Part1
The events in the story unfold in modern day Chicago on top of a high rise 15 stories building where a couple in their mid thirties is facing marital problems. James, now 35 years old, and Louise 33, have been married for the last 15 years, and are grappling with infidelity issues where Louise accuses James of having an affair with another female character, Patty. Louise has the intentions of making her husband pay for his unfaithfulness by forcing him, at gun point, to jump from the 15 story building to end his life. The incident takes place at around evening hours when most people are coming out from work, to provide the crowd that gathers around to witness the fall.
Louise has persevered a lot in her marriage that has lasted fifteen years that has seen her husband cheat on her with Patty. James represents the traditionally unfaithful man who is not satisfied by just one woman. The husband, realizing that the wife means business, and that she indeed intends to make him suffer, is more willing to apologize and tell her things he thinks she would wish to hear. She has been planning the perfect murder for a very long time; for as long as the time her husband has been playing her. Her sufferings indicate a traditional setting where man has been accused of undermining the female character. Women for a very long time have been considered the lesser endowed gender faced with the oppressions of her dominant male counterpart. They are also consider to be the main cause of their own dilemmas; Patty, the side woman is about to destroy another woman’s relationship/marriage. Women were also used as a tool for sexual pleasure by their non-caring male counterparts (Brittan, 1984).this period is clearly brought out in the story. However Louise fights to end this period by terminating James life. This symbolizes the end of male dominion.
The story brings out a much modern setting where women have realized their rights as human beings, and even perform duties that for a very long time were left to men. For instance, Louise can afford to utter abusive word s at her husband. Louise represents the modern woman who fights for equality in a world that now recognizes the female being. Her acts of courage, using a gun to revenge against her husband’s acts of infidelity portray the modern day feminists who are hell-bent on liberating women from selfish men (Williams and Deborah, 1990). The mention of insurance further portrays a modern setting where man struggles to insure his properties and life from life’s uncertainty. The story reveals that change is not easy to effect.
The age of technological advancement is characterized by improved lifestyle; man now lives in big buildings, away from the farm lands. Women go to salons to add more appeal to their physical appearance. This period is also characterized by materialism: women care more for the material things as opposed to keeping their relationships. For instance, Louise reveals her intentions of killing James, then playing the victim hence running away with the insurance money and living happily ever after. Greed and thirst for power also characterizes the technological advancement period and the 21st century. Louise is greedy for the insurance money, and would eliminate her husband to enjoy it.
Within the one hour event, Louise flashes back to reveal an old setting; that which suggest the agricultural period when James liven in the village. We are introduced to James fear of heights in his grandmother’s garden where apples are grown. James falls from his grandmother’s apple tree, and breaks his arm. This indicates the economic activity during this period in time as opposed to the current setting where people live in towns surrounded by high rise buildings.
Furthermore, the introduction of the old setting at James grandmother’s house develops the plot of the story; currently, there are no apple trees that Louise would use as her place of homicide. Instead the high building where he leads James to is used, indicating the development in time and age. She bases her choice of the place on the events that took place when James was young: events that causes James’ phobia for heights.
This story is set in a much modern time that is characterized by increased cases of suicide and homicides motivated by life’s rising social and financial issues. In the past five years, there have been rising cases of suicide in the United States of America and in the whole world. Domestic issues and relationships have been considered as the major causes of this in recent studies. In the United States, suicide is rated as the sixth cause of death by the National safety council. Reports also indicate that there are high cases of suicides among men of about 35 years of age in America as compared to women (Bertolote and Fleischmann, 2002). Infidelity and lack of trust among marriage partners in the modern day setting is normality as both men and women seek to find sexual pleasure. This is also considered by studies as the major cause of conflicts between couples in the recent years.
Part 2
The setting of the story is the same Chicago city, a modern city characterized by huge buildings. The events unfold in 5th street downtown Chicago at the ledge of the 15th floor of one of the story buildings. It is in the evening as traffic is high, and the security team is taking a little bit longer to reach to the scene. A broadcast media reporter is at the scene of the incident to report on a possible suicide event involving a man. This is a modern setting characterized by emergency response units, at a time when human beings have developed immensely in terms of security, infrastructure and technology.
In conclusion, the story takes place in a modern city: The use of telephones by the reporter and possibility of a live coverage indicates the technological advancement age where information dissemination is made easier and faster. During the end of the 20th century, man experienced a tremendous development in the broadcast industry with the discoveries in telephony industry. The development in digital communication has enhanced mass media practitioners’ ability to deliver live information to the public as events unfold (Jenkins, 2006).
Bertolote J. M and Fleischmann A (2002). Suicide and psychiatric diagnosis: a worldwide perspective. In World Psychiatry 1 (3): 181–5.
Brittan, A (1984). Sexism, racism and oppression. Blackwell. p. 236.
Jenkins, H (2006). Convergence Culture. New York: New York University Press,
Williams, J E. and Deborah, L (1990). Best. Measuring Sex Stereotypes: A Multinational Study.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
