Once Upon A Time

"the bleeding mass of the little boy was hacked out of the security coil with saws, wire-cutters, choppers, and they carried it--the man, the wife, the hysterical trusted housemaid and the weeping gardener--into the house." -pg. 236

I think this short story was my favorite because it showed the huge discrepancy between fairy tales and reality. I also read imagery as the biggest literary device utilized. First, I got a vivid picture when the house the family bought was described as "the most honest in its suggestion of the pure concentration-camp style, no frills, all evident efficacy." This created an eerie and "hardcore" picture of a home in the story. Whereas the family saw it as the ultimate security, it showed the brutality of reality and division between upper and lower classes. That leads to my first quote, where the boy thinks he is a fairy tale prince, so he ventures outside and tries to conquer the "thicket of thorns" that is actually deadly wire fence designed to keep things out. Ultimately, this imagery reinforces one of the major themes: don't get caught up in fantasy, or you might just get caught up in barbed-wire. Ooh that was bad....