Plot and Structure Analysis on "The Lame Shall Enter First"

“The Lame Shall Enter First”

         “The Lame Shall Enter First” is an emotional roller coaster throughout all aspects of the plot.  The

exposition begins with Sheppard and his son eating breakfast, which is also a form of Communion.

They argue back and forth until Norton gets sick and hurls over his plate of food. When Communion

goes horribly wrong like in this particular passage,  it foreshadows a not so pleasant ending. In this

stage of the plot the characters and their background are revealed to the audience so they can

empathy the characters and their choices of actions throughout the story. While reading, one infers

Sheppard’s wife passed away a year ago and ever since he has had problems with his son as well as  

issues within himself. Sheppard also introduces another character to the story by the name Rufus. He

has a condition where one leg is longer than the other, in other words a clubbed foot. An illness or

marking always has meaning in Literature. The clubbed foot is a symbol of Rufus’s hardships through

life by dealing with his father passing away, his mother going to prison and his grandfather beats and

abandons him.

         

          Next, the rising action introduces the conflict of the story. One may find many different conflicts

while reading. One main conflict lies between Sheppard and Rufus. Sheppard tries to help change the

young boy for the better however, Rufus simply does not want to change. Another conflict that

impacts the story would be within Sheppard himself. Sheppard does not believe in god therefore,

when he lost his wife a sense of hope had gone with her. He had nothing to live for except his son, but

he had very little interest. Sheppard  needed a reason to live, so he brought Rufus into his home and

made him into his personal project. The Antagonist and Protagonist is also noticed at the beginning

arousal of the conflict. In this short story the Protagonist would be Sheppard and the Antagonist

could be Rufus or Atheism.

             As the climax reaches the point of no return, Sheppard and Rufus have an intense fight with

words because of Rufus’s actions the previous few days. Rufus took Norton under his wing and

taught him about Heaven and hell. He convinced the young boy his mother was in Heaven. Sheppard

does not believe in life after death, so Rufus used the boy and his mother to push his buttons. After

the argument the boy disappears nowhere to be found. The falling action begins moments later when

the police bring Rufus back to the house. He had went out and caused havoc for the world to see. His

overall plan was to get caught and rub it in Sheppard’s face that he could not save him. Sheppard lost

all sources of hope until he took a moment to think things through. He decided it was not his place

to fix people but to be there for his son. Sheppard wanted to be the best dad he could be from there

on out.

             The plot twist begins along with the resolution. As Sheppard rushed to meet his son

with the good news, he realizes the boy was not occupied at the telescope by the window. He then

horrifyingly sees the boy hanging from a rope swinging back and forth. The author stated the boy

took his final flight into the sky. In Literature a flight can represent a new adventure with life as well

as meaning escaping from something that causes burden or distress. This was Norton’s way of

escaping from the pain of missing his mother as well as the neglect from his father. Norton was

convinced the young will go to Heaven automatically and he could join his mother with open arms

past the gate. If his father would have taken the time to explain to Norton and show him affection,

then the life of an innocent child could have been saved. Sheppard’s hopes and dreams were

shattered into pieces. He had nothing to strive for or purpose of life. The regret of abandoning his

son’s issues hit him like a speeding coal truck. This conclusion gave the audience a shocking ending

as well as a broken heart.