FEET OF GOLD
Classification. This is one of a series of stories centering around the life of Ferdinand Taillandy, a lovable hero akin to William J. Locke’s “Beloved Vagabond” and “Aristide Pujol.” In such a series it is not necessary or even desirable that the short-story type be sought. All the narratives, from start to finish, as a complete series, are more likely to reveal a general structure culminating in a climax (which will probably require a whole story) than any one of them is likely to possess definite and clear-cut mechanism.
The three necessary stages of narrative, according to Aristotle, are beginning, middle and end. These stages, as to action, are well-defined in the present story. But one feels at the beginning that here is a hero brought over from a preceding adventure, as one knows at the end that he is off for new experiences. Is the action in regard to Diane complete?
Plot.
Initial Incident: Taillandy meets Diane. No particular struggle is initiated, however. Taillandy merely takes Diane under his protection, here in Paris, and after some days leaves with her in a two-wheeled cart.
Climax of Action: Diane is restored to her mother; Taillandy again becomes a wanderer.
Body of Story: Among the chief points of interest are Taillandy’s reversion to the boulevardier type, and his writing the poem inspired by Diane. Mention others.
Characterization. For what reasons do you like Taillandy? Wherein lies the significance of “Feet of Gold”? Read the final story in this series, “At the End of the Road,” and observe whether the author has kept Taillandy’s character consistent. Take note of the characters who know Taillandy in the present narrative, observe the feeling each has for him, and see how well Mr. Smith has used their opinions to emphasize Taillandy’s character as described. What does Taillandy think of each of the other characters?
By what means has the author chiefly pictured Diane? How has she been enhanced by the two settings? What interaction have character and setting throughout the story?
Details. What value has the following statement as compared with the more direct one, “Taillandy was generous”?
“Of that thousand francs Taillandy spent seven hundred and ninety-six during the next four days—ninety-six, possibly, on himself, and the balance on his friends.”
What other characteristic is implied, also?
Study the management of suspense (pages 313, 314, 315). Why are you held waiting?
Why (on page 317) did Taillandy whisper to the driver?
Why (page 298) did Diane weep at the mention of Madame Nicolas’s name?
What place references keep the locale before you?
How in the speeches and manner of the characters are you kept aware of the French race?