Short Story Analysis of “Liberty Hall”
In the short story “Liberty Hall,” Ring Lardner contrasted the superior to the inferior—Mrs. Thayer symbolizing the superior and Mr. Drake symbolizing the inferior. Throughout the story, Lardner cleverly utilized literary devices such symbolism and irony to strengthen the plot of the story. These devices did not only enhance the efficiency of Lardner’s work, but they were critical in the short story format. With limited space and time, the writer needed to fully develop a complete story from setting point to denouement and possibly resolution. Lardner used these devices to draw both humor and laughter in “Liberty Hall.” The humor allowed the reader to sympathize and accommodate with the main characters of the story. Without the presence of symbolism and irony, “Liberty Hall” would loose much of its meaning.
As the story began, Mrs. Drake introduced Mr. Drake as a music writer and a conductor who was part of the “Lambs” club. The word “Lambs” was very significant in which it described and symbolized the weakness of Mr. Drake’s characteristic throughout the story. Not only was he weak, he was also acted like a child in front of Mrs. Thayer. His first encounter with Mrs. Thayer was on the limousine, which he was already following her commands. As the Drake’s arrived to the Thayer’s house, they were amazed of the perfection of the house and the room that was assigned to them. As an introduction to the visits, Mrs. Thayer offered Mr. Thayer coffee and asked if he wanted to try her rich cream. Although he rejected to have her cream in his coffee, Mrs. Thayer gave it to him anyway. Like a child, he was defeated by her argument and was not able to demand for another coffee. With a childish mind, he lied to her and said, “The cream is wonderful.”
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After coffee, Mr. Drake really wanted to smoke his Jaguar cigar. Once again, Mrs. Thayer stopped him and offered him to smoke her Trump cigar. Although it was the worst cigar he had ever smoked, he continued to follow her command one after another. In this scenery, the word “Trump” was very significant in which it symbolized Mrs. Thayer’s strong personality and superiority toward Mr. Drake. As the story developed, the next symbol that best described her character was her book, the “Chevrons” (the word “trump” literally meant “rank highest” and a “chevron” was a V-shaped sleeve insignia of rank).
Based on her act as a commander, and the combination of her two symbols, it clearly described her as having a superior rank in the military services. Toward the end of the story, Mrs. Thayer had memorized the telegram for Mr. Drake and responded back without his consent. This incident had shown the intelligence of Mrs. Thayer and her authority to be in control of Mr. Drake. Clearly, she treated him as a child or of another person under her rank.
Throughout the story, Lardner employed a great amount of irony to strengthen the plot and add humor to the story. The title of his work alone is ironic; “Liberty Hall” was a portion of the Thayer’s residence where the Drakes were spending their vacation. Mr. Drake and Mrs. Drake took refuge there to avoid the media. In any case, Mr. Drake was not allowed to play the piano nor drink his coffee as he pleased. Mrs. Thayer refused to let him play the piano and insisted that he put Irish cream in his coffee. She also did not allowed him to sit comfortably nor did she let him smoked his desired cigars or read his choice of book. Thereby, the Drakes possessed no liberty at all. As a weakling “lamb,” Mr. Drake did what he was told to do. He never said “no” and meant it; this had caused his entrapment where he had no other alternative but to fabricate an emergency exit.
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A consistent and thought provoking novel, Jane Austen s Pride and Prejudice combines irony and wit to provide audiences with a comedic view of human complexity. The first paragraph in this novel consists only of a single sentence, but in the few words used, Austen is able to present a seemly strong and confident statement, only to use clever dialog and description to reveal its irony as the novel ...
From the many descriptions of Mrs. Thayer being superior to the inferior Mr. Drake and her husband, it created an irony in which the female are dominating the male. In reality as well as many other stories, the males were the one to be in power and shown great superiority. This was humorous because in the case of Mr. Drake, his weakness actually transformed him into a little foolish child. This led to the ironic characteristic of Mr. Drake, in which he liked to smoke the Jaguar cigar. In contrast with the “lamb,” the “Jaguar” could be considered to be an animal with great strengthens. Unfortunately, this kind of strengthens did not existed on Mr. Drake’s character.
Finally, the failure of the emergency exit plan was very ironic toward the end of the story. Mr. Drake had devised an ideal emergency plan, but it backfired on him during a crucial time. His premeditated escape was faultless, but Mrs. Thayer intervened and the plan collapsed. Once again, all these incidents were the result of his inferiority, or the weakness that unable him to fight back.
Ring Lardner had indeed mastered the literary art to the next level. Through the use of literary devices, he further expands his story beyond the parameter intended for a short story. Minimizing the pages of a book, he binds together key ideas by bringing them to life in the minds of the readers. Thus, symbolism enabled the author to explain vivid details with less word and less space. If Mr. Drake’s character was presented to the reader without symbolism, this meant that a paragraph from the main story line was loss to serve other purposes. In addition, Lardner used irony to communicate a common ground with the readers. Being able to associate with the Drakes, it allowed the readers to be sympathetic to the Drakes’ misfortune. Irony enabled the readers to side with the Drakes’ and view stories from a different perspective. Rather than being a dull family vacation, it was turned into a comedy. The added humor by the effects of irony made the story more amusing and realistic. However, the enjoyment of Lardner’s “Liberty Hall” descended from the combined effects of symbolism and irony.
