Behind the Blue Curtain by Steven Millhauser

In the short story, Behind the Blue Curtain by Steven Millhauser,

the protagonist is a young boy whose journey begins w

In the short story, Behind the Blue Curtain by Steven Millhauser, the

protagonist is a young boy whose journey begins with a trip to the

movie theater one Saturday afternoon. Although the child attends a

feature film each weekend this Saturday is a bit different; this

weekend he must go alone, rather than with his father as per usual.

Instead of a material treasure, the young boy seeks the treasure of a

greater knowledge, enlightenment. The reader is informed of this

through a first person point of view; the boy’s, “My father was never

wrong, but I felt he was trying to shield me from darker knowledge.

The beings behind the curtain had nothing to do with childish

flip-books or the long strips of gray negatives handing in the kitchen

from silver clips.” It is clear that the narrator does not take his

father’s word for it, and prefers to seek out for himself, the lives

of the people on the silver screen. Although Millhauser does not give

an exact time or place, it can be inferred that the story takes place

during the summer, sometime in the twentieth century, and mostly at

the theater.

Throughout the course of the story while the reader is given insight

into the personality of the protagonist, the young boy’s is never

supplied. Similarly, an exact age is not given but it can be assumed

that he is a young boy, as he seems surprised by the fact that he is

allowed to go to the theater unaccompanied, “…it was decided that I

could go to the movies alone. I knew that something forbidden was

happening, but I greeted it with outward calm.” The narrator of the

story is very curious, as most c...

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role in the short story. In the beginning, the young boy describes

carefully, and in detail, the morning he attends the movie alone. The

characters he comes across behind the curtain are also described

carefully, almost as if they really exist.

By reading the story, the reader also gains a greater knowledge; that

everyone at some point must experience the transformation from

innocence to knowledge and experience. One can learn that while this

journey can start intentionally, it can also begin unexpectedly. It

is easy for the reader to relate to the protagonist of the story

because the events take place at the general location of the movie

theater, rather than a specific location. This makes the story

universal, one that many can relate to. Additionally, Behind the Blue

Curtain teaches the reader the fantasy world of movies is just that, a

fantasy.