...”Sorry for Disturbing You” By Richard Knight A A common perception of our society is that friends come and go, but you will always have your family for better or worse. Sadly that does not count for all. In the short story, “Sorry for Disturbing You,” we meet one of those who are not as lucky as some of us are. The short story, “Sorry for Disturbing”, is written by Richard Knight. He is bringing men’s generally incompetence of showing their feelings and how we are handling these people and communication into focus. The composition is mainly chronological. It starts in medias res as Ian reflects over his meeting with Michael Phelps. This is the only place where there is a breach of the chronologically time line. The story spans over a couple of hours, from the moment Ian opens the door to when he returns home to his wife and daughter, Karen and Corinne. It is told by a third person limited narrator as we only get an insight view on Ian thoughts. This means that there is no outer description of Ian, but the reader is able to follow his inner life. It also means that the portrait of Michael is made based upon Ian’s perception of him and how he appears in the dialogue. Michael Phelps, the other narrator, suddenly shows up really drunk and confused at Ian’s doorstep – claiming to know the previous owners of the house, Edie and George Higham. Ian, the other main character of the story, finds this bothersome and wonders why Michael seeks for help when he could...
Words: 740 - Pages: 3
...Sorry for Disturbing You – Assignment A &B A) Write an essay (700-900 words) in which you analyse and interpret Richard Knight's short story "Sorry for Disturbing You". Regret is defined as a feeling of sorrow or remorse for a fault, act, loss or disappointment. In spite of this melancholic definition, regret is inevitable in our lives. But it is often said, that “if we spend our time with regrets over yesterday, and worries over what might happen tomorrow, we have no today in which to live.” Hence, we must strive to reach a state of mind, where the regret that fills our lives and its consequences are accepted. The consequences of not reaching this state, is what Michael, a character in the short story “Sorry for Disturbing You”, is living with. This so-called story is written by Richard Knight in 2008 and presents the encounter between a man, filled with regret, and a man, ready to defeat upcoming and predicted regrets. The story starts in medias res, when one of the main characters Ian opens the door to a drunken and sick stranger called Michael. Ian lets the stranger enter his home, whilst making him tea and helping him call a cab. But in the end Ian ends up driving Michael home, as Michael apologizes, saying he was “sorry to disrupt [his] evening”. Also, signifying the title of the story. So on one hand we find Ian, a young man following his instinct, as he lets in the drunken stranger. Initially, Ian is surprised and confused to find this man on his doorstep, but...
Words: 1269 - Pages: 6
...primary sources to human delight is the close and solid relations we can have to each other. We have the ability to communicate and connect, and we have an enormous vocabulary to express us emotionally but with prodigious power comes prodigious responsibility. Communication is a central part of an intimate relationship and, if handled properly, it can be the key to an exultant life. But what if a person is unable to communicate about feelings? One of the main consequences can be the end of ever obtaining real intimacy which can lead to loneliness and low self-esteem in the end. In the short story “Sorry for disturbing you”, the protagonist Richard Knight broaches several current issues in our postmodern society. The short story, however, is also characterized and concerned with eternal questions such as helpfulness, loneliness and especially the importance of communicating and how you are able to deal with it. I will, through my analysis, interpret the short story based on the main aspects of the text that we can relate to our own society. Subsequently I will put it into perspective by discussing Love Poem by Douglas Dunn (1969) and The Ambulance Box by Andrew Phillip (2009). The main character Ian is the central point of the current questions that have been brought up. The text involves a third person limited narrator, and the personal view is based on Ian’s observations because we only get an insight view on his thoughts, which means that the portrait of others are made...
Words: 433 - Pages: 2
...Sorry for Disturbing You “Sorry for Disturbing You” is a short story from 2008 written by Richard Knight. The main theme of the short story is regret and the story basically focuses on the regret of choices one makes in life. The story revolves around the protagonist Ian Harter and is told by a third person limited narrator, as only Ian’s thoughts appear in the story. Ian is our eyes throughout the story and all feelings and descriptions are from his point of view, which forces the reader to have certain impressions of the other characters. The story begins in medias res with Ian opening the door to his house finding an old alcoholic man standing on his doorstep. Ian reluctantly lets the man, Michael Phelps, into his house where Ian is alone with his daughter, Corinne, while his wife, Karen, is “staying at her mother’s for a while” (p. 2, l. 31). After asking the stranger a few questions including offering him a glass of water, Ian talks him into calling a taxi. While waiting for the taxi to arrive, Ian sees his chance to question Michael and it is revealed that Michael was associated with the former owners of Ian’s house. Ian also learns rather tragic information about Michael’s past with his family, when Michael tells Ian about his family’s rejection. When the taxi driver finally arrives and sees who his passenger is, he refuses to drive Michael. Back inside the house, Ian offers to follow Michael to his flat and therefore calls his wife to make her watch their daughter...
