THE BOUNTY JUMPER
Opening Situation. James Thorold, of Chicago, has just been appointed ambassador to Forsland. Isador Framberg has fallen at Vera Cruz. Thorold is making his way to the station to meet his son, Peter, who comes on the same train that brings the body of Framberg.
The initial incident, then, of the complete story is the meeting of father and son.
Brief steps in action.—The two pay their respects to Framberg’s remains, at City Hall. This becomes the motivation for the story Thorold tells his son and for his giving up the appointment. (See final paragraph.)
Plot of Inner Story.
Initial Incidents: Thorold had taken “bounty money,” which was offered to any one who joined the Nineteenth Regiment at a specified time.
Dramatic Climax: “I slipped past the lines.”... “I was a bounty-jumper.”
Climax of Action: Thorold’s promise to God and to Lincoln that he would atone for the faith he had broken.
Dénouement (of enveloping action as aided by inner narrative):
Thorold relinquishes the Forsland Embassy. This act, joined to the confession, forms the expiation. In one sense, the whole rehearsed story may be said to constitute the dénouement of Thorold’s life-long struggle.
Characterization. Thorold is the chief figure, emphasized from beginning to end by the author’s comment, by his own recollections, by his son’s remarks to him, and by his own confession. The struggle is Thorold’s. What aspects has it?
The second figure is Framberg—dead. He is the cause of the immediate phase of the long struggle, the climactic phase. He is the contrasting element, the heroic young man, even an alien by birth, who was nevertheless a better American than Thorold. (Notice the information given, page 262, about his foreign birth.) Through whom does the reader get most of the information about Isador?
The third figure is Peter, a foil of another sort for his father. He is the judge. “Our children are always our ultimate judges”—page 268. Is Peter, at any point, inconsistent with your concept of a sixteen year old boy? How do you account for the fact, with respect to authorship and artistic purpose of the author? Are his personality and influence, joined to that of Framberg’s, strong enough for the motivating force? That is, would Thorold have told his story? Would he have given up the ambassadorship?
Setting, Etc. The narrator brings together in an apparently easy yet powerful way in a tempo suited to the happenings in real life the forces of half a century. (Compare with this management that in “The Waiting Years.”) The action occurs within a single morning. Chicago is kept before the reader by numerous references. The magnitude of the narrative is increased by the spirit of Lincoln; the poignancy of sentiment by the lilac fragrance, the picture of the hearse, the reminiscence of the dead Lincoln.
Presentation. How consistently does the author keep to the mind of Thorold in exercising her power of omniscience? When she shifts to the boy’s mind, do you feel a break in the unity? What alleviating circumstances help to preserve the unity?
Atmosphere. The tone is restrained, sad from the inner failure of the man who has known worldly success; yet it is hopeful in the spiritual outcome of the struggle and in the promise of the young boy Peter. Is it character or setting which, in this story, contributes most to atmosphere?