The Night In Question
Tobias Wolff
‘The Night in Question’ is one of a collection of fifteen short stories by Tobias Wolff published in 1996 by the same name. The story gives us an insight into human desires and its varied exhibitions in different situations. Wolff is an American fiction writer, who hated cruelty and violent behavior. This attitude was due to the violent behavior of his alcoholic stepfather who infused extreme physical and emotional strain in Wolff’s life. This aspect may be seen in ‘The Night in Question’ in which the author attempts to stress on family ties, loyalty, love, affection and selflessness. The three central characters of the short story are Frank, Frances and Mike, the switchman, both of whom had had a disturbing childhood due to their violent stepfather. Frances always saved her brother from those atrocities and always stood by him in times of dire need. One evening when the two met, Frank relates the story of a switchman who is in a dilemma to choose between the lives of hundreds of passengers on a train and the life of his very own son. Wolff uses the story of the switchman as a flashback to stress on the importance of selflessness and to highlight evil human traits prevalent in the society. A society in which people are concerned only about their own gains.
The violent childhood experiences of Frank and Frances, add more strength to the emotions of the central characters. Frances would do anything to save her brother as she loved him dearly. When Frank related the story of the switchman in which he must sacrifice his son to save the lives of several people, Frances objected sternly and asked if Frank he would do the same thing if he had to choose between her and the passengers. Frank did not answer. Mike, on the other hand, was a selfless, religious person who believed that he had to sacrifice the life of his son to save the people on the train.
Wolff attempts to touch various human emotions like love, care, bonding, loyalty, piety and selflessness. The story plot resolves around Frank’s unstable, emotional state of the mind at the beginning, which transforms into an emotionally controlled person at the end. Frances’ emotional strength which could be seen right from her childhood is used to depict the weak emotional setting of Frank. The story of Mike, the switchman is based on a setting at the station, a very busy place which can be compared to the world in which we live. We are expected to make choices in several stages of our lives. These, choices are sometimes not in our favor as was the case with Mike.
According to Burroway’s analysis, ‘The Night in Question’ may be viewed as a story of power struggle in which the protagonist needs to make choices. In the given story, there are two protagonists namely Frank and Mike. Both of them needed to make choices. Frank needs to decide whom he would choose between his sister and the passengers on the train. Mike, too, needs to decide to choose between the passengers on the train and his very own son. However, the story is left incomplete to leave the reader in suspense and tension, and to guess for themselves the pros and cons of such decisions.
Summary of Reviews
Matt Evans in Good Reads
Matt Evans found the collection ‘The Night in Question’, a real treat. According to him, the book is filled with ‘saucy’ and funny words which make the reader laugh loudly. Evans found that Wolff was not a serious fiction writer but he mixed it with a lot of non-fiction and practicality. This kind of fiction makes it more readable and real. Wolff also stresses on detail to add to the practicality. Evans also mentions the style of Wolff’s writing as slowly emerging and revealing facts little by little. All these factors make a good read and Evans would like to read it again.
Book Review: The Night in Question by Tobias Wolff by Patrick T. Reardon.
Reardon defined the book as one which is not a conventional story which has a proper beginning and a proper end. In fact most of the stories of the collection have an open ending which leaves the reader to keep guessing what the outcome would be. Death is also a major component of the story in which Mike, the switchman is forced to choose between the death of passengers and death of his son. According to Reardon, the characters in Wolff’s story are always at life’s edge, fearful, uncertain and even lonely like Frank.
Hard Situations and Easy Morals in Tobias Wolff’s Short Fiction- John Lingam
Lingam quotes Wolff who decided on the title of the book as ‘The Night in Question’ because he wanted a name which would create a slow unfolding of the stories to the reader. Lingam goes on to explain the style of Wolff’s writing. His style was to unravel hidden human nature like lies, violence, intolerance and ethical missteps. His writings always highlighted the problems of adolescents due to elders.
Reflection on Reproducible Techniques
‘The Night in Question’ is a story of power struggle. The qualities of bonding, loyalty, love and selflessness have been stressed upon. The protagonist Mike faces a tough situation in which he may have to sacrifice his son for the sake of other people. The setting of the control room and the open ending, tenses the reader too, creating a nail-biting experience to guess what would happen eventually. This is the surprise element which keeps the reader on the edge. The use of negative characters such as Frank’s violent stepfather and the evil description of the passengers on the train, adds to the innocence of both Frank and Mike respectively.
‘The Last Dinner’ is a short story of the power struggle of the protagonist Margaret who tries to protect her little daughter from her alcoholic father’s abuse. More detail can be added to the setting of the story to add depth to Margaret’s choices in life. Jenny’s father, the negative character of the story needs to be emphasized more on his negative qualities and his atrocious attitude. This negativity would increase the righteousness of Margaret and Jenny. The reader would be more empathetic towards them. Effects of abuse on Jenny and the family could also be elaborated. The harsh nature of Jenny’s father and his uncomprehending behavior can be elaborated to emphasize the protagonist behavior of Margaret. The open ending in both the stories is a common feature which leaves the reader intrigued and anxious.
