Analysis of 'Machine Man' by Marlish Glorie

In the following analysis I will be focusing on narration and point of view, characterization, theme, and message.

The short story is a first-person narration. The narrator is the main character, a young man named Paul. The first-person narrative gives us the readers access to the narrator’s knowledge and thoughts: “While he and Jack were laughing, I was thinking. Nut was right; there were lots of old ladies at the nursing home.” This narration limits the knowledge on the other characters in the short story, but instead gives us a much more specific knowledge about the main character. The other characters’ point of view is only revealed through direct speech: “Notice you been going to that nursing home a lot lately.’ Black Jack sized me up. ‘Not doing anything stupid, are you?’ He stopped. ‘I find out that you're fucking old ladies - I'll kill you. We do not know what the other characters really think, Paul can only make assumptions based on their attitude: “This is how Black Jack expresses himself, through laughter. And it takes a while to learn how each of his laughs is different.”.

Some of his assumptions are also probably wrong: “I could tell Mum liked it and that she was proud of me” There is no evidence or anything in the woman’s attitude to suggest that Paul is right. Paul might Miss-lead her attitude to his own needs, and not the woman’s needs.