The Perfect Murder

532 Words3 Pages
The Perfect Murder – Short Story Review The main character in this short story is the mother. She is very protective of her children. She never leaves her children by themselves for more than a little while and she always brings them back something like a present or a snack. The main character is described as loving, gentle and tender to her children. She also has a cruel merciless side and can be heartless in certain situations. The mothers name was not mentioned in the story I think this was because the narrator wanted the character to be more mysterious. The more undeveloped characters are the two children and the victim. In the story the children’s names are not mentioned and there is little description of how they look. The inclusion of the children in the story is to serve the purpose of showing the kind motherly dimension of the main character. This characterisation of the mother as gentle, protective and loving is in opposition to the cold calculated murder she is planning. The victim is not clearly identified all we know is her “quarry” is female, small and plump. The mother squeezes the life from the feeble begging victim. The victim’s death shows the cruel merciless dimension of the main character. These undeveloped characters are crucial the story because describe the nature of the main character. This story is written in the third person. The characters are referred to as “she” and “her” not “I”. The reader is in the position of observing events and actions of the main character. Third person is used in this story to build suspense about the coming murder. It also allows us to see the main character from two points of view that of her children and of the victim. Foreshadowing is an effective way of letting the reader know what is going to happen next. In the first paragraph the writer foreshadows by simply naming the event and explaining how
Open Document