The Man of The House - Interactive Lesson

The Man of The House

The Man of The House, by Frank O'Connor, is a story about Sullivan, a little boy of ten years. He is the only child of his mother and they are of meager means. The mother is working and the son, like any other boy of his age goes to school. However, his mother becomes ill and it is up to him to get some medicine for her to recover.

Narrative point of view

We can clearly identify the narrative point of view of the story throughout. Think carefully about what it is and respond to the question in the next slide.

Multiple Choice

What is the narrative point of view of the story?

• Third person omniscient

• Second person

• First person

• Third person - limited

The story begins with the phrase " When I woke up, I heard my mother coughing..."

From the onset, we know that the main character is a child, and this gives the reader some insight into how the story will progress.

However, phrases such as "I wasn't a malicious child, by any means, but I liked to be able to take out my comforts and study them by the light of others' misfortunes" gives us further insight into this narrative style. What might this be?

Multiple Choice

The narrator is

• Narrating as a child

• Narrating as an older man; he is reflecting on his childhood experience

• disassociated from the experience

• very mature for his age

Multiple Select

With a child narrator, what are some themes the reader can anticipate?

• Childhood innocence

• Mother - child relationship

• Death

• Racism

Thereafter, we are introduced to the other characters within the story. We have Mrs Sullivan, Minnie Ryan, Bob Connell, Johnnie Barmaid, Dooly and The Doctor.

Multiple Choice

This character is sick throughout the story

• Mrs Sullivan

• Sullivan

• Millie Ryan

• The Doctor

Multiple Choice

This character is the first to come help Mrs Sullivan

• Minnie Ryan

• Sullivan

• The Doctor

• Bob Connell

Multiple Choice

This character is described as being "a fat, loud voiced man" who doesn't take good care of himself

• Minnie Ryan

• The barmaid

• The Doctor

• The man in the bar

Multiple Choice

This character influences Sullivan to drink the medicine

• Dooley

• Bob Connell

• Minnie Ryan

• The doctor

Narrative point of view

The narrative voice is one of first person. However, how does this influence the flow of the story?

Discuss

Multiple Select

The narrative point of view influences the flow of the story in that

• As first person narrator, we get a look at Sullivan's thoughts and feelings as a child.

• The story is written in autobiographical mode. As such, we see Sullivan's experiences as an adult and child

• The events that occur reflect his childish innocence and causes the reader to emphasize rather than judge

• The mother and son relationship is further emphasized through language use

Discussion Question

What are some of the themes that immediately jump out at you after reading the story?

Multiple Choice

Which is not one of the themes evident throughout?

• Childhood innocence

• Revenge

• Love and family relationships

• Religion: Good versus evil

• Redemption

Narrative techniques evidenced

We see several major narrative techniques utilized in the story. Can you name and explain a few?

Multiple Choice

Select one major narrative technique utilized in the story to advance the plot

• Metaphoric language

• Narrative point of view

• Auditory and visual imagery

• Dialogue