Ralph the Duck (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Frederick Busch
- First Published: 1989
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: The mid-1980's
- Setting: A northeastern U.S. college campus
- Principal Characters: The narrator, Fanny, His English professor, A red-haired female student
- Genres: Short fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Teaching or teachers, Husbands, United States or Americans, Wives, Marriage, 1980’s, Vietnam War, Colleges or universities, Students or student life
- Locales: Northeast (U.S.)
The Story
The unnamed narrator, awakened at 5:25 a.m. by his vomiting dog, reveals that he has misbehaved the previous night, making his wife cry. He intimates that his behavior was part of a pattern and that his marriage has problems. They once had a daughter, but she evidently died in early childhood; he is less than forthcoming about details in this, as in most areas of his private life. He calls himself the oldest college student in the United States, although he knows it is not technically true. At forty-two years old, however, he is nearly twice the age of the average...
[The entire page is 1444 words long]
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