The climax of a short story usually begins when the protagonist makes a crucial decision that determines the outcome of a dilemma. Basically, the climax involves the protagonist facing his or her main dilemma.
In the story, Rolf Carle tries to save a young girl from dying in a mud-pit. He eventually comes to realize that, in order to rescue Azucena, he will need a pump to drain some of the water out from the mud-pit. As the story progresses, the likelihood of finding a pump in time diminishes. The climax of the story occurs on the third day, when Rolf Carle gives "up the fight" and surrenders to the" torture of watching the girl die." After doing everything he can, Rolf Carle realizes his efforts will not produce the results he wants. Despite Rolf's efforts to save her, Azucena will die.
Just before Azucena dies, she laments that, at...
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thirteen years old, no boy has ever loved her. To comfort her in her dying moments, Rolf Carle assures Azucena that he loves her more than his own mother, sister, and his life companion. In fact, he tells Azucena he loves her more than any woman he's ever held in his arms. The climax of the story extends from the moment Rolf Carle becomes resigned to Azucena's fate to the moment the young girl breathes her last.
The climax comes on the third day that Azucena has been stuck in the mud. She and the reporter, Carle, have spent the past three days together, becoming more emotionally attached to one another than they've ever been to anyone else. The president of the Republic comes to be filmed with Azucena and to praise her as an example for the nation. He promises to personally send a pump - but it already too late. She dies and Carle removes the tire that had been holding her up, and her body slips beneathe the mud.
What is the falling action in "And of Clay Are We Created" by Isabel Allende?
In a work of literature, the falling action can be defined as that part of the plot that takes place right after the climax and just before the very end. In "And of Clay Are We Created" the climax, the moment of maximum tension in the story, is where Rolf shares some of the traumatic details of his past with Azucena, the little girl trapped in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption, whose spirits he tries to keep up during her terrible ordeal. Rolf recalls horrific memories of when he was a young boy and was forced by Russian soldiers to help bury the dead bodies of concentration camp victims. But he cannot bring himself to tell the little girl about any of this; she's simply too young to understand. Instead, he reveals the shocking details of the appalling abuse he suffered at the hands of his father.
After a tearful Rolf tells Azucena of his past, she gently tells him not to cry and that she doesn't hurt anymore. But Rolf's crying for himself. After this highly emotional climax, the falling action takes place. The President arrives on the scene, promising to do all he can to help the little girl. But it's too late. From watching Rolf on live TV, Eva can quite clearly see that he's given up and is resigned to Azucena's fate. And on the night of the third day of her ordeal, surrounded as always by international TV crews, Azucena passes away.