons are mostly indirected: Leona describes her daughter Patricia, Mrs. McGee depict her neighbor Leona and Patricia describes her little brother Been.
The end is closed, all the things turned the same. Patricia and her family lost their chance for better life, they are disesteemed again, without any hope for future.