How It Happened
The story is written in the
first person; the narrator is a man who is
met at the beginning of the story by his chauffeur, Perkins, at half-past
eleven at the "little country station" while coming back from London.
He wanted to try his new car, which had been delivered that day. He was warned
that the gears were not of the same type he is used to but he insisted on driving.
They "were just over the brow of" Claystall Hill, "one of the
worst hills of England", when he lost all control on the speed of the car.
He tried to bring the car back to his house "wheels whirring like a high
wind" and did not jump even when advised to do so by Perkins. In the end,
he managed to reach home but crashed into the park gate. The story ends with
Perkins having injured his leg and the narrator meeting a dead friend, Stanley,
implying that he himself died in the accident.
A central theme in this story is loyalty and companionship; the chauffeur,
Perkins, offers to take control of the car, which would have allowed the
narrator to jump from the vehicle. However, the narrator refuses to leave his
chauffeur behind and remains in the car until the end, even offering to take
the wheel himself and allow Perkins to jump.
No comments:
Post a Comment