LA/COL short story project
name: Dave
AUGUST 30TH. We are alone on the island now, Barney and I.
For the past two days I have had to keep Barney confined, and how he hates it. I am afraid that when my experiments are completed, I shall have to do away with Barney. For the past two days I have had to keep Barney confined, and how he hates it. I am afraid that when my experiments are completed, I shall have to do away with Barney.
For the past two days I have had to keep Barney confined, and how he hates it. I am afraid that when my experiments are completed, I shall have to do away with Barney.
In order to facilitate my descent into the well I knotted a length of three-quarter-inch rope at one-foot intervals to make a rude ladder. I reached the bottom easily enough, but after only a few minutes of groping for the key, my flashlight gave out and I returned to the surface. A few feet from the top I heard excited squeaks from Barney, and upon obtaining ground level I observed that the rope was almost completely severed. Apparently it had chafed against the edge of the masonry and the little fellow, perceiving my plight, had been doing his utmost to warn me.I have now replaced that section or rope and arranged some old sacking beneath it to prevent recurrence of the accident. I have replenished the batteries in my flashlight and am now prepared for the final descent. These few moments I have taken off to give myself a breathing spell and to bring my to date. Perhaps I should fix myself a sandwich as I may be down there longer than seems likely at the moment.
SEPTEMBER 11TH. Poor Barney is dead and soon I shell be the same. He was a wonderful ratt and life without him is knot worth livving. If anybody reeds this please do not disturb anything on the island but leeve it like it is as a shryn to Barney, espechilly the old well. Do not look for my body as I will caste myself into the see. You mite bring a couple of young ratts and leeve them as a living memorial to Barney. Females-no males. I sprayned my wrist is why this is written so bad. This is my laste will. Do what I say an don’t come back or disturb anything after you bring the young ratts like I said. Just females.Goodby.
These are the 3 major points of the story summarized the biggening and introduction and the meat of the story where it shows what he the scientist wishes to do with Barney and then the ending which is what ends up happening to the scientist. It starts with the scientist in control and his power slowly slipping and to his eventual assumed death from Barney
The setting of the story is on a island it appears there were more people on the island at one point but the true number is unknown one of the last ones got kicked or killed off the island by the unnamed scientist the guy who was kicked or killed off was presumably named Tayloe he was killed off by the scientists for attempting to poison him in the story though he never says he feels remorseful for killing him which is a little suspicious about his character maybe he has killed people or things before? Or maybe he has gone insane after being on the island for so long
Conflict
Internal conflict is the unnamed scientist going mad and becoming insane
External conflict is 2 since its said he had to kick out the other scientist Tayloe at the beginning
“I am taking a calmer view of the Tayloe affair. The monastic life here must have become too much for him. That, and the abandonment of his precious guinea pigs. He insisted to the last that they were better-suited than Barney to my experiments” it could be argued it is a internal conflict as well but it appears to be external since if he hadn’t done anything to Tayloe he might have been dead before or Tayloe might have saved him from whatever happened to him that allowed Barney to take control.
Symbols
The story mentions only a few things which is the well which is repeated more than 2 times and Barney but Barney isn’t revealed as a rat at first seemed ironic since they did whatever experiments on Barney which is a mouse but “traditionally” a lot of those experiments whatever they may be are done on Guinea pigs but the main symbol of the story is the well since Barney utilized it first showing and probably scaring the scientist as to how smart barney truly is and the 2nd time where Barney presumably kills the scientist with by trapping him in the well.
The well symbolizes when the scientist realizes how smart Barney really is and ultimately leads to his demise (supposedly)
https://www.shutterstock.com/search/wishing+well
Image #1 of the exhibit
Then another symbol could be a atom because it represents science and that’s what the whole island was designed for to run those experiments on the rats and Guinea pigs and it can also represent what happens when you go to far with science since in the end 2 of the scientist and pos
sibly more left because of what happened during the course of those experiments or were killed https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atom_Diagram.svg
Image #2 of the exhibit
The final symbol I can think of is the rat which is Barney since he is the “anti-hero” of the story since you can’t blame him for doing what he did and you could argue the scientists are the “bad guys” but then again killing someone isn’t very good either but he is a symbol since without him there wouldn’t be much of a story
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/rat-gm176430993-26405120
Image #3 of the exhibit
Image #4
An island
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/island-ocean-3d-illustration-526092568
It’s a crucial plot point since without it the story would not have the same feel to it as
The story did since in island normally represents isolation.
Exhibit #5
https://www.britannica.com/animal/guinea-pig
Guinea pigs play a crucial role in the story since at the beginning of the story its mentioned that Tayloe thought they were better suited for the experiments and maybe if they were used the unnamed scientist might not have died.
Exhibit #6
Lab coat
I chose this since the scientist remained anonymous and was never named yet was the main character.
Exhibit #7
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/dna-molecules-gm450853983-29461972
I chose DNA because it signifies the type of science they were doing biology and I don’t think a regular rat is smart enough to trap and kill and write albeit not well but good enough it means they did some sort of experiments that increased Barney’s intelligence.