"The Body" Analysis

PLOT:
The plot of "The Body" is complicated, and it progresses rather slowly. The narrator of the short story is actually one of the characters reflecting on their past experiences as a young boy. The bulk of the story is about the adventure that Gordie, the narrator, and his friends embark on in the summer of 1960. They set out to discover the dead body of a missing boy their age named Roy Brower; they do this to seek fame and media attention. I think the underlying purpose or message of the story is how the four boys grew in friendship through this journey. The structure of the plot is what makes it progress so slowly. Many times throughout the work, the narrator stops to tell a small story describing the time period or discussing a character. These anecdotes, although somewhat helpful for characterization, make the story seem slow moving and harder to follow.

Point of View:
This short story is told in the first person singular point of view. Gordon Lachance ("Gordie") is the narrator, reflecting on his summer adventure with his childhood best friends. The story is told in past tense, many years later when he is now a published author. Small side stories are often told in dialog by other characters, but most all of the events occur in the eyes of Gordie. I'm not sure if he is considered an omniscient narrator or not, but he does have some insight on how the other characters are feeling. Also, I think that Gordie perceives things differently than his three friends. We are told that he is the smartest of the four, and we can also assume he has a brighter outlook on life. The story would be changed greatly if it were told in the eyes of Chris, Vern, or Teddy.

CHARACTERIZATION:
Since the story is told in first person point of view, the characters are mostly characterized by Gordie. Towards the beginning of the story, the scene consists of the boys playing cards in their clubhouse. The scene progresses slowly due to the narrators interruptions. During this time, all four characters are introduced. On page 295, Teddy and his incident with his "looney" father indirectly characterize his physical appearance as well as his war-like emotions. On page 289 Gordie tells about his brother Dennis' death - which illustrates his "invisible child" lifestyle. Page 301 consists of Vern's story about the "buried pennies." The way him and his brother, Billy, interact help to indirectly characterize Vern's personality as well. All throughout the the story Chris suggests his father's "mean streak" or "drinking habits" which reveals his family life. Lastly, Gordie directly tells the audience that Chris is the "toughest guy in [their] group."

SETTING:
"The Body" has many different settings since the narrator is recalling previous events and skipping around from past to present to tell significant stories. The story begins in the summer of 1960, in the four young boys' clubhouse. The bulk of the story takes place in this time period (centralized in Castle Rock, Maine) within a time span of 2-3 days. The different settings are the drugstore, the dump, the railroad tracks, the crossing at the river, the site where the boys camp, and the site of Roy Brower's body. Each of these places is given a vividly detailed description so the reader can easily imagine the scene. A few anecdotes are told about the boys in which change the setting and time period. Gordie also tells two of his stories, which have different settings and time periods as well. I believe the time period in which the story takes place has a significant affect. In the 1960's things were much different in all aspects of society than they are now. One would not consider age 12 a proper age to smoke, drink, curse, or go out on their own. The way the kids interact with adults show a similarity between then and today. The kids had little respect for adults, illustrated the best in the scene between Milo and the boys at the dump.

THEME:
In my opinion, the story has a deeper meaning than a boys' adventure. Many connections are made between the four characters throughout the story. The strongest friendship is prominently illustrated between Chris and Gordie. The two have secrets that only they know about each other, leaving out the other two at times. The boys have much in common: intelligent, stubborn, strong leaders, and good people at heart. The interaction between these two show the strongest bond of friendship anyone can have with another. Another underlying message comes from the fact that the whole story is a reflection of Gordie's most significant memory. It is evident from how much he can remember from years and years ago, that the adventure has replayed in his head many times. This shows that one should never forget their childhood memories, whether they are good or bad. The end of the story, telling how each of the boys faded away and ended up, also reveals the narrators motive for writing these stories.