In William Sleator’s “The Elevator”, a twelve-year-old boy is struck with a fear of a rickety, shabby looking elevator in his apartment building. Martin‒ the main character‒ encounters a thick-bodied woman whose actions on the elevator increase the fears in Martin’s head. Even without knowing the essential knowledge about the woman, readers can still infer what the woman’s personality is equaling because of her actions. After several encounters, Martin seeks help from his father after injuries occur. Martin’s father is no help, so Martin is forced to ride the elevator whether he likes it or not. This results in questionable actions shown by the bulky woman. The author uses craft within various scenes throughout the story to enhance the lesson
…show more content…
The author uses his craft in these scenes to emphasize the influential moral that the story illuminates. One scene that helps intensify the lesson is the very first time the author includes the corpulent female on the elevator with the main character. The woman did not stand next to Martin while riding the elevator, she stared at Martin dead in the face for every second of the transportation. This scene displays how petrified Martin is of the thick-built woman. “... clenching his teeth, fighting the impulse to squeeze his eyes shut against her” (Sleator 28). Martin is so disturbed by the woman’s actions that he shows it through his demeanor. The author uses sensory details to elucidate the terror that Martin perceives towards the woman. “And her blue eyes… were sharp and penetrating, boring into Martin’s face.” (Sleator 28). To interpret, as the lady stares at Martin, he starts to exaggerate the details of her facial features. One’s eyes could never possibly bore into another’s face. If one is afraid of someone, it is because their actions seem threatening or out of the ordinary which is explained in this scene. The sensory details used by the author intensifies and clarifies the lesson and understanding for …show more content…
While this point could be valid, it fails to account for several characters that don’t experience this. The only character that would judge another would be Martin judging the hefty woman. Also, although Martin does jump to conclusions, his conclusions ended up being correct which proves why the lesson people think the story conveys is not the best lesson the author conveys. The interaction between the main character and his dad and the chubby woman present a different claim than people may think. The claim that facing fears doesn’t always result in an outcome which is hoped for shows that the main character may be in a harmful situation which is crucial to the storyline of the text. Evidence that would indicate the lesson to be what it is would be when Martin rides the elevator with the woman. The lesson of the story shows all of the interaction between all of the characters. In spite of the people that guess the lesson to be don’t judge a book by it’s cover, more instances offer the moral to be that facing fears doesn’t consistently conclude nicely.
To conclude, various scenes show the author's craft in which the lesson is intensified and explained. The lesson of “The Elevator” by William Sleator is that facing fears doesn’t always result in a comfortable outcome. This theme connects to real life because sometimes when people face their fears, the outcome
The author uses his craft in these scenes to emphasize the influential moral that the story illuminates. One scene that helps intensify the lesson is the very first time the author includes the corpulent female on the elevator with the main character. The woman did not stand next to Martin while riding the elevator, she stared at Martin dead in the face for every second of the transportation. This scene displays how petrified Martin is of the thick-built woman. “... clenching his teeth, fighting the impulse to squeeze his eyes shut against her” (Sleator 28). Martin is so disturbed by the woman’s actions that he shows it through his demeanor. The author uses sensory details to elucidate the terror that Martin perceives towards the woman. “And her blue eyes… were sharp and penetrating, boring into Martin’s face.” (Sleator 28). To interpret, as the lady stares at Martin, he starts to exaggerate the details of her facial features. One’s eyes could never possibly bore into another’s face. If one is afraid of someone, it is because their actions seem threatening or out of the ordinary which is explained in this scene. The sensory details used by the author intensifies and clarifies the lesson and understanding for …show more content…
While this point could be valid, it fails to account for several characters that don’t experience this. The only character that would judge another would be Martin judging the hefty woman. Also, although Martin does jump to conclusions, his conclusions ended up being correct which proves why the lesson people think the story conveys is not the best lesson the author conveys. The interaction between the main character and his dad and the chubby woman present a different claim than people may think. The claim that facing fears doesn’t always result in an outcome which is hoped for shows that the main character may be in a harmful situation which is crucial to the storyline of the text. Evidence that would indicate the lesson to be what it is would be when Martin rides the elevator with the woman. The lesson of the story shows all of the interaction between all of the characters. In spite of the people that guess the lesson to be don’t judge a book by it’s cover, more instances offer the moral to be that facing fears doesn’t consistently conclude nicely.
To conclude, various scenes show the author's craft in which the lesson is intensified and explained. The lesson of “The Elevator” by William Sleator is that facing fears doesn’t always result in a comfortable outcome. This theme connects to real life because sometimes when people face their fears, the outcome