English 11

Two Fishermen Character Sketch

In the story “Two Fishermen,” by Morley Callaghan, K.Smith also known as Smitty is a round character, who is introduced to the reader as a total stereotype, but is later revealed to be a kind hearted friendly person. Smitty is the town’s hangman that is known to be cold hearted, but as the story progresses, Michael learns that he is actually a very caring and friendly person. Smitty has 5 children, and a wife, who he cares for dearly. As Michael gets to know Smitty on the fishing trip, he kept mentioning that he “promised [his] wife [he’d] bring her back some fish”(Callaghan 2). Although he executes people, and believes that capital punishment is necessary he is still a family rounded person. When the crowd of angry people start to surround Smitty outside of the town jail, Michael starts to feel “dreadfully ashamed as though he were betraying Smitty, who last night had had such a neighborly time with him” (Callaghan 4). Michael knows that Smitty is not a horrible person that everyone thinks he is. The gut feeling of being ashamed for betraying Smitty is a significant sign that tells the reader that Michael isn’t fully satisfied with his decision, because he doesn’t feel like Smitty should be treated as an enemy. Smitty is known to be a stereotypical character, but is actually a kind and friendly person, which is surprising to most readers, because he is the Town’s Hangman.

1 comment

  1. Thank you for sharing this piece based on this character from the short story “Two Fishermen,” written by Morley Callaghan.

    I think that you did the following things quite well:
    – You explain the character very well
    – You utilize evidence (quotations) and incorporate them properly

    I feel that we could improve on these areas for your next write:
    – “Town” should be lowercase as it is not a proper noun (name of someone, city, etc.)

    Overall, very well written!

    Thank you,

    Mr. Barazzuol

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