The Vanishing American Analysis

The Man That Went Unnoticed

Going through the motions has never been so real. Within the story “The Vanishing American,” Mr. Minchell is going through his daily routine just like any other day; however, this night he is staying late at work to finish a tape. He says his goodbyes to his co workers, yet no one answered him. Mr. Minchell has begun his day in the life as a shadow.

Mr. Minchell has vanished from the eyes of those around him. Today is his forty-seventh birthday. There are several situations in which Mr. Minchell tries to start conversations, but he is ignored. The first two situations are when he is at work. He says goodbye to his co workers, and to his boss; however they do not answer him. This is happening because he is stuck in the same daily tasks while nothing changes. He is not doing anything outside of his routine. He does not attempt to change up his life, rather he would stay in a rut. Mr. Minchell heads over to the drugstore. The drugstore is not given a name in the story because it holds less significance than most other places. This …show more content…
Minchell had arrived at the library. He sat down, looked up, and saw King Richard. King Richard is a statue of a lion outside of the library; however, to Mr. Minchell the lion is more than just a statue. The statue represents the freedom that he needed his whole life. He closed his eyes and imagined he was riding the lion. This was his ticket out of his boring, routine stuck life. He opened his eyes, and he felt a feeling of sadness. He feels sad because he thinks he will never be able to have his dream and get out of his rut. As he begins to cry he hears laughter. He looks up and sees boys laughing at him. This happens because he finally achieved part of his dream, which is to ride King Richard. Henry Minchell is finally noticeable again. He is overjoyed and hugs the lion statue. He feels gratitude towards King Richard for helping him reappear and understand that he should follow his