Character Analysis of Nancy in Small Avalanches
Peter Marsden
Professor Canipe
English 113
Sep 4, 2013
Reaction Paper 6: Small Avalanches
Small Avalanches is narrated by a 13 year old girl who you find out is named Nancy. She lives in a small town in the early 1900’s I would guess. Nancy goes to her uncles shop where he repairs cars, and gets a soda pop. She describes how she loves it when the soda man comes to collect the change from the machines. While she is at the shot with her uncle she asks if her cousin Georgia is around, and she is not. A man in a white car drives up while they are talking and makes small talk with her uncle. Nancy decides at this point to walk home. On the way back home the man in the white car drives up and asks her for a ride, which she finds odd, so she refuses. This does not make the man go away and he decides to pull his car over and walk with her. This doesn’t seem to sit well with Nancy. She walks ahead of him the whole time because she is nervous. The man is nice and compliments her beauty, and constantly smiles, making the reader wonder if he doesn’t have some sort of perverse motif. They come to a short cut where Nancy says goodbye, but the man says he will follow. They climb the shortcut through the woods it seems, the whole time Nancy making sure to stay ahead of the man while continues to ask her questions and make her laugh. When they near the end of the shortcut, the man trips and falls. Nancy taunts him thinking its a joke, but the mans demeanor changed. He becomes pale and sick looking, and says he feels sick. Instead of helping the man Nancy runs home, and is scolded by her mother for being home late. The only characters worth trying to even analyze in this story are the little girl Nancy, and the old man. I think the old man is a very interesting analysis. From what I read in the story, I inferred that the old man was making some sort of attempt to have some sort of sexual interaction with Nancy. Obviously any person, man or woman, who would try and
Professor Canipe
English 113
Sep 4, 2013
Reaction Paper 6: Small Avalanches
Small Avalanches is narrated by a 13 year old girl who you find out is named Nancy. She lives in a small town in the early 1900’s I would guess. Nancy goes to her uncles shop where he repairs cars, and gets a soda pop. She describes how she loves it when the soda man comes to collect the change from the machines. While she is at the shot with her uncle she asks if her cousin Georgia is around, and she is not. A man in a white car drives up while they are talking and makes small talk with her uncle. Nancy decides at this point to walk home. On the way back home the man in the white car drives up and asks her for a ride, which she finds odd, so she refuses. This does not make the man go away and he decides to pull his car over and walk with her. This doesn’t seem to sit well with Nancy. She walks ahead of him the whole time because she is nervous. The man is nice and compliments her beauty, and constantly smiles, making the reader wonder if he doesn’t have some sort of perverse motif. They come to a short cut where Nancy says goodbye, but the man says he will follow. They climb the shortcut through the woods it seems, the whole time Nancy making sure to stay ahead of the man while continues to ask her questions and make her laugh. When they near the end of the shortcut, the man trips and falls. Nancy taunts him thinking its a joke, but the mans demeanor changed. He becomes pale and sick looking, and says he feels sick. Instead of helping the man Nancy runs home, and is scolded by her mother for being home late. The only characters worth trying to even analyze in this story are the little girl Nancy, and the old man. I think the old man is a very interesting analysis. From what I read in the story, I inferred that the old man was making some sort of attempt to have some sort of sexual interaction with Nancy. Obviously any person, man or woman, who would try and