Plot "The Californian's Tale"

1. What is the story about? What are the main events in the story, and how are they related to each other?

                This story is about a traveler that is roaming around in a old deserted mining town when he comes across and befriends a man, Henry. Henry's wife has passed away, but he thinks that his wife is just off on a trip, and that she will return on Saturday night. on that night, his friends all come over and have a homecoming party for Henry's wife. Toward the end of the party, Henry's neighbor gives him a drink with some drugs in it that put him to sleep. His neighbor does this because he knows that when Henry awakes, he will realize that his wife is truly gone. The problem with this is that one year later they will have to repeat the fake party.

2. Are the main events of the story arranged chronologically, or are they arranged in another way?

No this story did not arranged chronologically, in middle of the story it go back to talk about Henry wife. After talk about his wife the story go back to the present time again. Henry just feel that his wife just go out for a while.

3. How is the story narrated? Are flashbacks, summaries, stories within the story used?

Mark Twain tries to tell us about the power of unity within us with this story. The story shows us we need to help others as we would like them to help us. There are many things that relate to this story, all of which help the ones in need such as mental clinics, food banks, homeless shelters, red cross, and many others. One specific event that this story could relate to is the National Depression Screening Day which takes place on the first Thursday of every October. Every year 20 million people in America suffer from clinical depression and this annual event is to help those who are depressed or help prevent depression and its dangers to our health.

4. Is the plot fast-paced or slow-paced?

This plot is a slow-paced, it go though the story smoothly and then go back in the past talk about the wife of Henry. The story is just like remembering his wife that has already died. He just do the same things over and over again every years.

5. How do the thoughts, behaviors, and actions of characters move the plot forward?

The love of Henry to his wife was never change, he just don’t want to believe that his wife was already died. He just waiting and think that one day his wife will come back. This Henry action is to make a party waiting his wife to come back every year. He thoughts that his wife just go out for a while. From the start of the story to the end of the story the thoughts, behaviors, and actions of the characters did not change.

6. What are the conflicts in the plot? Are they physical, intellectual, moral or emotional? Are they resolved? How are they resolved? Is the main conflict between good and evil sharply differentiated, or is it more subtle and complex?

The conflict in this story is that Henry could not forget his wife, he don’t even want to believe that his wife was died. He always thinks that his wife was alive, he just prepare the party repeated every year and every year. His friend just come to join the party and just brings him to sleep by the drug every year. A died person is a dead person; it can’t be alive again anymore.

7. What is the climax of the story and at what point in the story does the climax occur? Is the ending of the story happy, unhappy, or indeterminate? Is it fairly achieved?

This story was ended unhappy, Henry was waiting for his wife to come back, but actually his wife was already died. His friends need to make a fake party for him every year and put some drugs on him to make him fall sleep. His wife was died already; she can’t come back to life anymore.

8. Does the plot have unity? Are all the episodes relevant to the total meaning or effect of the story? Does each incident grow logically out of the preceding incident and lead naturally to the next?
                Yes, this plot has unity because Henry friend come to join the party for welcome Henry home every years. If they are not unity they will not come and join the party. All the friends already know that his wife has already died. Each incident will not affect the natural because every they just do the same thing, made a party, and put Henry to sleep by drugs. So that Henry wake up he will remember that his wife was already past.

9. What use does the story make of chance and coincidence? Are these occurrences used to initiate, to complicate, or to resolve the story? How improbable are they?

If his wife did not went outside the house to another place his wife may be still alive and stay with him right now. There is no chance to get his wife come back to alive again. If his wife just get lost or disappeared he still has the hope that she is not died and he can find her. May be his wife didn’t died, but just the people look like her died, she may have some injured on the head and cause her to forget all the past.