Short Story Analysis:
“On the Sidewalk Bleeding” By: Evan Hunter
1. Who? –
Andy
2. Identify
the main character – Andy
3. Identify
the minor characters – Laura, Freddie & Angela
4. Who is
the “perpetrator”? – The drunk man mentioned on page 2 of the short story
6. Could
the Victim also be responsible for what happened in the end? – Yes, he is
responsible for the ending because when Laura calls the cops Andy is still wearing
his Royals jacket with his name on it therefore, he was identified as a Royal. The
cops did not hesitate to believe Laura they said “A Royal, huh?” If he had not
been wearing the jacket, he would not have been stabbed.
Who are the rival gangs? Name: Royals and the
What? Plot line – summarize the events of the story in a
short form
First, Andy is laying on the sidewalk bleeding in the
rain. He is wearing a bright purple jacket and on the back of the jacket it
says “THE ROYALS”. On the front of his jacket just over his heart it says his
name printed with black thread. It says “Andy”.
Next, Andy realizes that he is dying when he
attempts to get help and does not receive any. Andy wondered if Laura would be
angry. He originally left to get a pack of cigarettes but never returned. Then,
Andy heard footsteps at the other end of the alley. He saw the couple coming
into the alley running from the rain. Andy watched them run into the alley
laughing together and then duck into the doorway about ten feet from him. He stood
there and hungered for Laura’s lips as the couple kissed.
Then, Andy realized that maybe he was dying
but said to himself “I can’t be dying, not from a little street rumble, not
from just being cut.” Next, Angela heard a sound and asked Freddie to go and
check. Along came Freddie over to Andy, finally somebody has noticed him! They
asked Andy if he was okay. Angela said “let’s get out of here” but Freddie
continued to find out what was wrong. Angela and Freddie wanted to be healers
but were afraid of getting caught up in the ‘Royals’ gang or even getting
caught so they left.
Finally, Laura found him. The jacket only had
one meaning now, and that was very obvious. If Andy was not wearing the jacket
he would not have been stabbed. The cops continuously told Laura that Andy was
dead, he was going to die at any minute. She tried her best to tell them who he
was. Laura found Andy in the doorway past midnight and left a dance for him
when she found him. She ran until she found a cop. The cop took out his black
pad and he flipped it open to blank page and begun writing. “A Royal”, he said.
Then he began writing.
Where? Setting: The story occurred in a city down in an
alley on a sidewalk in an alley in the pouring rain at night. A boy by the name
of Andy was laying on the sidewalk bleeding in the rain. When Andy was trying
to receive help from others around him he failed at doing so because, he was
dying and had no voice. He was wearing a jacket that read ‘THE ROYALS’ with his
name on the back. The Royal was not a good thing and this got him into a lot of
trouble in the end.
Why? The reasons: The cause of the conflict is that Andy
was wearing clothing that related to a gang and therefore caused him some
problems and caused his death. Due to this there was a bad effect which was the
fact that Andy no longer had a life ahead of him. Everything he had planned was
never going to happen from the moment he was stabbed. He wore a Jacket with the
name of a gang printed on it along with his name. In the end, his wife found
him and reported it to the cops. When the cops came he was wearing the jacket
and could not take it off and hide it therefore, he was in even more trouble
than before. Laura which is Andy’s boyfriend, was told that he was going to die
and the cop started writing in his black book.
Imagery: “He lifted his face slightly and looking up at
the man, and in the rain swept alley he smelled the sickening odor of alcohol”.
This piece of information gives us the idea of smell, touch, sight and hearing.
The passage on page 2 of the short story states that Andy has been met on the
sidewalk by a drunk man. He can smell the alcohol and hear the drops of the
rain on the ground. Andy cannot only hear and smell but, he can see the man
when he slowly lifts his face off the ground.
Why did Andy want to be identified as “Andy” and not as a
Royal?
Andy wanted to be identified as an individual. He didn’t
want to be known as somebody who was a part of a gang. He did not want to be
known as a perpetrator and as someone who others would be afraid of. It was not
his intention to be a part of the gang. He walked innocently on the road and
because of his clothing he was stabbed. He wanted to do a lot of things with
his girlfriend and hoped to one day marry her and have children. None of this
would be possible if he was known as a Royal because his family and wife would
also be in danger.
Creative
Writing:
Rain is sweet, I’m
Andy.
Little did we know Laura was walking around at night
hoping she would find her boyfriend once again? She walked miles before she
could find him. It just so happened that when she was walking pass the alley
she heard a little screeching sound. She thought to herself “ I better run, I’m
alone with no Andy. The minute Laura looked down at the ground there she saw
Andy, bleeding in the rain.
She screamed his name “Andy! It’s me Laura!” Andy did not
reply. Laura bursted into tears feeling hopeless. She tried to save her husband
and in addition to this she helped Andy to remove the jacket that said
‘Royals’.
Andy did not want to be known as Royals, he wanted to be
known as Andy. She tried speaking with Andy and all she could see was that he
was slowly dying, painfully and it completely broke her heart.
In the end, Laura choose to sit with Andy and take as
much care of him as she could. She called the ambulance and got Andy right away
to the hospital. When they got to the hospital Andy said his last words,
knowing he was going to die he reached out for Laura’s hand and said “I’m sorry
this happened, I love you”.
Laura had been beyond broken at this point. She had no
hope, no more tears because she cried so much and she was lost without good old
Andy.
Laura thought to herself all the things that Andy thought
to himself when he couldn’t find her and was alone on the sidewalk. She
wondered if she would ever be with him again in heaven.
The
End.