MIRROR IMAGE

Short Story by
Lena Coakley
Analyze Plot and Flashback
Plot is the organized pattern or sequence of events that
make up a story. Every plot is made up of a series of
incidents that are related to one another
Writers need to show not only what happens in a story,
but when things happen. The order in which events are
described in a story is called sequence.

Often, writers will tell about events in the order that they
occur. However, just as plot stages may not always
follow the same pattern, events in a story may not
always be described in the order they happen.
Writers of most stories, biographies,
autobiographies, and historical writing use
chronological order, telling about events
in the order those events occurred.
We tend to use chronological order when
telling stories orally, as well. This is
because chronological order is easy for
listeners or readers to follow. After all, that
is how we all experience life: with one
event following another.
On the ride upstate, all I could think about was
going swimming. On Monday, when we
arrived, we spent the afternoon unpacking. Very
disappointing. The next day, we visited my
grandmother, went out to eat, and then watched
a softball game. I helped clean up the cabin on
Wednesday. It rained all day Thursday. By that
time, I was really desperate to go for a swim!
But Friday morning was sunny, and I finally
heard the words I'd been waiting for: "Come on,
we're going to the lake!"
Are the events described in chronological order?
 Writers will often identify the time, day, or date of events in a story. By keeping
track of these details, you can then establish the sequence of events.

Can you tell what happened first? Last?

It wasn't easy, getting up before dawn on a Saturday. But by 6:30

a.m., we were on the road! We only had one day to get to our
destination, so we didn't want to make many stops. At 12 o'clock,
we finally stopped to eat a snack and stretch our legs. We didn't
stop again until late at night—unless you count pulling over to
fix our flat tire at 4 in the afternoon! By Sunday morning, we
were exhausted—but we made it!
If the actual time or date of an event is not given, the writer will often indicate order through the use of
other signal words. These might be number words such as first or second, or other words that indicate
time passing, such as while, during, after, or next.
 Practice Time
Read the passage and find the signal words and phrases that show the order in which events
happen. Then, answer the question below.

The word while tells you that losing the extra

supplies and crossing the stream happened at
the same time.
 Practice Time
You've learned how dates, times, and other signal words can help establish a sequence. Now practice
identifying sequence in another passage.

Even though this is not the last event mentioned, the

passage says it happened in 1953—two years after his most
popular song was released.
By placing the events of a story along a timeline or in a flow chart, you can get a clear
picture of the overall sequence of events.
Have you ever seen a movie in which a scene suddenly shifts to the
past—showing an adult character as a child, for example? An
account of events that happened before the beginning of a story,
or at an earlier point, is called a flashback. Flashbacks interrupt
the chronological order of events.

Writers use words such as years ago, in the past, or then to indicate
the beginning of a flashback. They will also often use details of
sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch to connect the flashback to the
ongoing story.
Over the crackling loudspeakers, announcers began
introducing the day's competing swimmers. Carl made
his way into the stadium, picking out a seat just above
the starting blocks. The smell of chlorine and the warm,
damp air transported him back in time. Last year he had
stood at one of those starting blocks, muscles tensed and
ready to race. It seemed like just yesterday. Now he
looked down at the cast on his leg. Maybe next year, he
thought. No, definitely next year. I'll get this stupid cast
off, and then I won't have to just sit here and watch.
 Does this passage contain a flashback?
Arianna rushed home from school, flew through her
homework, and checked the list of chores on the refrigerator.
Whew! All done, she thought. And it was only six o'clock.
Plenty of time for singing practice. In her room, she took out
her sheet music and shuffled through it for a favorite song. As
she warmed up her voice, she thought back to the local talent
competition last summer. She had sung in front of a hundred
people. The roar of applause when she finished had made her
fingers and toes tingle. She couldn't wait to do it again! She
ran through her scales again, with more energy than ever.
Another way that writers can play with the sequence of events in a story is to include hints about
things that will happen later on. This technique is called foreshadowing.

Unlike a flashback, foreshadowing does not interrupt the sequence of events. Instead, it gets the
reader to begin predicting what will come next in the sequence.
The pace of a story or text refers to the speeding up—or slowing
down—of actions in the story. When many events occur in a very
short time frame, that story is said to have a fast pace. When
relatively few events take place in a longer time frame, the story
has a slow pace.

When you have finished a story or an account, look back at the

overall time frame and the sequence of events to see what the
general pace is, and when it changes.
Events in this story happen in
time order, from first to last.
 Character Traits
The word character also may refer to a
person's moral strength. That's the way a
You've probably heard the word person treats other people, or how he or
character used to describe a really she deals with problems.
interesting or unusual person.
In a work of literature, a character is a person, animal, or
imaginary creature that participates in the action of the story.
To identify characters, list the people,
animals, and things in a story. Then ask
yourself: Which of these people, animals, or
things are involved in the action?
If you can name the characters in a story, you can probably describe what
they're like. Characters are usually described in terms of their character traits,
or qualities.
 Often, though, a writer won't tell you
Sometimes a writer tells you exactly what a character is like. Instead, you
what a character is like. must use clues from the story to figure it
out.
Lisa loved running, and today was going to be perfect weather for it, too.

