The Lifeguard by Mary Morris: The Turn of Events on a Person
Senior English I/II
The Lifeguard
Analyze the last scene of “The Lifeguard, “when Josh goes to see Mrs. Lovenheim.
Why did Josh go there? What did he need or want from her? How does he feel as she “released [him] back into the world” (431)? What does Josh think of his experience as the older narrator looking back in the last paragraph of the story?
You will obviously need to make some references to the earlier parts of the story, but you should focus primarily on this last section. Quote often from it. Cite quotations. The story begins on page 424 and ends on 431 – use those numbers for the citations.
Assessment and Grading
This essay will be due on Monday, November 23 by 3:00 pm SHARED on Google Docs with Mrs. King; late submissions will receive a 25% deduction
The essay should only be two pages MAX (double spaced, reasonable font size, reasonable margins, reasonable spacing, etc.)
The essay will be graded by Mrs. King using the below scale; it is worth 10 points in the “essay category” of the gradebook
Final trimester grades will be inputted into the system by Mrs. King
0 Points
2.5 Points
5 Points
10 Points
Not submitted
Essay provides an overview or reiteration of the elements of the story
Essay does not utilize quotations to support the analysis
Essay is lacking an introduction with or without a thesis
Essay is lacking a conclusion
Essay provides a cursory analysis of the last scene;
Essay attempts to utilize quotations to support the analysis;
Essay contains an introduction with thesis;
Essay contains a conclusion
Essay provides a solid analysis of the last scene;
Essay effectively utilizes (cited) quotations to support the analysis;
Essay contains an engaging introduction with clear thesis;
Essay contains a conclusion that synthesizes the writer’s ideas
Title
Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
Date
“The Lifeguard” by Mary Morris is a narrative about a young, egotistic man who narrates a story about life changes through different perspectives. The turn of events is secondary to Josh’s, the arrogant boy, an encounter with Mrs. Lovenheim, to whom he learned about life through her affection, even without the use of words. This proves that a person’s life may change even after blinking for a second.
The story is set on the beach because, where Josh worked as a lifeguard. The story’s primary conflict is Josh’s attitude, which harmed the girl whose life was in danger. This leads to the central theme of dissecting vanity and uncovering truths behind a person’s façade. Josh is a self-absorbed boy who demonstrated his arrogance in many of his statements like, “I had girls who loved me—the girls of summer, with their bronzed skin and naked unblemished bellies… (Morris, 1997, p. 425)” and “My dreams at night were the dreams of other boys…(Morris, 1997, p. 426).” However, all of his conceit disappeared when he cannot perform a lifeguard’s duty when Becky was dying. During this time, Mrs. Lovenheim, the one he thought was good-for-nothing, suddenly stood up and took over what was happening (Morris, 1997, p. 430). From here on, Mrs. Lovenheim served as a symbol of superiority through her kindness, which helped Josh control his overflowing self-confidence. His description of her change from ordinary to someone close to a god because she earned his respect right away as evidenced by the statement, “I felt as if she were about to say or do something, but instead, without a word, she moved past me back to her umbrella, collected her things, and left (Morris, 1997, p. 430).&rdqu...