English Assignment The Whipping Boy
English – the whipping boy
”The Whipping Boy,” written by Richard Gibney in 2011, is a story about a never ending war. In the story we meet three recently freed slaves, who don’t know how to cope with their newly given freedom. Officially, they are free to leave, but different reasons force them to stay for a little while longer. This essay will examine the main characters’ relationship with their owners, their way of handling their new freedom, and the significance of Gibney’s use of foreshadowing in the story. Furthermore, it will examine Gibney’s use of words associated with religion and childhood. To sum up, the essay will analyse and discuss how Gibney’s use of certain words warns the observant reader of how the story will end.
The story is, as before mentioned, about three young, black people who are informed that they are officially free from slavery. The names of the characters are Tommy, Mikey and Martha. When they are told about their newly given freedom, Martha has a hard time believing it “”You’re free,” he insisted. “Free to do as you like. Understand?” She stared at him incredulously…” (P1, ll. 33-34). This can be interpreted as Martha’s lacking ability to understand the consequences of what she hears, but it can also be argued that this is a way for Gibney to warn the reader about something that happens later in the text. Since Martha throughout the story could be characterized as the more sympathetic one of the three, the reader will often identify with her due to the readers common knowledge of what is right and wrong, and if the reader identifies with her, they might also think that whatever she thinks is true. Therefore, since Martha doesn’t quite believe that their struggles are over, the reader probably agrees with her, and is thereby warned by the writer that the end of the story won’t be happy.
Tommy and Mikey, on the other hand, have a different reason for staying. They are not willing to flee from their prison of many years without
”The Whipping Boy,” written by Richard Gibney in 2011, is a story about a never ending war. In the story we meet three recently freed slaves, who don’t know how to cope with their newly given freedom. Officially, they are free to leave, but different reasons force them to stay for a little while longer. This essay will examine the main characters’ relationship with their owners, their way of handling their new freedom, and the significance of Gibney’s use of foreshadowing in the story. Furthermore, it will examine Gibney’s use of words associated with religion and childhood. To sum up, the essay will analyse and discuss how Gibney’s use of certain words warns the observant reader of how the story will end.
The story is, as before mentioned, about three young, black people who are informed that they are officially free from slavery. The names of the characters are Tommy, Mikey and Martha. When they are told about their newly given freedom, Martha has a hard time believing it “”You’re free,” he insisted. “Free to do as you like. Understand?” She stared at him incredulously…” (P1, ll. 33-34). This can be interpreted as Martha’s lacking ability to understand the consequences of what she hears, but it can also be argued that this is a way for Gibney to warn the reader about something that happens later in the text. Since Martha throughout the story could be characterized as the more sympathetic one of the three, the reader will often identify with her due to the readers common knowledge of what is right and wrong, and if the reader identifies with her, they might also think that whatever she thinks is true. Therefore, since Martha doesn’t quite believe that their struggles are over, the reader probably agrees with her, and is thereby warned by the writer that the end of the story won’t be happy.
Tommy and Mikey, on the other hand, have a different reason for staying. They are not willing to flee from their prison of many years without