When she got to the park, she saw Aaron, her running partner. He was
slouched over on a bench, looking miserable. "I sprained my ankle yesterday,"
he said moodily.

Lisa looked concerned. "Does that mean you can't run in Saturday's track
meet? That's terrible, Aaron. You've been training for so long!"

Aaron sulked some more. "The doctor said it'll be at least ten days before I can
run again."

"Well, you'll still come and cheer me on, right?" Lisa asked hopefully.
"Oh, I'll be there all right," Aaron suddenly sat up straight, looking more
determined than he had moments earlier. "I'm the only person who can keep
myself from running in Saturday's meet, and I'm going to be in that race," he
insisted.

"What about your doctor's—"

"What about her?" Aaron interrupted. "I'll stay off my feet and ice my ankle for
two days. I'll be just fine by Saturday."
Lisa loved running, and today was going to be perfect weather for it, too.

When she got to the park, she saw Aaron, her running partner. He was
slouched over on a bench, looking miserable. "I sprained my ankle yesterday,"
he said moodily.

Lisa looked concerned. "Does that mean you can't run in Saturday's track
meet? That's terrible, Aaron. You've been training for so long!"

Aaron sulked some more. "The doctor said it'll be at least ten days before I can
run again."

"Well, you'll still come and cheer me on, right?" Lisa asked hopefully.
"Oh, I'll be there all right," Aaron suddenly sat up straight, looking more
determined than he had moments earlier. "I'm the only person who can keep
myself from running in Saturday's meet, and I'm going to be in that race," he
insisted.

"What about your doctor's—"

"What about her?" Aaron interrupted. "I'll stay off my feet and ice my ankle for
two days. I'll be just fine by Saturday."
Alice is “Girl X,” the first person to survive having her brain implanted
in an organ donor’s body. She no longer looks like her identical twin,
Jenny, although she insists she is her old self. Her memories, especially
of their father, who died in the accident Alice survived, are intact.
However, she notices that familiar people look and smell different, and
the chocolate cake their mother makes, which was once Alice’s favorite,
now tastes disgusting. Jenny notices that Alice is different. Mrs. Jarred,
the mother of the organ donor, goes on TV saying that she thinks her
daughter, Gail, has been brought back to life with a new brain and wants
to see her. Alice and Mr. Jarred have a chance meeting in which they
confirm that Gail is gone.
Not having a strong self- awareness might
make you strangers to yourselves.
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disquiet:
Alice felt anxious, or disquieted, by her
reflection in the mirror.

Identify details that show that Alice finds mirrors disquieting

She says “excuse me” to her own reflection and moves
suddenly and loses her nerve, and she avoids the girls’
bathroom because it has a mirror
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prickly:
Alice’s skin felt prickly, or like many
sharp points were touching it.

Would a prickly feeling be pleasant?

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The flashback reveals that Alice was hospitalized. During this period, she had
strange sensations that seemed to resemble the experience of coming back into
consciousness. However, everything about Alice’s senses of sight, hearing, taste, and
touch was different, and the tone of her voice was higher in the flashback. She
learned she’d been in an accident; on some level, she understood she was no longer
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Alice is accustomed to using

humor to connect with
Jenny. But she is slightly
confused and alarmed by
Jenny’s distant behavior.
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I wonder about Alice’s confusion

about herself. Alice seems troubled by
the thought that with new eyes in her
strange donor body, she is a different
person from the one her father knew,
even down to her essential self.
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mesmerize:
Alice was mesmerized by her own eyes, meaning
that she was completely focused on them.

How does Alice react to seeing her new eyes?

She is fixated on them, tuning everything else out.

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adaptable:
Alice’s mother believes that people can be very
adaptable, or able to change to fit new situations.

What do you think Alice’s mother hopes for when she

says that the human mind is adaptable?

She hopes that Alice will get used to her new body.
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Alice is bothered that she no longer looks like herself, her

twin, and the rest of her family. There’s no question
about how the rest of the family fits together, but how
does she fit in?
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This is a shared memory from the twins’ early

childhood, when their father was alive and the twins
matched in appearance. Although the family tradition is
the same, their father is gone and the sisters no longer
look alike.
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grimace:
Alice showed her disapproval by twisting
her mouth and face into a grimace.

What does Alice’s facial expression tell Jenny?

Her expression tells Jenny that with her new body,

Alice does not enjoy the cake.
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Having observed Alice’s very different new habits, a frustrated

Jenny now views her sister as practically a stranger.
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14

Alice realizes she truly doesn’t know Mr. Jarred. She also realizes that Mr. Jarred had hoped to
recognize his lost daughter, Gail, in Alice. Once he looks into her eyes—in the same way her own
father once did—he can see that she is truly Alice, not Gail. Alice understands this deeply, with
great compassion for Mr. Jarred. The conversation also affirms her sense of her true identity.
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