Upon reading H.H. Munroe’s short story, “The Open Window”, I found myself first jaw-dropped by the return of the ghosts of the men, then besmirked at the niece’s cleverness for not only fooling the irritating guest, Frampton Nuttel, but for fooling me as the reader. Unexpectedly, with the final line of the story, “Romance at short notice was her specialty,” I discovered an astonishing plot twist; the “tragedy” was actually a fabrication of the niece’s, a clever scheme to get the unwanted guest to leave. As a young adult who has suffered many an occasion entertaining my parent’s guests, some annoying, some rude, and some altogether awkward, I completely related to the niece’s circumstance and commended her on her successful mission to get him to leave. Her situation is one that just about everyone has found themselves in at some point in their lives, young or old. In making the principle characters foils, the author creates a story that is wholly relevant to the young adult generation; the niece’s cunning and passionate characterization in contrast with Mr. Nuttel’s gullible, oblivious, and rude characterization, present a situation that all young adults have encountered in their lives and can relate to, and make the story comical as well as entertaining.
From the very first description of the niece we learn that she is “self-possessed.” Her self-possessed and clever disposition make her admirable as well as entertaining to the young reader. While at first, the niece appears like any other young adult and makes attempts to lessen the awkwardness of the situation of being stuck with a strange guest, once she learns that the guest knows absolutely nothing about her aunt, her clever scheme to get rid of him begins. Without hesitation, the niece fabricates a lengthy and ghastly tragic romance about her aunt, concluding the story with a dramatic shudder. After Mr. Nuttel hurriedly leaves the house horrified, and her scheme proves a success, the niece produces another equally as ghastly story to explain his abrupt behavior to her aunt, “he told me he had a horror of dogs,” she begins. These passionate stories form a character that a young audience can be amused by, and even respect. Her scheme is not only successful in solving her dilemma, that is, getting rid of the strange unwelcomed guest, but is also entertaining to imagine. The young reader can’t resist being drawn in by the humor and excitement of the niece’s scheme.
In addition, Munroe’s characterization of Frampton as oblivious, awkward, and gullible, which he portrays through describing Frampton’s stream of consciousness and using sarcastic tone, contributes to the story’s humor and mold him into the strange guest stereotype, whom the reader can relate to having encountered. For instance, Munroe highlights Frampton’s oblivious and gullible nature in perhaps the most comical part of the story with his abrupt departure; “Frampton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat . . . A cyclist coming along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid imminent collision.” Frampton’s abrupt flee from the scene is humorous in that he leaves without a word of gratitude or goodbye, dashing out of the house, believing that he has seen three ghosts. Moreover, Frampton’s awkwardness is apparent in another instance in the story; when he explains to the aunt that he cannot perform any physical labor but that there are no restrictions on how much he can eat. Steadfast to the awkward guest stereotype, Frampton is conscious of the fact that the aunt is not paying him any attention, but continues to ramble about his medical condition. Furthermore, the narrator emphasizes Frampton’s obliviousness with a hint of sarcasm, stating that he “labored under the tolerably widespread delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least detail of one's ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure.” Sarcastically calling Frampton’s complaints laborious makes Frampton appear rude and awkward, adding to his role as the strange guest stereotype and foil of the niece.
Characterization of principle characters plays a vital role in contributing to the story’s relatable and humorous aspects for young adults. The niece’s passionate, clever, and self-possessed demeanor presents a character that the reader can relate to as she solves the dilemma of getting rid of an unwanted guest of her elder’s in an ingenious manner. In contrast, Frampton’s oblivious gullible character makes him fit the mold of the strange guest that the reader has encountered before in their own lives and adds an element of comedy to the story to attract any kind of audience, young or old.
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