The Painted Door Character Analysis

1. Characters: -Ann -Steven - John - The storm There is a conflict between Ann and Steven because Steven is what Ann wants and cannot have. She is tempted by Steven due to the conflict between her and the storm. The storm makes Ann lonely and creates a barrier between her and her husband John. Ann loves John but feels that John is working all the time in order to give her things she does not want. All Ann wants is John’s company.
2. The atmosphere within “The Painted Door” is one of guilt. Ann deals with the guilt she has a result of cheating on John with Steven. Before Ann sleeps with Steven, he tries to reassure her and ease her guilt by telling her “’It’s too rough a night’...‘Even for John. …show more content…
The community sees the giraffe as a threat while the boys see it as a friend. In order to protect the giraffe, the boys must find a safe spot for it so the community members do not kill the giraffe.
2. The boys see the giraffe as a friend while the community perceives it as a threat. The community has been affected by prejudice while the boys retain their innocence. The town does not accept the giraffe “because there’s room only for the things that are already there” (Sensei 104). As a result of the communities prejudice, they attempt to kill the giraffe. The boys are open to new things whereas the community is not and therefore, the boys find it within themselves to save the giraffe. The innocence and openness of the boys allows them to view the giraffe as a “wonderful animal” (102) as it is foreign to their environment. Due to their innocence, the boys are not plagued by prejudice and are able to see things, such as the giraffe, for what they truly are. As the boys are hiding the giraffe from the community members, they take it to a church and believe “God will certainly be happy to have it as a guest” (102) as it is one of God’s creations. The Priest made the boys take the giraffe out of the church as he believed it did not belong there. The views of the boys and the community members differ regarding the …show more content…
The relationship between Indigenous peoples and the government has always been tense. Levy’s car breaks down and the Indian man assists by taking Levy’s car apart. Levy is agitated at how long it is taking for his car to be fixed, creating conflict between him and the Indian. Since Levy works for the government, the Indian inherently has conflict with him and as a result, the Indian pushes Levy into the gasoline tank where his impending doom awaits.
2. “The Thing That Grows in the Gasoline Tank” is set on a decaying reserve. The garage of the Indian man is a “ramshackle monstrosity of a building” (Brett 38). Everything on the reserve has been worn out and is in need of repair. The setting represents the state of Indigenous people. Their lives, much like their living situations are deteriorating due to the poor treatment they endured from the Europeans.
4. The climax is when a hand is pulled out of the gasoline tank. This is the moment of highest intensity as the mystery of what is inside the gasoline tank is revealed to Levy. The Indian man tells Levy that the hands inside the gasoline tank are the hands of his dead people. The fact that the hands are in the gasoline tank shows the poor conditions Indigenous people endure. People cannot live in toxic environments such as gasoline tanks, and as a result, Indigenous peoples will die due to their poor living