An Angel In Disguise Short Story Analysis

A. Preface
"The sweetness of that sick child, looking ever to her in love, patience, and
gratitude, was as honey to her soul, and she carried her in her heart as well as in
her arms, a precious burden."
Some of us have felt that an obligation in life can be a very heavy burden,
and therefore we become ungrateful. But does that mean we can just give up? Or
do we get carried away by heavy moods so that we have a bad temper?
On this occasion of the Academy Seccion, I will bring you the story of one of the
19th century American writers. He was born on June 6, 1809, and died on March
6, 1885. He was Timothy Shay Arthur, and the work I will analyze is entitled An
Angel In Disguise.

B. Contain

1. Plot (In the story of An Angel In Disguise there is a chronological plot. in the
plot there are five-part; exposition, conflict, climax, resolution, and ending
with a conclusion)
a) Exposition (first is expotion)
In An Angel In Disguise the exposition starts with the introduction of the
conflict that falls on the main character. The poor woman unnamed who was be
died because of excess consumption of alcohol. However, the sympathetic
villagers made the day of burial and buried the poor woman at the pauper's grave.
The poor woman left the three half-starving children.
b) Conflict (and now we will move to conflict)
The conflict started when a farmer Jones and his wife decided to adopt John,
the oldest, who's twelve years old. A farmer thought that John can help him in his
fieldwork. Kate, between ten and eleven years old, and Mrs. Ellis decided to adopt
Kate even though he complained because Kate is too young to be of much use for
several years. Mrs. Ellis complained to Kate for she's an undisciplined thing.
And the youngest child, the little poor Maggie, hasn't been adopted. She was
hopelessly diseased because two years before, she fell from a window and
damaged her spine. Because of that, she had not been able to leave her bed since,
except when she was lifted in the arms of her mother. Everyone suggests sending
her to the poorhouse but no one makes an effort to do something about it.
c) Climax ("c" to the climax)
After following the day of death was made the day of burial, a few neighbors
left Maggie in the tumble-down hut. She was alone. After the coffin was taken
out, just beyond the threshold Joe Thompson, the wheelwright, linger. With
painful effort, Maggie strives and cried out "don't leave me here all alone." For a
little, while the man paused, then he turned back and went into the hovel again to
bring Maggie into his home. But his wife, Mrs. Thompson denied Maggie to live
in her home together.
d) Resolution

With an impressive tone that greatly subdued his wife, Joe said that he read in
the Bible sometimes, and find that Savior rebuked the disciples who wouldn't
receive little children, and how He took them up in his arms and blessed them. Joe
with a gentle tone, ask his wife would be so kind to Maggie. After some times
Maggie the poor little child can be attractive to Mrs. Joe's heart.
e) Conclusion
The sweetness of that sick child, looking ever to her in love, patience, and
gratitude, was as honey to her soul, who had been created in Mrs. Thompson's
heart. They take care of Maggie to give her to remain together forever as a family.
2. Characterization (the first character is ... )
a) Mr. Joe Thompson ( he is a Protagonist Character) : He is a wheelwright, has
a kindly heart, is very tender, loving, and cares. Mr. Joe Thompson liked
children, sometimes he was pleased to have them come to his shop, and
permit them to play there. He also has a saintly temper, it was proven when
he wanted to adopt Maggie, the little poor child, who lost his mother and was
left in the old tumble-down hut by his neighbors. (the second character is ... )
b) Villagers ( villagers are antagonist characters) : They have the characteristic
doesn't matter. They don't care about Maggie's condition and lightly speak to
send Maggie to the poorhouse. (third is ... )
c) Mrs. Joe Thompson ( she is a Dynamic Character, a dynamic character is a
character who undergoes an important inner change ) : She has changed from
a bad character to a good character. This character change is shown when her
husband first brought Maggie, she refused her. But over time, slowly, Mrs.
Joe Thompson could accept Maggie and consider her as a family. ( fourth, she
is a ... )
d) Unnamed woman who has died at the beginning of the short story: She is
Maggie's mother. Even though she was dead, from the information available,
she was a drunken woman. On the other hand, she also loves Maggie, as

evidenced when she wants to take care of a paralyzed Maggie. ( fifth, he is a
... )
e) John (Maggie's brother. His character isn't clearly shown, but he seems kind
to Maggie.) ( sixth, she is a ... )
f) Kate (Kate is Maggie's sister. Just like John, Kate also loves her sister.
Expressed when she was about to go with Mrs. Ellis, Kate said goodbye to
Maggie, her sister, and felt sad when they said goodbye to each other.) (
seventh is a ...)
g) Farmer Jones and his wife (They were the ones who adopted John. They
adopted John because he could help them in their work.) : (They) Nice to
John but not also to Maggie. (And the last one is)
h) Mrs. Ellis (Who adopted Kate. Almost like Farmer Jones, Mrs. Ellis decides
to adopt Kate because she is young and can be useful in many ways.) : (She
is) Nice to Kate but not also to Maggie. (Next, we go to ... )
3. Setting (Overall the setting of this story is the ...)
a) Village (In that village the incident also took place in a ... )
b) Tumble-down hut, Maggie's house
c) In little chamber at Mr. Joe Thompson's house
d) The gate of Mr. Joe Thompson's house
e) The kitchen in Mr. Joe's house
4. Theme (The theme of this short story is how love conquers all.)
Love conquers all.
5. Point of View (Now we continue to the point of view)
The point of view of this story is third-person limited. Because the narrator
mostly focuses on the feelings and the thought of the main character, Maggie.

C. Reflection

After discussing the story of An Angel In Disguise, we can learn that
sincere love conquers all. Although at first Mrs. Joe didn't accept Maggie
wholeheartedly, slowly Mrs. Joe can open. In the short story, we have discussed,
the importance of transformative and restorative love is emphasized. With love,
people's hearts can be opened. With sincere love, people's hearts are touched, and
feel God's love.
It is hoped that, like Mrs. Joe, after we feel love, we can channel and share
happiness with others. Like Mrs. Joe who wants to share his love by caring for a
paralyzed Maggie.

We can also learn from Mr. John Thompson, a wheelwright, who with a
kind heart, wants to help the little poor Maggie who is a hopelessly diseased child.
He wants to care for and give understanding to his wife with a gentle heart.

Therefore, we as human beings who coexist with other humans must be
kind, caring, and helpful to one another, especially to the poor, suffering, and
hopelessly child. We need to love each other because they can be angels in
disguise and bring joy to us.

D. Closing
Thank you for your attention and I hope you all give me some useful
feedback from my performance. Hopefully, your wise and useful feedback can
develop me to be better on making literature analysis and on my next public
speaking.

E. Source

https://americanliterature.com/author/ts-arthur/short-story/an-angel-in-
disguise

https://americanliterature.com/author/ts-arthur