CENTRAL IDEA. The power of music is supreme.
THE STRUGGLE. The music-force opposed to the men’s disinclination to
charge. Is there any doubt that in singing the men “home” Chautonville
turned them toward the enemy?
THE SETTING. What are the place and the time of the action? Point out
details that keep war dominant.
PRESENTATION. Who is the narrator?
CHARACTERS. Who, specifically, is Chautonville? Why is the description
of his voice put before his physical personality? Value of the contrast?
DETAILS. What determination of the narrator is used to create suspense?
How is the determination overcome?
* * * * *
Try to recall other examples, in literature, of the power of music.
Study its whimsical use in Kipling’s “The Village That Voted the Earth
Was Flat”; its use to recall the past in O. Henry’s “The Church with an
Overshot Wheel.” See how it is employed in connection with the climax
in Mary Synon’s “The Wallaby Track,” and in Kipling’s “The Brushwood
Boy.”
What tonal values exist in the suggestion of sounds?
What relation exists between the rhythm and the theme?
Is the story pre-eminently one of theme, character, or setting?