The Two Fishermen
1. For what newspaper does Michael Foster work for? (1-2) Michael Foster works for the town paper, the Examiner. He is a reporter.
2. Why did Michael not want to be seen with Smitty?(3-4) Michael didn’t want to be seen with Smitty because Smitty is a hangman. Every hangman is hated because people think that he is cruel and because he kills prisoners who are friends or parents with people in the town. If Michael is seen to be friend with Smitty, he would have a bad reputation and people of his town would hate him because he is supporting someone that all the others hated. It won’t only affect his life, but also his work, because no one will collaborate with him anymore and he could never become a reporter for city paper as he always wished.
3. Explain the final scene of the story?(5-6) The story finished with Smitty giving two big fish folded in a newspaper to Michael in front of everyone in the jail. But Michael let the other fisherman take the fish and through it at Smitty. First, the fish in this situation symbolize the friendship between Michael and the hangman and the newspaper represents the society, the people how hated, ridicule and criticize Smitty. When Smitty give Michael the newspaper folded fish, he is offering Michael to become his friend, and saying that Michael will need to deny other people’s judgments about him to become his friend, just like he needs to unwrap the newspaper to see the fish. The reporter, by accepting it, is accepting the friendship and the condition. Then, Michael let the other fisherman take his fish and through it at Smitty. By doing it, the young reporter is letting others to break the friendship between him and the hangman. He rejected the friendship and betrayed the hangman. In other words, he could unwrap the newspaper that folded the fish. After, when Smitty saw the fish, he could hardly believe it. Michael run off shamefully.
Morley Callaghan, at the final scene, showed two conflicts. The first one
2. Why did Michael not want to be seen with Smitty?(3-4) Michael didn’t want to be seen with Smitty because Smitty is a hangman. Every hangman is hated because people think that he is cruel and because he kills prisoners who are friends or parents with people in the town. If Michael is seen to be friend with Smitty, he would have a bad reputation and people of his town would hate him because he is supporting someone that all the others hated. It won’t only affect his life, but also his work, because no one will collaborate with him anymore and he could never become a reporter for city paper as he always wished.
3. Explain the final scene of the story?(5-6) The story finished with Smitty giving two big fish folded in a newspaper to Michael in front of everyone in the jail. But Michael let the other fisherman take the fish and through it at Smitty. First, the fish in this situation symbolize the friendship between Michael and the hangman and the newspaper represents the society, the people how hated, ridicule and criticize Smitty. When Smitty give Michael the newspaper folded fish, he is offering Michael to become his friend, and saying that Michael will need to deny other people’s judgments about him to become his friend, just like he needs to unwrap the newspaper to see the fish. The reporter, by accepting it, is accepting the friendship and the condition. Then, Michael let the other fisherman take his fish and through it at Smitty. By doing it, the young reporter is letting others to break the friendship between him and the hangman. He rejected the friendship and betrayed the hangman. In other words, he could unwrap the newspaper that folded the fish. After, when Smitty saw the fish, he could hardly believe it. Michael run off shamefully.
Morley Callaghan, at the final scene, showed two conflicts. The first one