The Downward Path to Wisdom (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Katherine Anne Porter
- First Published: 1944
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: The 1940's
- Setting: A city in the southern United States
- Principal Characters: Stephen, Mama, Papa, Grandma, Marjory, Old Janet, Uncle David, Frances
- Genres: Short fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Children, Family or family life, South or Southerners, 1940’s, Grandparents or grandchildren, Gifts, Balloons
- Locales: South (U.S.)
The Story
Four-year-old Stephen lives in a chaotic household. The story begins as Papa accuses Mama of spoiling the boy, whom she brusquely pushes from their bedroom. Their servant Marjory calls Stephen “dirty” and “mean” like his father. Soon the family quarreling becomes so severe that Stephen is sent to live with his grandmother.
At Grandma's house, Stephen gets to know his Uncle David, a large man who roughhouses with him and teaches him to box. One day, Uncle David brings home a large box of advertising balloons that he and Stephen share in a game to see who...
[The entire page is 1331 words long]
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