Grace Paley's 'A Man Told Me The Story Of His Life'

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Khoirunnisa’ Irodatillah
Maria Niayu Risma Novianti
Composition & Rhetoric II ENGL-1302 7002 JK3
October 12, 2016

Plot Analysis from Paley’s A Man Told Me the Story of His Life

Grace Paley was recognized as American writer. She is the author of three short story collection books, Little Disturbances of Man (1959), Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1974), and Later the Same Day (1985). Alongside as a writer, she also been an activist, supporting various anti-war, anti-nuclear, and feminist movements. For her story, she prefers to chronicle the everyday lives of men and woman; also for this story. A Man Told Me the Story of His Life was very short, but it could contain the explanation/introduction part until the ending, and could touch a flashback mode.
Paley gave the introduction part directly with a conversation. It introduced a man named Vicente that want to be a doctor. The story showed that he had a passion for that. He studied every bone and organ in the body, how it is for and how it works.
The school wanted Vicente to be an engineer, it was a contradiction. The school said that He understands mathematics, so it will be good for him to be an engineer. In this part, the external conflict between Vicente and the school came up.
The contradiction was getting increase; This would be the climax of this story. Nor …show more content…

Paley introduce the appearance of character with conversation. Continued to the contradiction between Vicente and the school, made the external conflict between them. The climax will be when they won’t give up and debating their opinion. Then, for falling action Paley put Vicente’s loss with accept the school’s suggestion. At the end, Vicente life happily with his wife and three children. This would be an interesting part, when Paley put on a flashback part when Vicente saved his wife’s life and showed that actually he could be a

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