Little Old Lady From Cricket Creek Setting n
- Slides: 8
+ Little Old Lady From Cricket Creek
+ Setting n The story takes place in Southern California at the Great Riveroak Insurance Company. n Mabel Jumpstone claims she is from Cricket Creek, California, which is supposedly up north. n The story is dated because there are no computers and all writing is done on manual typewriters
+ Characters n Mabel Jumpstone is a 65 -year-old secretary. n She is described as resembling an old gray mare the first time we meet her, but she is extremely competent and proves to be a whiz at typing. n She is hired despite her age and in a short time, becomes the most popular employee at the insurance company. n Mabel is a stereotypical character because at first, she fits the stereotype as a ‘typical old lady. ’ n She is also a round character because we learn she has several sides to her personality.
+ Characters n Ralph Cummings is an associate at the insurance company. n Ralph is also the narrator of the story and we get an insight into everything that happens through him. n Ralph has an active part in hiring Mabel Jumpstone and as we later learn, is in on Mabel’s duplicity. n Ralph is a round character because he has several sides to his personality.
+ Characters n Art Bowen is another associate at Great Riveroak Insurance Company. n Art also has an active part in interviewing and hiring Mabel Jumpstone, but is not in on her duplicity. n Art is a flat character because he is a minor character and we know little about him.
+ Point of View n The story is told in the first person point of view n Ralph Cummings is the narrator n Because the story is told through Ralph’s eyes, we as the readers are only given partial information. n What we find out about the other characters and events in the story is limited to what Ralph tells us. n This increases the surprise at the end of the story when we discover that Ralph and Mabel are related.
+ Theme n The story is a humorous account of how easy it is to be deceived by appearances. n To begin with, there is the hint of prejudice against hiring such an old employee whom they are sure will only be able to type “ten words a minute. ” n Mabel proves them wrong after having gained their trust by playing the part of of the innocent, little old lady, and robs them blatantly. n The narrator’s involvement in the scheme is not made clear until the end of the story n Nothing is what it appears to be in “Little Old Lady from Cricket Creek”
+ Irony n Irony is when the outcome of a situation is inconsistent with what we expect would logically or normally occur. It is the reverse of what we expect will be or happen. n Mabel is deliberately described as a typically “harmless” eccentric old lady. n She does not fit the stereotype of a hardened bank robber, which creates a sense of irony of character and adds to the humour of the story.
