Mr. Parker

3 Pages 740 Words

Laurie Colwin’s story “Mr. Parker” is a wonderful and down to earth short story. The use of characters, the structure of the plot, and the style of the story makes it believable and interesting. “Mr. Parker” shows the physical and emotional effect of becoming an adult. In addition, it gives the idea that people should not be in a hurry to grow up because they will miss out on their childhood.
Colwin makes a great decision by using third person limited in her story. This let the reader understand the main character Jane. Also, it helps show how Jane gradually sees herself growing up. In the beginning of the story she still sees herself as a child. “We were adolescent enemies of a loving sort, and since we didn’t know what else to do, we expressed our love in slaps and pinches.” says Jane on page 68. However, as the story continues, she sees herself evolve. “ I won’t go to Mrs. Murchison. I have outgrown her!” is how Jane reacts when her mother tries to send her back to her old piano teacher on page 70. The plot is extremely believable and related to real life. The way all the characters act is very realistic, especially the mother of Jane. Jane’s mother is to overprotective that she can’t see that her daughter is safe with the piano teacher. This happens with many other parents in real situations. Another example of Colwin’s relation to reality is the fight between the mother and daughter. Everything that is said can be related to another fight others have had with there parents. This story did an excellent job in holding the attention of the reader. Its conflict was very complex and dealt with many emotions between all the characters. Colwin has a very nice variety of characters in her story. Jane is a well-rounded character that develops throughout the story. The rest are flat characters that help the story move along and explain the theme.
“Mr. Parker” has a distinct becoming of age theme. It d...