An Analysis of The Little Convent Girl Essay -- Little Convent Girl Es

An Analysis of The Little Convent young lady Grace Kings The Little Convent Girl is an excellent example of post-Civil War realism incorporating a trick-ending. In this local anesthetic color short story, King methodically lures the contributor into a assumed belief that her story is close to an insignificant and nameless young lady friend who, after twelve years seclusion in a convent, is candid to the fervor and excitement of a steamboat trip d induce the Mississippi River. The conquest of Ms. Kings trick-ending is achieved done three basic elements 1) de-emphasizing the importance of the main character, 2) tidbits of information followed by wordy misdirection, and 3) a false climax. Ms. King masterfully downplays the importance of the fine convent miss by not giving her a name, even the steamboat passe-partout and crew members refer to her as the humble convent girl. As a result, the reader is led to believe that the story is not really about the little convent girl. S he is merely the instrument chosen by the author through which the reader will experience a steamboat adventure. King set ahead misleads the reader by offering paragraphs of information about the complexities of navigating the river, the habits of the crew members, and the skill of the steamboat pilots. On those occasions that the reader is provided bits of information about the little convent girl, King right off misdirects the reader back to the overt theme of a steamboat adventure. King, in introducing the little convent girl to the reader, goes to great lengths to present her as a dreary and insipid creature. She wore dark clothing, sat rigidly upright, secluded herself in her room, and displayed little savor for life. Therefor, when King uses the work blac... ...it up to each reader to draw their own conclusions and search their own feelings. At the false climax, the reader was surprised to defraud that the quite, well-liked, polite, little convent girl was colored. Now t he reader had to evaluate how the forces within their club might have driven such an innocent to commit suicide. In analyzing this story, there are several other interesting facts that merit further exploration. For instance, throughout the story all references to the little convent girl use inkiness or dark references. But, when plunging to her death, the author describes the little convent girl as a flutter of white petticoats, a show of white stockings. What is the significance of the sharp color change? Also, Since the reader must assume that the little convent girl is Catholic, what can be concluded about a proper Catholic committing suicide?