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Handout # 1
Quaid-e-Azam Law College Lahore Instructor: Iram Farid E!LI"H LA!A!E "$ILL" "hort "tor%: &he 'oor in the wall (% )H*! +ells, C&E&" Authur (ac.ground "ummar% /oint o0 iew in this stor% Characters "etting arration &echni2ues "t%le "%m3ols &hemes 4eta5hor Questions
Auther Background: H. G. Wells Wells was a scientific visionary and social prophet. One of the most widely widel y read British writers of his gener generation, ation, he explored the new territory of scienc sciencee fiction and crusaded crusaded for a new ne w so soci cial al or orde derr in mo more re th than an fo fort rty y-f -fou ourr no nove vels ls an and d so soci cial al an and d hi hist stor oric ical al bo boo os. s. Wells’s ambivalence about the benets of science and technology contained in his earlier novels increasingly gave way to a sense of himself as a social architect and cautionary prophet. Throughout the 193s he too! center stage in warning that th at hu huma man! n!ind ind was on th the e br brin in! ! of di disa sast ster er"" wh whil ile e #e #eal alou ousl sly y pl plan anni ning ng th the e reconstruction of society. society. Throughout this time his hi s ction too! on an instructional tone" ton e" re re$ec $ectin ting g th the e aut author hor’s ’s inc increa reasin singly gly bit bitter ternes ness s abo about ut hum humani anity ty and its prospects for perfectibility. Wells died in 19%& at the age of eighty.
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SUMMARY: 'onding to his friend (edmond who narrates )The *oor in the Wall"+ ,ionel Wallace relates that a preoccupation is gradually coming to dominate his life" one that is even a-ecting his career as a successful politician. ,ong ago as a lonely child of ve he had wandered out of his home into the streets of West ensington in ,ondon" where he noticed a green door set in a white wall. /t was very attractive to him" and he wanted to open it" but at the same time he felt that his father would be very angry if he did. Wallace’s father is described as )a stern preoccupied lawyer" who gave him little attention and e0pected great things of him.+ Wallace’s mother was dead" and he was being raised by a governess. evertheless" the young Wallace gives in to the temptation and nds himself in an enchanted garden. Wallace describes the garden as a children’s paradise with an inspiring atmosphere. The garden’s colors are clean and bright" and the child is lled with happiness. There are various animals" including two tame panthers" beautiful $owers" and shady trees. Wallace meets a tall" fair girl who )came to meet me" smiling" and said 2Well’ to me" and lifted me and !issed me" and put me down and led me by the hand.+ 4e meets other children and they play games together" although he cannot remember the games" a fact which later causes him much distress. 5 woman begins to read a boo! to the boy" and soon it becomes apparent that the story she is telling is that of his own life. When the boo! reaches the point in his life at which Wallace nds himself outside the green door" the enchanted world vanishes" and the boy nds himself once more on the dismal West ensington street in ,ondon. Wallace tells his father about the garden6and is punished for telling what his father assumes is a lie. /n time" and as a result of this punishment" Wallace succeeds in suppressing the memory. 7ut he can never 8uite forget it completely and often dreams of revisiting the garden. Throughout his life he une0pectedly comes upon the door in the wall in di-erent parts of ,ondon" but each time he is rushing to an important commitment of one sort or another and does not stop to open it. Wallace tells his friend (edmond that three times in the past year he has seen the door" and on each occasion he has passed it by once because he was on his way to a vital division in the 4ouse of 'ommons: once" signicantly" because he was hurrying to his father’s deathbed and once because he wished" for reasons of personal ambition" to continue a discussion with a colleague. ow his soul )is full of unappeasable regrets"+ and he is barely capable of wor!ing. ;ne morning a few months later" Wallace is found dead" having apparently mista!en a door at a dangerous construction site for the elusive door in the wall.
