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Quotes From The Elevator By William Sleator

Decent Essays

Martin, the main character of “The elevator”, is afraid of elevators. His situation got even worse when he moved into his new apartment with his dad. The apartment was old and dirty. The elevator that was in their building could only hold three people. The stairs were just as bad. They were dark and dirty as well. To make matters worse, they lived on the seventeenth floor. Later on in the story, Martin breaks his leg and is forced to ride the elevator. Martin’s dad thinks he’s being a coward and makes fun of him in a way. His dad doesn’t think he should worry about this woman and doesn’t really listen to what Martin says about this lady who always stares at him in the elevator. In William Sleator’s “The Elevator,” readers learn that you should …show more content…

The author uses dialogue to show this scene. This leads to the theme because it shows how Martin decided to do something about it when he noticed seeing her. “ ‘Hello, Martin,’ she said, and laughed, and pushed the stop button” (Sleator 31). This quote shows how Martin was right after all. He was aware of his surroundings, even though it didn’t end …show more content…

This all started when Martin started using the elevator. He always saw her staring at him, so he became uncomfortable and saw her as if she was threatening. The lady wore dirty clothes and had an appearance as if she was poor. “She wore a threadbare green coat that ballooned around her; her ankles bulged above her dirty sneakers, Martin was sure he felt it sink under her weight” (Sleator 28). To show this scene, the author uses specific detail. This helps lead to the theme by showing how he noticed her from her appearance and the way she acted that she wasn’t innocent. Martin is afraid because he isn’t sure if this lady is a danger to him. Another incident where Sleator used specific detail is “Coming home from school the day after they moved in, Martin tried the stairs. But they were almost as bad. Windowless, shadowy, with several dark landings where the light bulbs had burned out” (Sleator 27). This showed specific detail, while still showing the theme, always be aware of your

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