The Ending of The Fly

The ending of “The Fly” by Katherine Mansfield was both unpredictable and strange but at the same time it was appropriate. The boss, the protagonist, cannot overcome the death of his only son who he lost in World War I, and he is stricken with anguish. After attempting to improve his situation by talking to his friend, who also lost a loved one in the war, the boss noticed a fly on his death. The fly acts as an outlet for the boss, because he can focus on something else besides the death of his brother. When the fly first lands on the boss’s death he teases it by allowing a drop of ink drop on it, and then watches it struggle to get free. He repeats this again and again, sarcastically encouraging the fly until the fly eventually drowns and dies. The ending is so strange because it is completely unexpected that the boss would go from grieving over his son’s death to torturing a fly. Even though the ending is peculiar it is appropriate be after killing the fly he could not remember what he was doing before, weeping about his son. The author was attempting to show that the boss had finally begun the healing process by killing the fly. His treatment of the fly could have symbolized how he believes his son was treated, taking no value in his life and putting him in a situation where he would more than likely be killed.

Personal Identification with the Purpose

Katherine Mansfield’s purpose in her story “The Fly” was twofold: display the value of human life and to not live in the past. The protagonist of the story, the boss, recently lost his son in the war, World War I, and the boss still has yet to get over it. His whole life is at a standstill be he is still fixated on the death of his son, his life is filled with hurt and regret because of it. I could easily relate to the message of this story because I have, like the boss, experienced the death of a loved one, my grandfather. I lost my grandfather in seventh grade and it was one of the most difficult times of my life because he was so close to me and I did not know what I would do without my biggest supporter. After his death I soon realized my grandfather would not want me to living depressed the rest of my life, he would want me to live a happy and successful life. I hope I am doing this so I can make my grandfather proud. By simply calling him the boss, giving him no name or noteworthy characteristics, Mansfield gives him a generality; as a result, the boss could apply to any person dealing with the death of a loved one, like me. Also, the author may have been making an attempt to show the distraught states of people who lost loved ones in World War I. Near the end of the story, the boss begins to move on from his son’s death and look into the future as he begins to heal. The story shows how crucial time is in the healing in the healing process, something I experienced firsthand. Albeit a person can heal from the loss of a loved one, things will never be the same as they were before.