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/oint o0 8iew in this stor% :
CHARACTERS !edmond" !edmond, the narrator of #$he %oor in the Wall,& meets his old friend Wallace for a dinner one night. Wallace tells !edmond the story of the door in the wall. 't first, !edmond does not now if he should or should not believe his friend(s wild tale" #But whether he himself saw, or only thought he saw, whether he himself was the possessor of an inestimable privilege, or the victim of a fantastic dream, ) cannot pretend to guess.& $his unwillingness to *udge his friend displays his sense of sympathy. !edmond represents the voice of reason, maing Wallace(s story more believable because it is told by what readers assume is a reliable narrator. +urthermore, because !edmond is relating the tale, readers also learn of Wallace(s strange death, which seems to verify the tale Wallace tells him at dinner. !edmond(s account of the story also lends it a tragic tone because it is related after Wallace(s deatha feat not possible if Wallace himself was the narrator. !edmond, the narrator of $he %oor in the Wall, meets his old friend Wallace for a dinner one night. Wallace tells !edmond the story of the door in the wall. 't first. !edmond does not now if he should or should not believe his friends wild tale" But whether he himself saw, or only thought he saw, whether he himself was the possessor of an inestimable privilege, or the victim of a fantastic dream, ) cannot pretend to guess. $his unwillingness to *udge his friend displays his sense of sympathy. !edmond represents the voice of reason, maing Wallaces story more believable because it is told by what readers assume is a reliable narrator. +urthermore, because !edmond is relating the tale, readers also learn of Wallaces strange death, which seems to verify the tale Wallace tells him at dinner. !edmonds account of the story also lends it a tragic tone because it is related after Wallaces deatha feat not possible if Wallace himself was the narrator.
Lionel Wallace: /olitician 0ionel Wallace is the protagonist of #$he %oor in the Wall.& 's a child living in a *oyless home, he discovers a door to a visionary garden of happiness. His cautious nature is
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shown by his trepidation upon encountering the door, because he nows his father will be angry if he opens it. ' child of a strict, 1ictorian upbringing, Wallace has been conditioned to deny his imagination and put all his effort into becoming successful. 2evertheless, the young Wallace gives in to the temptationnot yet having mastered self-controland opens the door in the wall, and finds himself in an enchanted garden filled with beautiful flowers, tamed panthers, and friendly children. When Wallace tells his father about the garden, his father punishes him for lying, causing Wallace to suppress the memory of the garden. $hroughout his life, Wallace sees a similar door a few times, but he is too driven by his ambition for worldly success to stop and open it. 2ow, at age 34 and very successful, Wallace regrets passing up the garden and vows to stop the next time he sees the door. $his regret illustrates his desire to give in to imagination and to brea free from his rational life. /olitician 0ionel Wallace is the protagonist of $he %oor in the Wall. 's a child living in a *oyless home, he discovers a door to a visionary garden of happiness. His cautious nature is shown by his trepidation upon encountering the door, because he nows his father will be angry if he opens it. ' child of a strict, 1ictorian upbringing, Wallace has been conditioned to deny his imagination and put all his effort into becoming successful. SETTIN: !"##$: $he %oor in the Wall is written in a time when the British are concerned with domestic matters. 5ing 6dward 1)) begins his reign following the death of 7ueen 1ictoria in 8498. )n /arliament, the :onservatives are divided on several issues and the general election of 849; puts the 0iberals in power by a significant ma*ority. 's the ruling party, the 0iberals create Britains early welfare program. $he 0abour /arty is formed during this time as well, with <4 original members.
Narration techni%ue$ in &The 'oor in the Wall(: +irst person perspective" #$he %oor in the Wall& is told from the point of view of !edmond, Wallace(s friend. !edmond speas in the first person =#)&> as he relates Wallace(s story. $hrough the sensible, trustworthy voice of !edmond, the narrator, the reader is more willing to believe in Wallace(s fantastic story. $his particular point of view also allows the reader to find out about Wallace(s death, something that would not have been possible if Wallace told the story himself. ?tory written chronologically" $he character Wallace reviews his life from past to present in chronological order through the story, providing the reader to formulate their own idea of the @the door in the wall(. 6nds with a Auestion" $o provide an uncertainty to the reader(s view, a point for the reader to argue about. )t maes the ending special and unforgettable as the reader is allowed to imagine the real truth themselves. )s there really a door that leads to a better place or is a place created by Wallace(s imagination as a refuge to his sad childhood.
