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'The Escape' Analysis

Decent Essays

Analysis of the story “The Escape” by Somerset Maugham.
Sometimes men cannot say “No” to women, although they want it, and that’s why they have to make up some situations to make women say them “No”. The short story “The Escape” written by Somerset Maugham is exactly about this case, about the conflict between man and woman, and this escape is the main theme of the text. The idea of the story is that one should put on his thinking and act very carefully, as sometimes procrastination can give better results than haste. The message of the story is that a woman can be sly and scheming, but a man can make it his way also.
This story makes the reader think about life and relationships and it is not surprising, because S. Maugham became known …show more content…

This is the exposition of the story. The exposition is written in the ironic tone. Such epithets as instant flight, inevitable loom, the narrator’s note “with a tooth brush for all his luggage, so conscious was he of his danger and the necessity for immediate action” make this effect. Then comes the inciting moment, in which both Roger Charing and Ruth Barlow are introduced. It is said that Ruth was twice a widow and it is said ironic, because the reader can think that Roger is the next victim, through the simile “He went down like a row of ninepins”. He also gives a direct description of Ruth’s eyes using the epithets “splendid”, “moving”, “big and lovely”, a detached epithet “poor dear” – all in the ironic way. The modal verb must, exclamatory sentence, parallel constructions “if she married a husband beat her, if she employed a broker he cheated her, if she engaged a cook she drank”, the allusion “She never had a little lamb but it was sure to die” make a humorous effect. We can recognize now completely that all the narrator’s words were ironic, because his epithets towards Ruth are like that, and also “stupid” and a simile “as hard as nails”. Then there comes an explanation of why he has such an attitude towards the poor widow. Going further, we come across an anticlimax. The tense is growing, but then Roger “on a sudden, fell out of love”. This is a bit unexpected. Ruth’s “pathetic (a repeated epithet) look

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