Report - The Stolen Bacillus

a. Description of the narrator of the story

The narration of the story is in third person. A bacteriologist gets a visit of
a stranger, who arrives with a letter from a friend. The scientist shows the
“cholera bacillus” to the stranger under the microscope and then they
start to talk about the disease and their investigation. The stranger shows
a lot of interest in his work, and especially on a vial that was containing
living bacteria. The scientist tells the visitor about the power of the
cholera, saying that it could even cause an epidemic if one of those tubes
has direct contact with the water supply. The wife of the scientist calls
him for a moment, and when he returns, the visitor is ready to leave, he
seems to be in a hurry, then the scientist realizes that one vial of the
bacteria is missing,he runs out in panic and calls a cab, then he starts
pursuing the stranger in a car chase. The wife, worried about his
husband’s inappropriate dress and hurry, calls another cab and starts
chasing the scientist with his shoes, coat and hat.
After this, the point of view and narration shift to the visitor in his cab. He
actually did steal the vial, he is an anarchist, and wants to release the
bacteria, this is because he has felt neglected by the world, so he wants
to prove his power. He swallows the content of the vial and decides to
become a human vector. When the scientist finally catches him, he tells
him what he has done, he lets him go away because the vial that he stole
didn’t contain any bacteria, only a microbe that turned the skin of some
animals blue, so he calmed down and returned home with his wife, then
he got angry because he had to cultivate the bacillus again.
b. Description of the context
London, England. The Edwardian period (1901-19019).
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the
reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910, and is sometimes extended to
the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January
1901 marked the end of the Victorian era.
The Settings in the story are mainly: The scientist’s house and laboratory
and the street and the cabs.
c. Literary figures
Personification: (talking about the bacteria)
“he would take the husband from the wife, the child from its mother, the
statesman from its duty; he would follow the water-mains, creeping along
streets, picking out and punishing a house here and there”