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St)le$ in the 'oor in the Wall: Meta*hor: ' strong use of metaphor is used in this story to illustrate to the reader about the metaphor of Wallace(s loneliness and alienation. Wallace spends his life longing for the return of the peaceful enchanted place. )t is evident that this metaphor emphasies Wallace(s desire to return to an innocent time =i.e. childhoodCdoor in the wall>. +ind ; examplesCAuotations. +anta$): +antasy literature often creates suspense and leaves reader in a state where which events are caused by natural or supernatural forces. )n #$he %oor in the Wall& readers are pulled in from a normal everyday situation into the fantasy world of @the door in the wall(. $herefore, the readers unsure whether if Wallace have visited the magical garden or is it created by his imagination. SYMB,LS:
$he White Wall is symbolied as Wallace(s desire for nurturing as he did not experience good nurturing from his mother. )t is also a very feminine symbol. $he reen 'oor is symbolied as +ertility. $he %oor itself is a common literary symbol that represents the passage way between the conscious and unconscious. The a-.er $un$hine: )t is symbolised as a masculine, dominant symbol and that it is often *uxtaposed with the white wall. arden" beautiful, rich with flora, enormous, 0ionel(s ideal world and paradise, reflects his own deprived childhood. Lea/e$: /sychologists claims that leaves are a symbol of happiness. $he leaves are described by Wallace as being #blotched yellow and green,& suggesting that his happiness is short-lived. $H6D6?" Loneline$$- He was a victim of loneliness due to certain factors in his life i.e 2o real friends, bullied from his father and as a result he wants to escape from the reality. His father was not willing to believe him at all because according to him Wallace is maing stories by himself and due to this lac of understanding he felt loneliness. Doreover he has so real friends who can actually help him out from such situation. In$anit)-He becomes deranged as he once again tries to find out the door in the wall. $he urge to explore the things behind the door and continuous failure in doing so causes his insanity. He became so curious regarding the findings of the door. Childhood- He wants to experience a real childhood.When he was two years old his mother died and he was not able to en*oy his real childhood and due this deficiency he missed his childhood through out his life. 0o1er 2 i-agination-He believes the %oor in the Wall to be real and his this concept overpowers the reality. He considers the door to be actua .+antasy has taen over his life. Realit) /$3 i-agination. $he theme of reality vs imagination is very much evident in this story. $he reality is what Wallace(s actual life is i.e his schooling and afterwards his profession as politician and the
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imagination is Alienation and Loneline$$:
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Whether Wallaces fantastic tale about the garden is true is of less significance than the fact that it is a metaphor for his alienation and loneliness. Wallaces mother died when he was born, and his father was stern and expected great things of him. $he treatment Wallace received as a child forced him to retreat into a private world of imagination. $he only place where he could find love and attention was through the door in the wall. Wallace was forced as a child to repress his imagination" ) tried to tell them, and my father gave me my first thrashing for telling lies. When afterwards ) tried to tell my aunt, she punished me again for my wiced persistence. $hen ... everyone was forbidden to listen to me, to hear a word about it. Because he had to retreat into a private world *ust so. ,.ligation$ in li4e: No$talgia 4or the *a$t3 Science 5$ +aith: Sanit) and In$anit):
't first, !edmond does not now if he should believe his friends wild tale. But whether he himself saw, or only thought he saw, whether he himself was the possessor of an inestimable privilege, or the victim of a fantastic dream, ) cannot pretend to guess. $he reader is more willing to believe Wallaces fantastic story because it is filtered through the sensible, sane voice of the narrator. !edmond fits the preconceived notion of a sane person in that he seems to have a normal, healthy mind, maes sound, rational *udgments, and shows good sense. Wallace seems *ust as sane at firstE he does not fit the stereotype of an insane person because he holds a prestigious *ob and seems successful. Wellss intention was not to develop an insane character but to show the conseAuences of having to separate the various components of ones personality. 's a child,Wallace.
Meta*hor: $he Green %oor is used as metaphor in the story and it depicts the transition from the actual world to the imaginative world i.e it represents ' 26W WO!0%.
6ue$tion$: I$ door in the 1all .) H3 1ell$ a $cience 4iction7 'i$cu$$ the $tor) in )our o1n 1ord$3
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I$ that door in the 1all 1a$ real7 E8*lain the character Red-ond3 Ho1 Wallace die7
