At the Bar: Character Notes

[sophienicol]

Man in Denim:

broad pitted face.
nasty- hard
long black hair
fidgety drinker
hard faced
Eyes were a demonstration

[euan gibson]

Rafferty

Ill fitting suit
He seemed uncertain
cheek bones were sharp
Chilled and relaxed
Not afraid
Sarcastic
The charcoal gray cloth sat on him loosely
like a small boy in a sweety-shop

[Sam Shaw]

'big man ill fitted suit'.
'face had just come off a whetstone'.
'looked like he just came back from a long illness'.
'he was like a little kid in a sweet shop'.
'his cheek bones were sharp, his mouth was well taut'.
'whatever had happened to him had tightned him not diminished him'.
'looked nasty-hard'

[Ross G]

Rafferty

"ill fitting suit"
"his suit was out of fashion"
" he could of came back to it after an illness"
"whatever happened to him tightened him but not diminished him"
"he seemed uncertain about what to order"
"he was like a kid in a sweet shop"
"his face looked like it came of a whetstone"
"his mouth was well taut"
"he is scottish"
"the bar man thought he was in prison"
" he took a small wad of singles out of his pocket"
"he was looking at page 3 in the paper"
"he was reading her like a long noval"

[euan gibson]

"At the Bar" is a short story by William Macilvaney. Its about a man called Rafferty who is referd to in the text as the big man and he is in a bar for what seemed to be his first time in a long time because of a short period of time in prision. In this essay i will anser this question "How does the writer create an effective surprise ending?". I will do this by commenting on the writer techniques.

One techique the writer use is setting. The setting is very effective because the bar is in a quiet part of scotland and it suggest that nothing would happen there. "The pub was quiet sugest this.

another technique that is used effectily is charactarisation. This is effctive because it helps us visulise the pub because it tell you about all the regulars in the pub. This is showen by saying "sally and dave sat beside the space invader as usal" this suggest that the pub is quiet because they are in there normal seats without any hassle of not being able to get a seat . this also make the violence surprise.

by the end of the story the reader is surprised because raferty bottles a man because he stole his drink and was looking for a fight i think this is unusal because it is such a quiet place.