A Sunday afternoon

Sometimes even adults can behave like 2-year-olds, in a way that nobody can’t quite explain. In the short story “A Sunday afternoon” we hear about a couple at a playground with their son. Nothing seems unusual in the beginning but a bit later an unknown man and his son comes into the story. The man’s son starts throwing sand at the couple’s son and when the woman tells him to stop, a conflict between Wilson and the other man starts. It becomes unclear who are the adults and who are the children.

In the story there are 2 main charters, the woman and her husband Wilson. We don’t hear much about the couple, other than they’re reading and Wilson has his arm around the woman. Beside the couple there’s another other man, “He was a big man, and he seemed to be taking up the whole bench as he held the Sunday comics close to his face.” (s. 1 l. 28-29)
This characterization makes us get the feeling that the man is big, kind of a threat. The two kids are flat characters and we don’t get a deep characterization. We only get told that they’re kids. When the parents later on start to argue, the flat charters helps us get the feeling that the adults are taking the kids places in the conflict.

The point of view in the story is important. We see the story through the woman’s eyes; it’s a third person subjective story. We get the woman’s feelings and sympathise with her. This is import for the story because we can take part in the conflict, but still it’s not first person. This also helps us to understand her internal conflict with Wilson. That conflict is not a consistent part of the story but it’s important. It also contribute that Wilson almost hits the son in the ending. The syntax of the text I really simple, but the language is good and smooth.

The story takes place at a playground and from the beginning there’s a special mood. Calm, lazy,