Effect of Doppelganger in W.S by L.P Hartley
In this literary analysis, I will be focusing all of my thoughts on W.S by L.P Hartley. Basically, W.S is about how Walter Streeter is being chased by the character portrayed in his book The Outcast and supposedly his alternate self, William Strainsforth. This story is characterised by homogenous texts and also easily separated by eight fragments. Now, in this analysis, I will be analysing the effect of a doppelgänger in W.S and how it effect the structure of the story. Also, I will discuss on how doppelganger ruins some part of the story by directly quoting from the text. Doppelganger is a term used to describe a double or a look-alike.
As one said before, your greatest enemy is yourself. The …show more content…
The clue for this rise in conflicts can be found first in the postcards sent to Walter Streeter as the letter contains information that only Walter Streeter knows which suggests a stalker but as it progresses it started talking about how he (William Stainsforth) feels. Also at the end of every letter, the writer of that letter always ends with “handshake” but as the postcards kept coming in the tone and the language the writer uses get more intense. For example, it starts with “a handshake” then “firm handshake” then “hearty handshake” then for the last two postcards the writer decide to use two different languages, French and Italian respectively which translates to “a hard handshake” These handshakes are in chronological order to the postcards sent. In the story, especially at the end, the use of doppelganger is very significant as both characters met with each other. “Well, if you can tell me of one virtue you ever credited me with…… I’ll let you off.” This is the best quote that supports my idea that a doppelganger always promises consequences if the main character does not come up with a sort of acknowledgement about him or her and in this case Walter died due to the fact that he could not find any light in William’s darkness and this changes the way the readers think because all along we all thought that William Strainsforth is the bad guy but …show more content…
The art of doppelganger in this story started early with the brief explanation in each postcard about the main character so there was a clear character description for Walter Streeter and also a slightly less detailed information on William Strainsforth but both character are indeed described. Also, the use of doppelganger is very vital to the lead up of the rise in conflict between the two characters. However, the use of this method with only using one person does makes it more confusing and does not put up to logic. Moreover, it gives us a chance to bring up different imagination on what happened to Walter Streeter and how he ended up on the floor lifeless with mysterious clues left behind such as snow on William’s shoulders when there was no snow reported and other clues. In my opinion the purpose of a doppelganger in this story is the breakdown of one man that could not control his alternate self and let it take control over him. Even though it was a little bit confusing, it was a brilliant piece of writing by L.P
In this literary analysis, I will be focusing all of my thoughts on W.S by L.P Hartley. Basically, W.S is about how Walter Streeter is being chased by the character portrayed in his book The Outcast and supposedly his alternate self, William Strainsforth. This story is characterised by homogenous texts and also easily separated by eight fragments. Now, in this analysis, I will be analysing the effect of a doppelgänger in W.S and how it effect the structure of the story. Also, I will discuss on how doppelganger ruins some part of the story by directly quoting from the text. Doppelganger is a term used to describe a double or a look-alike.
As one said before, your greatest enemy is yourself. The …show more content…
The clue for this rise in conflicts can be found first in the postcards sent to Walter Streeter as the letter contains information that only Walter Streeter knows which suggests a stalker but as it progresses it started talking about how he (William Stainsforth) feels. Also at the end of every letter, the writer of that letter always ends with “handshake” but as the postcards kept coming in the tone and the language the writer uses get more intense. For example, it starts with “a handshake” then “firm handshake” then “hearty handshake” then for the last two postcards the writer decide to use two different languages, French and Italian respectively which translates to “a hard handshake” These handshakes are in chronological order to the postcards sent. In the story, especially at the end, the use of doppelganger is very significant as both characters met with each other. “Well, if you can tell me of one virtue you ever credited me with…… I’ll let you off.” This is the best quote that supports my idea that a doppelganger always promises consequences if the main character does not come up with a sort of acknowledgement about him or her and in this case Walter died due to the fact that he could not find any light in William’s darkness and this changes the way the readers think because all along we all thought that William Strainsforth is the bad guy but …show more content…
The art of doppelganger in this story started early with the brief explanation in each postcard about the main character so there was a clear character description for Walter Streeter and also a slightly less detailed information on William Strainsforth but both character are indeed described. Also, the use of doppelganger is very vital to the lead up of the rise in conflict between the two characters. However, the use of this method with only using one person does makes it more confusing and does not put up to logic. Moreover, it gives us a chance to bring up different imagination on what happened to Walter Streeter and how he ended up on the floor lifeless with mysterious clues left behind such as snow on William’s shoulders when there was no snow reported and other clues. In my opinion the purpose of a doppelganger in this story is the breakdown of one man that could not control his alternate self and let it take control over him. Even though it was a little bit confusing, it was a brilliant piece of writing by L.P