‘‘Janus’’ opens with the line: ‘‘The bowl was perfect.’’ In the second paragraph, Beattie introduces the protagonist of the story, Andrea, a successful real-estate agent and owner of the bowl described in the first paragraph. The story is told completely from Andrea’s point of view with little dialogue or action.
When she shows homes to a prospective buyer, Andrea places the bowl in a prominent place. She believes that the bowl is particularly ‘‘wonderful’’ because ‘‘it was both noticeable and subtle.’’ The bowl is cream colored with a glowing...
Source: Short Stories for Students, ©2013 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
(The entire page is 431 words.)
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