How does the entrance of Mangan's sister at the
end of the first paragraph, on page 3, affect the
plot?
to Mangan's steps resignedly. She was
waiting for us, her figure defined by the light
from the half-opened door. Her brother
always teased her before he obeyed and I
stood by the railings looking at her. Her dress
swung as she moved her body and the soft
rope of her hair tossed from side to side.
It creates tension between the narrator and the
other boys.
It introduces an important internal conflict for the
narrator.
Every morning I lay on the floor in the front
parlour watching her door. The blind was
pulled down to within an inch of the sash so
that I could not be seen. When she came out
on the doorstep my heart leaped. I ran to the
hall, seized my books and followed her. I kept
her brown figure always in my eye and, when
we came near the point at which our ways
diverged, I quickened my pace and passed
It begins the falling action as the narrator confronts
a problem.
It solves the mystery of why the narrator is hiding in
shadows.