THE UNICORN IN THE GARDEN by JAMES THURBER

The short story that appealed to me is The Unicorn in the Garden by James Thurber.
When I first read the story I was attracted to the way the writer begins the story. By further
reading, I actually find the plot of the story is interesting as it is simple and easy to understand.
Meanwhile, the characters in the story also make it more interesting as both the husband and
wife shows differences in their characteristic.

The plot of is interesting as it start in a very simple way and easy to understand. The
plot start with the husband who was having his breakfast quickly went to wake his wife to tell
her there is a unicorn in the garden when he saw one cropping the roses in the garden. Then,
without getting really getting up and look out the window to confirm what her husband had say,
she just tell him that there cant be A unicorn is a mythical beast. The husband went back to
the garden and really approached the unicorn to confirm whether it is real or not. He then went
back to the bedroom to wake his wife and tell her that there is really a unicorn in the garden.
However, still not bothering to look out the window, the wife simply sat up and warns her
husband that Youre a boobyand Im going to have you put in a booby-hatch.

The plot of the story continues with the husband returning to the garden to watch the
unicorn. As soon as the husband returns to the garden, the wife very excited and with a
gloat in her eye called the police and a psychiatrist and told them to come to her house
quickly. When the police and the psychiatrist arrive, the wife told them exactly what her
husband told her assuming that they will lock him up. But instead of believing what she told
them, they seized the wife assuming that she is crazy. The police and psychiatrist then ask
the husband who is just coming into the house whether there is, in fact, a unicorn in the garden.
Without hesitation, the husband says of course not and continuing what his wife said earlier
the unicorn is a mythical beast.

Consequently, they lock up the wife, which is clearly what the husband wants. James
Thurber even attaches a moral Dont count your boobies until they are hatched."The wife in
James Thurbers story does not know whether theres a unicorn in the garden, and she doesnt
care because she immediately sees how her husbands assertion can be used to get rid of
him. In other words, she isnt interested in getting inside his head and sharing his vision of life.
Shes only interested in pursuing her own agenda, which doesnt include her husband.
However, we have no indication that the husband feels the same way. As James Thurber still
does not give us any indication whether the husband has planned this outcome all along or it
is just a coincidence. However, Thurber does tell us that after the wife were committed to a
mental institution, "the husband lived happily ever after".

I found the characters interesting in the story as both the husband and wife have really
different personality. The husband is a very patience man while the wife is a hot-tempered
woman. This is proven when the husband tells her wife about the unicorn in the garden. The
wife got angry and calls her husband booby. However, the husband didnt get made at her.
Instead, he just kept calm. Another thing that make both characters interesting is that, we can
see the husband as an unpredictable character while the wife as a straight-forward character.
It is proven from the story, where we can see that the husband is telling the truth about the
unicorn. However, the wife plan to get rid of her husband by calling the police and psychiatrist
didnt went according to her plan. Instead, she is the one who is accused as being crazy. This
shows that maybe the husband has been planning this all along by making story and predicting
what will his wife do.

That is all that makes the short story The Unicorn in the Garden by James Thurber
interesting to me where the plot is simple and easy to understand. While the characters show
very different personality that makes more twist inside the story.

(738 words)
 REFERENCE:

Caroline. Y, Hendon. M, Nazura. M, Rekha. J, Sharmini. G, Zamrudah. Hj. A. R (Component

Leader). (July-November 2010). English Studies (CODE:PI 1353P).Compilation Of

Text. Kuala Lumpur: Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Bahasa Antarabangsa
Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia.

Unicorn In The Garden. Retrieved from: http://www.bookrags.com/plot/study guide.html