Title: A Most Ambitious Experiment Author: Mike Krath Length: 5 pages
Plot – What is the short story about? Message? Hidden messages? It’s about a man named Robert who travels 20 years ahead in time to find out if he had invested his money well. He tells his wife he’ll be back in five minutes, but instead she waits for 20 years for his return. When he comes back he finds out his wife had spent all the money. He travels back in time to make sure she cannot do that again, and eventually kills her in order to check on his investment in the future and then return back five minutes before the murder. However, the future Robert kills the old Robert as soon as he arrives. Describe the setting (where does the story take place?). Some short stories are written to highlight a special place (e.g. a city) or a special period of time (e.g. the time after the Second World War). The setting can also involve a limited group of people (social class, students etc.). The story is set in the house of Robert and his wife. Robert goes down the basement every time he makes a time travel while his wife is waiting for him in their home, startling her when he shows up in their home 20 years later. Who is telling the story? (Who is the narrator?) Perhaps the author has chosen a particular person to tell the story. Why? The main characters are Robert and his wife. The story is told from a third-person perspective and focus mostly on Robert’s wife as she’s is waiting for him, thinking he abandoned her. She even contacts the authorities to search for him, but after a few months the shut down the case and she legally declares him dead in order to get hold of the money he put away in a fund.
What is the author’s message to the reader? (Why was the story written? What is the overall meaning of the story?) Has the story affected you? In what way(s)? I don’t know if there’s a real message behind this story. It describes much of the