The Analysis of Short Story “Godfather Death” Based on the Intrinsic Elements

1.   Theme

The themes of the short story “Godfather Death” are that someone’s greed can overtake anything in life and no one can escape death.

2.   Plot

a.    Exposition

A poor man has twelve children, and works just hard enough to feed each of them every day. When his thirteenth child was born, the man decided to find a godfather for this child. So he runs out into the highway, and found God walking on the highway. God asked to be the godfather, promising the child health and happiness. The man, after finding out that the man was God, declined, saying that God condoned poverty, and was ignorant that God rewards suffering in Heaven. Then the man met the Devil on the highway. The Devil then asked to be the godfather, offering the child gold and the world's joys. The man, after finding out that the man was the Devil, declined, saying that the Devil deceives mankind.

b.   Complication

The poor man, still walking down the highway, meets Death. The man decides to make Death the child's godfather, saying that Death takes away the rich and the poor, without discrimination. The next Sunday, Death became the child's godfather.

c.    Climax

The climax of the story begins when the godfather gives the boy the gift to heal, but makes stipulations that he can only help people with the godfather’s permission to do so.

d.   Revelation

The doctor is put in a moral obligation when the king is found to be sick, and the godfather does not want the king to live. However the doctor feels differently than the godfather and revives the king. The doctor is warned that he should not have done that and he will be punished if it is done again.

e.    Denouement

Soon after his first warning the doctors disobeys his godfather again and revives the king’s daughter this time however the godfather is not so kind, and takes the life of his godson.

3.   Setting

There are many different locations in which the short story “Godfather Death” takes place. The first location in the story is a main highway where the father is attempting to find a suitable godfather. The next location that is described in the story is the forest in which Death gives the child, the gift of healing. After the forest the doctor is summoned to the king’s castle in which he breaks the wishes of his godfather. The final, location in the story is the underground cavern of Death, and this is where the story ends. I believe the story is set in medieval times, and I am partial to this belief because of the fact that the doctor uses all herbs to heal and there is a king presented in the story.

4.   Characters and Characterization

a.       The poor man: hopeless.

b.      Death: firm and consistent.

c.       Doctor: selfish, greedy, and rebellious.

5.   Point of View

The story “Godfather Death” is told in 3rd person omniscient. This means there is a narrator telling the story, and the narrator has the ability to see what all the characters are thinking as well as know all of the external events that are taking place in the story. I don’t think the story “Godfather Death” could have been properly told through any other point of view. The method that was used in “Godfather Death” was, I believe extremely effective in telling the story. The point of view used in “Godfather Death” makes the story easy to read.

6.   Moral Messages

This short story teaches us to always keep a commitment and not to be greedy. Besides, it reminds us that no one can escape death and there is no defying death.

Posted by eo4belas.blogspot.com

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