A Lifestyle by Fernando Sorrentino - Essay Example

(your “A Lifestyle” by Fernando Sorrentino Character analysis The protagonist in the story is depicted as a dynamic character that has metamorphosed from being an everyday person with all the usual engagements of people in normal life, to a recluse who discovers ridiculous or redundant nature of urban lifestyle. We notice the young bank employee with a decent job and a girl-friend, going back to the roots and growing old as a rustic farmer, ten floors above the ground, having no use for the usual trappings of life – society and status, access to current affairs or commercial entertainment.

This change in his outlook and lifestyle did not happen voluntarily but was forced upon him by circumstances. While the story may sound far-fetched, the character underlines human capacity to adjust to circumstances and more importantly, to remain “relatively happy” in the end without the usual trappings. Conflict Both internal and external conflicts exist in this story (Garp, online). The inner conflict is the narrator’s physical, social and psychological struggle with the circumstances that he faced.

This internal conflict makes him wonder how to cope with a difficult situation and survive. His external conflict is with the society, of which he was a part not so long ago and leading a normal life, unaware of the ridiculous extent to which urban life and social relations have descended to. (your last name) 2 Theme and central idea Thematically it is a humorous story. Humor is noted throughout the story’s incidents like the pompous declaration of a locksmith about his association’s Magna Carta and the ethics of and restrictions on its members, the vicarious pleasure of the janitor/girl-friend/colleagues at the bank at his discomfiture, and his gradual adjustment from dependence to independence.

The central idea of the story is to ridicule the hollowness of urban lifestyle with all its wastefulness/disregard for human relations, and to portray that rural lifestyle brings more content and meaning. (your last name) 3 Reference Garp, T.S. (2005). “Analysis of conflict in short stories”, (online). Available from: http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1004812-Conflict-in-the-Short-Story.