Necessary Knocking

subjunctive

indicative

interrogative

imperative

Alice was called a name by Mrs. Taylor.

Guilt was felt by Alice at the end of the story.

The coffee was liked by Alice, but Mrs. Taylor did not enjoy her coffee.

Although Mrs. Taylor was experiencing labored breathing, Alice decided not to help her.

Mrs. Taylor must decide whether to be racist or not.

Alice must decide whether to leave the conference or not.

Alice must decide whether she should help a person who has mistreated her.

The women at the conference must decide whether to support Alice or Mrs. Taylor.

The narrative's setting, high up in the Berkshire mountains, exposes its person vs. environment conflict.

Alice's conflict with Mrs. Taylor, the other conference guests, and the maid underscores how society devalued African-Americans.

Because the main conflict is between Alice & Mrs. Taylor, the story's theme is about the deadly effects of racism.

Because the conflict is internal, its main theme has more to do with Alice's regrettable moral decision than with Mrs. Taylor's racism.

to teach readers how to create an internal conflict in literature

to provoke the audience to consider their own morality while reading an engaging and entertaining story

to persuade the audience to improve the racial inequalities in their own communities

to captivate the audience by informing them about the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1900s.

the characterization of Mrs. Taylor as a racist, yet kind person

the sad, suspenseful, and thought-provoking mood of the story

the flashbacks which tell the audience how Alice came to know Mrs. Taylor

the foreshadowing in Alice's dream describing her action as the "crime" predicting the tragic result of Alice's decision

"Her vision became slightly distorted."

"I think her room is on the same floor with yours."

"You can never tell what they are liable to do."

"My! But this is good coffee."

A 1st person POV could have allowed the audience to know what Mrs. Taylor was thinking and feeling.

The maid would have known that Alice could have saved Mrs. Taylor but chose not to do so in a 1st POV.

From an omniscient POV, readers would be surprised and confused when Alice does not knock on Mrs. Taylor's door.

Had this story been written in 3rd POV, the audience would have known why Mrs. Taylor was racist.

Alice says that she should have left the conference, and then she kills Mrs. Taylor instead.

You would not expect Mrs. Taylor to die because she seemed to be getting better when Alice went back to bed.

Readers expect Alice to have a pleasant dream, and she actually has a nightmare.

The maid does not know that Alice could have saved Mrs. Taylor, but the audience does know.

situational

interesting

verbal

dramatic

"She examined the room with care, thinking that a jar of cold cream... might have fallen."

"Of someone might have come up the stairs and stumbled."

"Or, she thought, the floor might have creaked as old floors do at night."

"It was, she decided, more logical to believe she had been dreaming."