The Elevator Comprehension

“'Hello, Martin,' she said, and laughed, and pushed the Stop button." This is the last line of our story. At what precise part of the plot does this story end?

• Resolution

• Rising action

• Climax

• Falling action

What social norm does the lady violate according to the main character?

• She uses her hands instead of utensils when eating.

• Elevator etiquette: she does not face the elevator door and stares at Martin while on the elevator.

• The fat lady is never on time for work which greatly inconveniences her fellow employees.

• The antagonist constantly looks at her watch when you are talking to her as if she wants you to hurry.

"His father, who worked at home, wanted to know why he was so out of breath. 'But why didn’t you take the elevator?' he asked, frowning at Martin when he explained he’d taken the stairs. Not only are you skinny and weak, his expression seemed to say, but you’re also a coward. After that, Martin forced himself to take the elevator.'

What could a reader reasonably surmise (suppose that something is true without having evidence to confirm it) from a close reading of the text above?

• Martin’s father worked for a company which sold elevators and was attempting to have a new one installed in their building. He wanted Martin to take the elevator so he could convince the building’s manager that it needed to be replaced.

• Martin’s father was not a mean man. Martin jumped to conclusions about people’s motives based on what he thought their body language said. Unfortunately, his anxiety made him misread facial expressions and body language at times. What Martin’s father really said out loud was not always that bad!

• Martin enjoys his father’s company and can’t wait to get home from school so they can spend quality time together.

• Martin’s father is a body builder and is embarrassed by Martin who he sees as puny and lacking self-confidence.

"The elevator was an undeniable fact of life."

According to this line from the story, what does the elevator most likely symbolize in Sleator’s story?

• Fears or obstacles that must be overcome in life

• The aging process

• Older machines which must be replaced

• Life in an apartment instead of a single family home

What information do we learn in the story’s exposition?

• Martin’s father works from home.

• Martin has a fear of elevators.

• The identity of Terry Ullman.

• The description of Martin, the elevator, and the building.

"When the elevator stopped on his floor, she barely moved out of the way. He had to inch past her, rubbing against her horrible scratchy coat, terrified the door would close before he made it through. She quickly turned and watched him as the door slammed shut. And he thought, Now she knows I live on seventeen."

Why might the author, William Sleator, have chosen to italicize the last part of the excerpt above?

• Sleator wanted to emphasize Martin’s growing paranoia.

• Sleator wanted the readers to understand that Martin was really seventeen.

• Sleator italicized the last line of every paragraph in the story; it was part of his craft and structure (or what he was known for in his writing).

• Sleator wanted the reader to figure out that the lady must have been Martin’s mother if she knew the floor he lived on in the old building.

"She did nothing. She only watched him, breathing audibly, until the elevator reached the first floor at last. Martin would have rushed past to her get out, but there was no room. He could only wait as she turned— reluctantly it seemed to him—and moved slowly out into the lobby. And then he ran. He didn’t care what she thought. He ran past her, outside into the fresh air, and then he ran almost all the way to school. He had never felt such relief in his life."

According to the excerpt above, from which point of view or perspective is this story told?

• First person

• Second person

• Third person limited

A theme is a message or moral of a story. It is a single sentence stating what one should learn from having read the text. Read the following excerpt, which of the following statements could be a theme from this short story:

"He ran for the stairs. Luckily, the unlit flight on which he fell was between sixteen and fifteen. He only had to drag himself up one and a half flights with the terrible pain in his leg, His father was silent on the way to the hospital, disappointed and annoyed at him for being such a coward and a fool. It was a simple fracture. He didn’t need a wheelchair, only a cast and crutches. But he was condemned to the elevator now."

• It takes a village to raise a child.

• Knowledge can help you prepare for the future.

• Good always triumphs over evil.

• It is better to face your fears.

9. Which of the following is NOT an example of a conflict in “The Elevator” by William Sleator?

• Martin versus his fears

• Martin’s father versus William Sleator

• Martin versus the fat lady

• Martin versus his father

What effect do the numerous rapid-fire questions from the following excerpt have on the reader? "So why was she on three, going up to eighteen now? The only floors he ever went on were seventeen and one. What was she doing? Had she been waiting for him? Was she riding with him on purpose?"

• The reader receives vital information necessary to understand the plot that isn’t stated anywhere else in the text by having a window into Martin’s thoughts.

• Through these questions, the reader begins to understand that Martin does not exist and is just in the imagination of the lady in the story.

• The reader comes to a great understanding of the ever present anxiety Martin experiences by hearing his thoughts.

• The reader gets increased insight into how the setting of the story affects the characters’ actions.