Flash Fiction:Literary AnalysisGuided Practice

“Bedtime Story”

By: Jeffrey Whitmore

Bedtime Story

“Careful, honey, it’s loaded,” he said, re-

entering the bedroom.

Her back rested against the headboard.

“This for your wife?”

“No. Too chancy. I’m hiring a

professional.”

“How about me?”

He smirked. “Cute. But who’d be dumb

enough to hire a lady hit man?”

She wet her lips, sighting along the

barrel.

“Your wife.By: Jeffrey Whitmore

Describe the protagonist of the story. What can we infer about the main character based on clues from the text?

• Untrustworthy - Cheating on his wife• Dangerous criminal - Planned murder of his wife• Sexist - Thinks women are inferior to men• Protective - Keeps a loaded gun in the bedroom

PROTAGONIST

“Somebody”

Who is the main character?

MOTIVATION

“Wanted”

What does the main character want?

CONFLICT“But...”

What is the problem?

RISING ACTION

“So”

What does the main character do?

CONCLUSION

“Then”

What happens in the end?

Characters, Conflict, & Plot

The protagonist is a cheating husband.

But his wife is alive and they are

married.

So he hires a hit man to kill his

wife.

Then it’s revealed that the wife hired the “other woman” to kill the husband.

He wanted to be free from his

wife.

Characters and Conflict

What type of conflict does the protagonist experience?

Person vs. Person: (Husband vs. wife and husband vs. hit woman/mistress)

Theme

What may the protagonist have learned about life by the end of the story?

What is one possible theme of this story?

• Women are just as capable and powerful as men• What goes around comes around• No one can be trusted• One should always watch their back• Those we know very well still surprise us

Your Turn -Group Literary Analysis

1. Chose one story below to read in your group:

“Moment of Decision”“On the 5:25 Suburban”“Higher Education”

2. Complete the Literary Analysis PowerPoint questions as a group. (WebMailed to you on 3/17).

3. Submit completed PowerPoint through WebMail (one per group).