Analyse af 'The Ladder' af Sheila Purdy

The short story “The Ladder” is written by an Irish writer named Sheila Purdy.

The point of view in this story, is in a way Annie’s mind. The point of view becomes Annie’s inner voice. Even in the first line of the story, is Sheila using the word “you”, that says that it is in Annie’s head it all happens – “you hang up your jacket in the still kitchen” (line 1-2, page 1).

It is like Annie’s conscience is removed from her head and body and is looking at her from a very close distance. The point of view is Annie’s, but not quite. It is in a way Annie’s conscience talking to Annie herself. The story is told through Annie’s perspective.

The main character; Annie, is a kind of a service lady. She is in the bottom of the hierarchy in the corporation - “In the two years you’ve been here, you’ve never done more than clear the big table,” (line 31, page 2).

But then one of her associates called sick, and she is now getting the chance to show Vera that she can do more. She is very nervous about the tasks she got, because she isn’t well-informed with all the details – “You don’t know what’s supposed to happen in a boardroom when the men come in – you should’ve asked Vera what happens, exactly,” (line 49-50, page 2). She has never done this before and is confused about what she should do. She is finding it very difficult to complete the task that Vera gave her, most likely because of the obstacle that she meets along the story. That is the boardroom. The engineers are trying to fix it, but it takes time.