The Albatross (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Susan Hill
- First Published: 1969
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: 1968
- Setting: A fishing village in northeast England
- Principal Characters: Duncan Pike, Hilda Pike, Ted Flint
- Genres: Social realism, Short fiction
- Subjects: Freedom, Mothers, Parents and children, Murder or homicide, Emotions, Disabilities or physically challenged persons, Mental retardation
- Locales: England
The Story
Duncan Pike is an eighteen-year-old man with limited intelligence and thus an outsider to himself and to the small fishing village in which he lives. His agonizing feeling of being an outcast is reinforced by his domineering mother, Hilda, who constantly reminds him, “We keep ourselves to ourselves in this town.” His mother wants him to be alone; she clings to him for several reasons. For one, she is handicapped, like her son. Because she is confined to a wheelchair, she depends on Duncan to help her through each day. She also underestimates her son: She thinks...
[The entire page is 1364 words long]
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