"I'm a Fool" is a short story written by the American Sherwood Anderson. The author tells the story of a young unschooled boy who tries to achieve everyday goals by means of ordinary means in a straightforward way. The theme of I'm a Fool deals with the aftermath which come as a result of lack of morality, deceitfulness, falseness. The conflict of this story lies on the shape that lies take; it is a contradiction between what the protagonist should and should not do. Therefore, we can say that this is an abstract conflict: he opposes his own ideas, what constitutes the major element of the plot.
The narrator is the main character: the swipe, he is completely involved in the actions that take place throughout the story, what permits the existence of a complete understanding of the events by the narrator. I'm a Fool is told in a first-person point of view.
English: Photo of author Sherwood Anderson.
Tuesday Afternoon
English: Signature of Sherwood AndersonThis allows the author to keep and increase the interest of the readers towards the plot; it is narrative means that makes possible the interaction between narrator and reader.
However, in some cases the author changes the narration point of view towards a second-person point of view, mainly in paragraphs 8, and 10-14. This means makes possible to maintain the same kind of register while narrating without having to use pronouns such as: he or she, for instance:
Gee whizz, it was fun. You got to a county seat town, maybe say on a Saturday or Sunday, and the fair began the next Tuesday and lasted until Friday afternoon. Doctor Fritz would be, say in the 2.25 trot on Tuesday afternoon and on Thursday afternoon Bucephalus would knock 'em cold in the "free-for-all" pace. It left you a lot of time to hang around and...