The Elevator By William Sleator Analysis

In the story the elevator the theme is facing your fears . They live in an old apartment building with an eerie elevator. Martin and his dad live on the 3rd floor. Martin is terrified of the rickety old elevator. Then one day he is late for school because he cannot face his fears he runs full speed down the stairs.

Of all the battles young Martin faces from William Sleator’s “The Elevator”, a reader can grasp one of the greatest and most important themes to fit this story. When Martin and his dad move into an apartment, Martin is apprehensive about it because of the fact that the place is old and practically falling apart. For one, Martin is afraid of elevators, and he has to use an old one everyday. To top it off, he has to ride the old thing with a mysterious, creepy, fat lady. Once Martin’s situation gets to the point of being unbearable, he confronts his dad telling him about the creepy lady on the elevator. Martin’s dad is the exact opposite of how a father should be. Martin’s dad insults him whenever he looks to him for help. Also, Martin doesn’t

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

“Hello, Martin,” she said, and laughed, and pushed the STOP button. While on the elevator Martin was scared so scared he was shaking it wasn’t a pleasant feeling for him and it was even worse knowing that she knows his name now. He was wondering how she knew his name and why his dad got off and talked to her. Are they dating? Are they going to play a prank on me? Martin had all of these thoughts rambling in his head he wondered what she was always staring at him for. The fat old lady asked Martin what he was doing, Martin stood silent wondering what was going to happen to him. The old fat lady pushed the 17th floor and then pushed the stop button so it wasn’t light up anymore they make it to the 16th floor and the elevator

Along the way Martin meets Wallumudulla and learns they are all on the journey but for different reasons they know this because in wallumudullas time the property dose not exist yet wallumandulla believes the journey to “be a journey of my feet and if my spirit, I have to go alone” (pg 116) by now Martin has been though so much and his perspective of the land has changed dramatically, Martin now agrees with ted that “this isn't my place, or yours, or megs no more mine than draculers. I just look after it that's what we are human care-takers” (pg186). For the rest of the journey Martin realised how selfish he was and he now wants to become a care taker and care for the

Then it all came to Martin this is the room of the boy in the picture, the boy must be her son, the boy might have died, and she might be replacing me as her son! Martin feels like crying, but there is no time for crying, because he feels a banging on the door. She’s trying to break in what does he do Martin sees a lamp by the bed and uses it as a weapon. Finally the door was broke down, and without the fat lady seeing Martin he smashes the lamp on top of her head. Martin grabbed his crutches and tried to get down the stairs as fast as he could, but Martin was going to fast and tripped down the whole staircase. As Martin was squirming around on the ground the fat lady picked up Martin by his neck and said “You are not getting away from me this

1. Throughout the story suspense is aroused and maintained excellently. This is achieved by the character the author creates. Mr. Martin is characterized as a neat and cautious man, who never took a smoke or a drink in his life. Our suspense is aroused when the author states that it has been “a week to the day since Mr. Martin had decided to rub out Mrs. Ulgine Barrows”. This arouses our suspense because we are told Mr. Martin is planning to murder this woman. The suspense is maintained with Mr. Martin’s thoughts. We as an audience are given his thoughts through the use of the 3rd person omniscient point of view. His thoughts are mostly on the issue on his dislike of Mrs. Barrows. Because of this, he

William Sleator does not specify him being claustrophobic. However, William Sleator shows that he is by text evidence. On the lines 14-15 there is text evidence that shows Martin’s fear of the elevator… “Coming home from school the day after they moved in, Martin tried the stairs.” This action shows avoidance. Martin is doing everything that he possibly can to avoid riding on the elevator because he is afraid of it. Another example is found in lines 4-6… “Of course he was always uncomfortable in elevators, afraid that they would fall, but there was something especially unpleasant about this one.” William Sleator states in these lines that Martin is, and always has been uncomfortable in elevators. Martin is worried about the elevator falling and he is very disturbed about this particular elevator and it’s

This book personally hit me on many different levels. When starting the book, I was aware of the general story; however, I had no idea I would relate to the book as much as I did. Before anyone discovered Martin was conscious of what was going on around him, he struggled with depression, and even attempted to take his own life. Martin felt his life was worthless and would have rather left the

The author uses descriptive language to provide the reader with an insight into Martins journey. For example, Martin is aware that his Mother and Old Ted have a difficult relationship, she says “he is an impossible man, as mad as an axe” (pg 4). Another

On page 82, as Martin finally discovered the painful answer for the questions that had haunted him for month , Martin felt hurt than ever, especially when Martin's eyes reached Cesar's stare. Martin realized that revenge was a bad solution for his problem, that he was not the only victim of gang violence, that his family was not the only one that had to suffered the consequense from this battle. That answer is expressed clearly through Cesar and Martin compared how painful the answer was by using metaphors "his stare cutting me deeper than any blades". Martin's sourness was worse than any wound that caused by any blades. Violence always painful!

Even though Martin had a hard childhood, that his parents tried to protect him from. He still was born in a racial world. When Martin was 12 his grandmother died when he wasn’t there and jumped from a second story window attempting suicide. Because of Martin’s childhood it

In Martin by Nick Vaca, Vaca and his playmates react harshly to a newcomer on their block because of his weight and outward appearance, but Vaca himself later realizes his first impressions of this newcomer were incorrect. Vaca and his playmates first react viciously towards Martin because of their first impressions of him based upon his appearance. Vaca and his playmates are jealous of Martin because of his outward appearance. Early in the passage Vaca expresses his and his playmates dislike of Martin because of his belly, since "a large belly meant that a person ate...too well."

Although Martin’s family faces dilemmas, the love in the family remains evident. Initially, the devotion that Martin shows towards his children illustrates his good nature. Martin views his children’s faces as “radiant as flower petals, equally loved” (103). Moreover illustrating his love for his children, Martin “kissed the tiny hand that lay palm-upward” (103). Furthermore, Martin’s hope to hold his family together exhibits his affection for his family. Martin constantly attempts to calm his wife in order to avoid displays of anger(101). “Please go upstairs,”(101) Martin begs of his wife so the children do not get upset seeing their mother frustrated. Lastly, the physical and emotional desire for Emily that Martin has, further shows how he cares for his family. Comforting his wife, Martin exhibits his love for her(104). Martin watched Emily as she slept and his “old anger vanished”(104).

Martin is searching for a solution to his problems that will keep all his loved ones safe. Martin Meadows is an ideal husband. He works hard in his office and his home. Martin is amazingly efficient, tending to the garden, decorating for Christmas, cooking for his children, and pulling their lose teeth. He longs for the days back in Alabama when his family was happy and alcohol was not a part of their lives. From the start of the story Martin is weary from the disappointment he has encountered in the changes seen in his wife.