decline.

Singlebury suggests that it is the smell of “disappointment” linking it to the

building’s history (and, unwittingly, to his own situation).
• As the story goes on, the damp smell intensifies and seems to cling in particular to the
narrator, representing his guilt and self-loathing. Increasingly, there seems to be
something supernatural about this odor, which reinforces the story’s mounting sense of
fear and unease.

3. In the story, the narrator visits both Singlebury’s home and the home of the owner of the
company. How are the two contrasted? What is the significance of this contrast?
[RL.11-12.5.1]
• Singlebury lives in Clapham, an undistinguished London suburb, some distance from the
Underground station. He has a small, single room above a cleaner’s shop, and shares a
toilet. It is stuffy and oppressive, though tidy, and does not have any cooking facility: the
implication is that Singlebury usually eats cheap food from a café.
• The owner of the Company lives in a town house in “Suffolk Park Gardens” – a fictional
neighborhood, but one that we can assume is affluent. The house is implied to be huge,
with halls and marble-floored rooms. The food is excellent, prepared by one of the
catering outfits owned by the Company.
• In short, the owner’s home and lifestyle are everything that Singlebury’s is not.

Plot Structure

4. Enter the elements of the plot into the appropriate category and identify the narrative
structure. [RL.11-12.3.1]
Exposition: the narrator describes Singlebury and his instructions to make him and the others
redundant
Rising Action: the narrator makes the four employees redundant and has dinner with
Singlebury
Conflict: the narrator feels guilty over what he has done
Climax: the narrator sees Singlebury behind him in the office building
Falling Action: the narrator reveals that he is trapped in his office

5. What event puts the conflict of the story in motion? [RL.11-12.2]

• the narrator making Singlebury redundant

Character

6. How is the character of Singlebury developed throughout the story? [RL.11-12.3.1]

Level N - Core | 56