Wall Of Fire Rising
Wall of Fire Rising
The Plot
Guy, Lili, and their son, Little Guy, are a poor family living in a shanty town. Their life looks hopeful when Guy gets a job at the plantation and Lil Guy gets the part of a revolutionary in the school play. Life for this family takes a drastic turn when Guy lives out his dreams of riding in the plantation’s hot air balloon where at the end of the ride he jumps out killing himself. Little Guy recites the lines from his play over Guy’s dead body.
The Characters
Guy, the father in the story, is a tragic character who is frustrated and ashamed because he can’t provide for his family. There are times however, when he dynamically changes. During his daydreams of freedom he is hopeful.
Lili, the wife and mother in the story, is steadfast and loving. She hopes for a better life for her son and encourages her husband to be happy with what they have.
Little Guy, the son in the story, is the picture of innocence. Throughout the story he recites lines of freedom and victory. He begins tentatively at first, seeking his parents approval, then with increasing confidence until his final recitation over his father’s dead body where he is fully independent.
Character Analysis
Throughout the story there is a conflict in Guy that grows from start to finish. The struggle between freedom and responsibility is personified by little Guy's speech and Guy's outlook on life. Guy struggles on a daily basis with hopes and dreams of the freedom a better life might bring and the hopelessness of having to struggle to put food on the table. So much of his life was run by the decisions of others, what work would come and when that he became fixated on a hot air balloon. He imagined it was his ticket to freedom. He even stated as much while he and Lili were lying on the grass. He said: “Sometimes I just want to take that big balloon and ride it up in the air. I’d like to sail off somewhere and keep floating until I got to a really nice place with a nice plot
The Plot
Guy, Lili, and their son, Little Guy, are a poor family living in a shanty town. Their life looks hopeful when Guy gets a job at the plantation and Lil Guy gets the part of a revolutionary in the school play. Life for this family takes a drastic turn when Guy lives out his dreams of riding in the plantation’s hot air balloon where at the end of the ride he jumps out killing himself. Little Guy recites the lines from his play over Guy’s dead body.
The Characters
Guy, the father in the story, is a tragic character who is frustrated and ashamed because he can’t provide for his family. There are times however, when he dynamically changes. During his daydreams of freedom he is hopeful.
Lili, the wife and mother in the story, is steadfast and loving. She hopes for a better life for her son and encourages her husband to be happy with what they have.
Little Guy, the son in the story, is the picture of innocence. Throughout the story he recites lines of freedom and victory. He begins tentatively at first, seeking his parents approval, then with increasing confidence until his final recitation over his father’s dead body where he is fully independent.
Character Analysis
Throughout the story there is a conflict in Guy that grows from start to finish. The struggle between freedom and responsibility is personified by little Guy's speech and Guy's outlook on life. Guy struggles on a daily basis with hopes and dreams of the freedom a better life might bring and the hopelessness of having to struggle to put food on the table. So much of his life was run by the decisions of others, what work would come and when that he became fixated on a hot air balloon. He imagined it was his ticket to freedom. He even stated as much while he and Lili were lying on the grass. He said: “Sometimes I just want to take that big balloon and ride it up in the air. I’d like to sail off somewhere and keep floating until I got to a really nice place with a nice plot