Zachary Becker
Preston
5/9/2014
Paper 2
Analysis of Louis
The theme of Louis is supported by Saki’s use of lies and deception as well as the minimalistic setting and challenging tone, the story sends the clear message to the reader that being deceitful will get you nowhere with others. Throughout the story Saki keeps the reader and the main character Strudwarden in the dark about what Louis really is. During the story the reader is learning everything as Strudwarden does they also following him on an emotional level.
In Saki’s Louis there are three prominent characters the story surrounds, Strudwarden (the main character), his sister Elsie and then Strudwarden’s wife Lena. Throughout the story Strudwarden is scheming on how to get rid of Lena’s dog so that she can’t use it as an excuse anymore. Saki made Strudwarden a very dynamic character who undergoes different character changes throughout the short story. His character changes mainly when he finally realizes that Lena has been lying to him. An example of Strudwarden’s character starting change is when “Lena is merely making use of it as an instrument for getting her own way on dozen of occasions”. Lena is a more basic character compared to Strudwarden the reader doesn’t get to know her as well as Strudwarden. She seems very selfish and possibly might be a little crazy, she seems oblivious to the fact that Strudwarden is jealous and catching on. When Strudwarden calls her out on having the fake dog Lena seems surprised and confused but her character is left relatively unchanged. An example of Lena’s manipulative and lying character throughout the story would be “Louis would die if he was parted from me for even a week. You don’t know what that would mean to me.” Elsie, Sturdwarden’s sister, is a dynamic character as well. Elsie is Sturdwarden’s accomplice in trying to get rid of the dog Louis. Though together they learn the hard truth that Louis is a stuffed dog and Lena has been using him to get...