Overcoming Fears In William Sleater's The Elevator

Martin, the main character of “The elevator”, is afraid of elevators. His situation got even worse when he moved into his new apartment with his dad. The apartment was old and dirty. The elevator that was in their building could only hold three people. The stairs were just as bad. They were dark and dirty as well. To make matters worse, they lived on the seventeenth floor. Later on in the story, Martin breaks his leg and is forced to ride the elevator. Martin’s dad thinks he’s being a coward and makes fun of him in a way. His dad doesn’t think he should worry about this woman and doesn’t really listen to what Martin says about this lady who always stares at him in the elevator. In William Sleator’s “The Elevator,” readers learn that you should

Have you ever dreaded something so much that you wanted to move to another country before it happens. This is the feeling Martin had when his grandpa came over. The theme in the short story the ‘Medicine Bag’ by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve is “don't judge a book by its cover” (metaphorically speaking). The three reasons are 1. He thinks he cannot stand to see his grandpa when he arrives 2. He knows his grandpa is not like the stories he tells to his friends and last but not least 3. He thinks he has to were the Medicine Bag all the time.

1. Throughout the story suspense is aroused and maintained excellently. This is achieved by the character the author creates. Mr. Martin is characterized as a neat and cautious man, who never took a smoke or a drink in his life. Our suspense is aroused when the author states that it has been “a week to the day since Mr. Martin had decided to rub out Mrs. Ulgine Barrows”. This arouses our suspense because we are told Mr. Martin is planning to murder this woman. The suspense is maintained with Mr. Martin’s thoughts. We as an audience are given his thoughts through the use of the 3rd person omniscient point of view. His thoughts are mostly on the issue on his dislike of Mrs. Barrows. Because of this, he

William Sleator does not specify him being claustrophobic. However, William Sleator shows that he is by text evidence. On the lines 14-15 there is text evidence that shows Martin’s fear of the elevator… “Coming home from school the day after they moved in, Martin tried the stairs.” This action shows avoidance. Martin is doing everything that he possibly can to avoid riding on the elevator because he is afraid of it. Another example is found in lines 4-6… “Of course he was always uncomfortable in elevators, afraid that they would fall, but there was something especially unpleasant about this one.” William Sleator states in these lines that Martin is, and always has been uncomfortable in elevators. Martin is worried about the elevator falling and he is very disturbed about this particular elevator and it’s

The idea of fear is a fairly simple concept, yet it carries the power to consume and control lives. Fears have stemmed from an inadvertent psychological response to situations deemed threating to one’s personal safety, but have evolved into a complex web of often illogical misconceptions which are able to cloud a person’s judgment and result in situations often worse than originally intended. Fears can be hard to quell, but it has been shown the best way to overcome fears is often to face them, as author James Baldwin asserted when he wrote, “To defend oneself against fear is simply to insure that one will, one day, be conquered by it; fears must be faced.” Baldwin makes strongly qualified statement, and his idea fears must be faced to

This book personally hit me on many different levels. When starting the book, I was aware of the general story; however, I had no idea I would relate to the book as much as I did. Before anyone discovered Martin was conscious of what was going on around him, he struggled with depression, and even attempted to take his own life. Martin felt his life was worthless and would have rather left the

Fernando, a Mexican-American male who was born in Los Angeles, California. He is 26 years old and currently in an exclusive relationship. Furthermore, he is a senior Mechanical Engineer major in University of California, Irvine. Fernando has been having Acrophobia, a phobia of height, for almost seven years, and every time he participates in any activities which involving climbing or elevating to a high place, he becomes anxious and fearful of the height which results him in incapability of accomplishing the activities. When Fernando experienced the fear of height for the first time, he was taking an airplane to Tijuana, Mexico alone. His first separation from his mother and siblings caused him distress and pain which amplified his

Another quote, which shows her innocence “ a large girl in a short blue organdy dress, saw him all at once and jumped up and began to stamp and point and make excited speechless sounds.” The way she behaves in this quote, reminds me of a little innocent child, jumping and making noise. The diner boy saw her holy, by saying “she looks like an angel of Gawd,” apparently Mr. Shiftlet did not because he abandoned her in “The Hot Spot” which can

We all think children are all innocent and cute, but is that really true? We always give excuses for children’s misconduct, distracting ourselves from the real truth. Kids are capable of terrible things that adults quickly ignore. Children can be very scary because of their capabilities that most adults believe to be innocent mistakes. One story that explores this fear is Ray Bradbury’s “The Man Upstairs.”

In the first place, Martin is someone who is terrified of many things and feels endangered by a stranger. The beginning of the story informs readers that Martin is small and terrified of elevators because he is claustrophobic and multiple other reasons such as the lighting, the colors, the door, etc.. This is why he continues over exaggerates throughout

She observes people because she sits down on the bench every Sunday and likes how people interact with others. The boy and the girl sat down, “ Why doesn’t she keep her silly old mug at home?” (271).They made fun of her and what she was wearing. They did not like how she was there all the time and she is old. Miss Brill also also has a usual routine, “ There were a number of people out this afternoon, far more than last Sunday.”

Although Martin’s family faces dilemmas, the love in the family remains evident. Initially, the devotion that Martin shows towards his children illustrates his good nature. Martin views his children’s faces as “radiant as flower petals, equally loved” (103). Moreover illustrating his love for his children, Martin “kissed the tiny hand that lay palm-upward” (103). Furthermore, Martin’s hope to hold his family together exhibits his affection for his family. Martin constantly attempts to calm his wife in order to avoid displays of anger(101). “Please go upstairs,”(101) Martin begs of his wife so the children do not get upset seeing their mother frustrated. Lastly, the physical and emotional desire for Emily that Martin has, further shows how he cares for his family. Comforting his wife, Martin exhibits his love for her(104). Martin watched Emily as she slept and his “old anger vanished”(104).

"As Martin watched the tranquil slumber of his wife the ghost of the old anger vanished." He knows that his emotional and physical desire for Emily may be the very element that destroys his children’s lives.

When one has a fear of something, one normally does not spend much time thinking about it, and it only affects one when one is forced to confront it.

Adrian Flynn’s playwright “The Valley of the Fear”, adapted from the novel by Conan Doyle, demonstrates how the writer uses techniques to convey an impression of suspense and mystery through scenes with a high level of anticipation and uncertainty. Suspense is achieved through the use of literary devices and events that stimulate the viewer’s moods. Readers wait with anticipation for the next secret to be revealed in strong, sudden scenes. Furthermore, Doyle creates a sense of tension by never giving the reader an entire answer so they can make up their own mind about what’s happening.