A Glow in the Dark from Woodsong
Author: Gary Paulsen
Story analysis
Characters: Paulsen and the dogs.The ghost may be the antagonist.
Setting:It occurs in Alaska (According to other sources aside from the story). the place was described as full of logging roads, open areas somewhere in the forest during the nighttime (it was cloudy and warm).
Probably, in a forest or area with a lot of vegetation, isolated and with puddles.
Plot
Exposition: The story starts by introducing Gary Paulsen and his dogs. By explaining that, they had been running all morning. Also, he explains how hard it was to find a place to keep the young entertained and the setting is described (a place full of mud and lots of ruts along the trail); He mentions that he ran an eight-dog team.
While they were running, he had some technical problems with the cart. So, they couldn’t continue until morning. When he woke up, he lined up his dogs to leave, but before they could the lamp went out. He thought of waiting, nevertheless the dogs started to run.
Rising action: The rising action starts when the headlamp breaks and runs into darkness and without control rides along the trail full of mud and puddles. Then, the dogs suddenly stop. Paulsen started seeing a green-yellow glow that seemed to approach him. At first, he thought it was a person, but as soon as the dogs started singing a death song, he started to panic.
Climax: Paulsen’s legs started moving towards the light, alongside the dogs until he reached a point with no dogs to hold to. The light was brighter; he continued to approach. He discovered that the light wasn’t human, it was a glow in the dark; a form that was a cold yellow-green light, diffused on the edges. It was a ghost and Paulsen couldn’t move.
Falling action:The dogs were around the man’s legs looking, smelling and touching at the six-foot-tall figure. Paulsen found out that it was an old rotten stump, and it glowed because it had sucked phosphorus (A substance that lights up, after being exposed to radiant energy).
Resolution: Fonzie, a black-and-white dog smelled, snorted and relieved himself on it. At the end, the dog said “So much for ghosts”.
Conflict: The conflict of the story starts when the bulb from the light stopped working. Which made the ride dark and uncertain.
Man vs self: In this story, the protagonist has an inner conflict in deciding if the ghost is real or not. Also, the fear produced by his mind made him fearful and didn’t allow proper logical thinking.
Man vs nature: The antagonist wasn’t a ghost, but a tree instead. The tree and other natural phenomenons such as the darkness of the night, the mud, the weather, the puddles and other meteorological aspects, contributed to the plot of the story in a “negative” way or simply helped with the overall development.
Man vs supernatural: Ghosts may be considered as spectrums, apparitions, and supernatural beings. Since, they are not considered part of this world. Therefore, the ghost (that was nonexistent at the end) and Gary had an encounter that changed Gary’s perspective and made him have emotional and irrational conflicts.
Theme: Not making conclusions too quickly; Not everything is what it seems; Do not let fear fool you.
Narrator: First person. The narrator is a character of the story. Voice: Character’s voice (Gary Paulsen)
Mood: Suspenseful, intense, fearful, and tense. At the end there is a sense of relief.
Tone: Superstitious, serious, informal, tense, unconvinced and frightful.
Resolution variation:
Gary got closer and closer to the light, that seemed to float from the distance. But, when he approached it was nothing more than a man. A man had captured an extreme amount of fireflies into a huge lamp. The man had fallen asleep and the fireflies were slowly escaping from the lamp and reaching the tree. Which created a diffused look, when it was observed from the distance.
Questions
How was the setting described?
What event provoked the dark ride at the beginning of the story?
Why did the dogs stop dead?
Was the ghost real? Explain your answer.
After seeing the mysterious light Gary was calm. What made Gary panic then?
