It's impossible to provide a full critical analysis of a short story in just a few paragraphs; in fact, critics sometimes write full books analyzing short stories, poems, or plays. In the case of the story, The Little Willow by Francis Tower, it will take more than a page to analyze the plot, characters, and deeper meaning in this touching short story.
About The Little Willow
• This story is about unexpressed feelings and the consequences of those feelings. In the story, both main characters are in love with one another, and yet they do not confess their ardor. Instead, they remain shy, and, when the male character goes to war, he gives the girl a little tree to show his feelings. While he is at the front, fighting, he is mortally wounded. Before his death, he told a fellow soldier of his love for the girl he gave the willow to.
• This tragic romance is designed to provoke thought and to inspire emotion. Anyone who has been in love will probably relate to the feelings of the main characters. There is sadness, because, if these characters had been bold enough to confess their love in words, they might have had some special times together, before the male character was doomed to die. However, there is bittersweet happiness, too, because, at last, the girl finds out that the boy she loved her too.
The best way to analyze the story is by reading it and tracing the arc of the storyline, and then pinpointing the crucial moments in the story and discussing them in depth. Thinking about what the story means to you, and sharing your opinions (and backing them up with quotes and dialog from the short story) will be great ways to do a wonderful report on this important tale.
About The Little Willow
• This story is about unexpressed feelings and the consequences of those feelings. In the story, both main characters are in love with one another, and yet they do not confess their ardor. Instead, they remain shy, and, when the male character goes to war, he gives the girl a little tree to show his feelings. While he is at the front, fighting, he is mortally wounded. Before his death, he told a fellow soldier of his love for the girl he gave the willow to.
• This tragic romance is designed to provoke thought and to inspire emotion. Anyone who has been in love will probably relate to the feelings of the main characters. There is sadness, because, if these characters had been bold enough to confess their love in words, they might have had some special times together, before the male character was doomed to die. However, there is bittersweet happiness, too, because, at last, the girl finds out that the boy she loved her too.
The best way to analyze the story is by reading it and tracing the arc of the storyline, and then pinpointing the crucial moments in the story and discussing them in depth. Thinking about what the story means to you, and sharing your opinions (and backing them up with quotes and dialog from the short story) will be great ways to do a wonderful report on this important tale.
