Mrs. leton English 4U lohnny Zao

Responding:
1. A) why has Mansfield included the detail and dialogue about the newly decorated office? Mansfield includes the detail and dialogue about the newly decorated office. Those details and dialogues give the setting of the short story. The Boss has a lot of new furniture and electric heating in the office, but there is a photograph, which has been there for the past six years. Here, Mansfield draws readers’ attention, gives a great comparison of “New” and “old” things. Also, this gives the setting of the death of boss’ son. On the other hand, the details of newly decorated office show how uncertain life can be.

2. Explain the symbolism of the fly and boss’s action towards it. “The Fly,” by Katherine Mansfield, is a short story which can be understood best as social Criticism. It has long been a staple of literature for authors to veil social criticism with allegory and Symbolism in subtle ways. These forcing the reader to determine for himself what a story may actually mean. The introduction of this short story indicates the Boss’ son died six years ago, and the fly in this story is the symbolism of his son. For example, the act of the boss dropping ink onto the fly repeatedly to see what it will do makes little sense if taken at face value. But the scene begins to make sense once it is acknowledged that the boss and the fly, as well as the situation itself, are symbols best understood in the context of World War One. In fact, it can be demonstrated that the use of symbolism. Allegory is carefully employed in “The Fly” in order to criticize the