EXTRA MEN
Starting Point. “Somewhere I read in the summer of 1917 a reference to a legend of either a poor saint living as a hermit or a holy abbess (I can’t really remember which) who entertained a company of horsemen one night. In the morning the field where the horses had grazed was untouched and the realization came that a troop of angels had been that way. I am sorry not to be more definite as to this source.
“Washington and the war are wholly of my own invention, and the miracle of the meadow grass became incidental as I wrote the story, which I had at first planned to call ‘The Green Meadow.’ As to the actual processes of invention I should say no one can quite explain the least important of them.”—Harrison Rhodes.
Classification. On concluding “Extra Men” if a reader asks, “What is its purpose?” he will reply in substance, to his self-query: “To convey the thought that spirits of our heroic dead support the boys at the front.” Theme is dominant. “I cannot say that I believe in the supernatural or miracles,” Mr. Rhodes states, “but I believe the story of ‘Extra Men’ to be essentially and symbolically true.”
Plot. Plot sinks, therefore, into comparative insignificance. A single incident serves to convey the truth. Whereas the miracle of the meadow grass might have been the chief event, its purpose here is rather that of a detail, substantiating the visit.
Characters. The spirit of George Washington is the main character of the incident. Since, however, it is fitting that the past be subordinated to the present (in conformity with the author’s purpose), the old lady is introduced previous to the story-action, and is, therefore, the main figure of the entire narrative.
Notice the suggestive method used in identifying the spirit of Washington—nowhere is he openly named. For example, he speaks of Arlington, “the house which once belonged to a relative of mine”; and says elsewhere, “You would not now know Valley Forge.”
Mrs. Buchan was favored with the visit not by accident. The motivation for it is unobtrusively and perhaps even unconsciously conveyed, but none the less with potence. How has the author enlisted sympathy for her.
What is the rôle of young Buchan? Is there a reason for his name—“George”?
What plot value has Al Fenton, “the farmer”?