Words: 1212 - Pages: 5
...Instructions: ”Sorry for Disturbing You” Write an essay (900-1200) words in which you analyse and interpret Richard Knight’s short story “Sorry for Disturbing You”. Part of your essay must focus on the function of dialogue in “Sorry for Disturbing You” I will correct the following elements: * Verbal concord * Personal pronouns (he, him, she, his, her etc.) * Spelling * Paragraph structure * Introduction + thesis statement Text: “Sorry for Disturbing You”, a short story by Richard Knight, 2008 Sorry for Disturbing You is a short story written by Richard Knight and its main theme is regretting some of the choices made in life. Two guys are regretting things in this story – an old man called Michael and Ian, who is also the main character. Michael is an old sick man one night knocking at Ian’s door asking for a phone to call for a cap. Ian doesn’t feel like letting him in, but he follows his instinct and finally lets him in to help him. Ian following his instinct turned out to be a good thing, because letting Michael made Ian change The story is told by a third person limited narrator, as it is only Ian’s thought that appears in the text. So reading this story Ian is our eyes and ears. Every description is given to us by his point of view, which means that the impression of the characters that we get is affected by what Ian’s thoughts of these people. The fact that the narrator is a limited narrator, also has the effect that Ian can only be described...
Words: 1674 - Pages: 7
...Sorry For Disturbing You: In life we face tough times and unstable phases both personal and in our relationships. We can’t control the outcome of all our choices and sometimes things don’t turn out they way we wanted. But everybody makes mistakes and as human beings the ability to realize our past mistakes and learn from them is crucial if we want to end up happy. To say sorry for our faults and hopefully start over again can change or perhaps even save a relationship or life. This short story called “Sorry for disturbing you” written by Richard Knight, depicts a fortuitous meeting between two strangers, our main character Ian and the old man Michael. The meeting ends up being much more powerful than expected and makes Ian rethink his entire life situation. Ian realizes the mistakes he has made but learns that it is not too late to set things right. Ian is the main character of the story. He’s a father, who seems very loving and concerned about his family. He cares about his daughter’s safety and thinks a lot about his wife. But everything isn’t perfect in his life and family. E.g. Ian and his wife, Karen, aren’t living together at the moment: “Karen was staying at her mother’s for a while. They had things to sort out.” This indicates that there might be some issues between them. However it seems like Ian cares a lot for Karen and is very attracted by her, which we see in his descriptions of her, where he talks about how she’s always smiling, laughing, hugging etc. We also...
Words: 1004 - Pages: 5
...“Sorry for Disturbing you” is short story written by Richard Knight. The story revolves around Ian who is the main character and Michael – and old sick man. One night Michael knocks on Ian’s door asking to borrow a phone so he can call for a cab. At first Ian doesn’t feel like letting him in, but eventually he lets him in to help him. Michael keeps apologising for the inconvenience he’s caused and tells Ian that he used to know the former owners of the house. The cab-driver has had Michael before and asks Ian to call for someone else because he’s too much trouble. Ian then tries to call the former owners for help, but they seem to want nothing to do with the old man, who’s apparently the father of the former female owner. Ian finally decides to call his wife (she was staying at her mother’s for a while because they had some things to sort out) to watch their daughter while he drives Michael home. The story takes place in present time and in what I assume is some sort of larger city in Britain. The main character is Ian Harter, who is living alone with his daughter Corinne, while his wife, Karen, is staying at her mother’s. Michael Phelps is an old, sick and alcoholic man, who used to know the former owners. The composition of “Sorry for Disturbing You” is mostly chronological. We start in medias res with Ian reflecting over his meeting with Michael Phelps, which is the only place where there is a breach of the chronologically time line. The short story only covers a couple of...
Words: 438 - Pages: 2
...Richard Knight 2008 Sorry for Disturbing You The short story Sorry for Disturbing You by Richard Knight is written in past tense and limited 3rd person narrator. It starts in media res, our protagonist Ian opens the door, and a man is standing on his doorstep. By starting the story it makes the readers wonder what is going on, and it is like you are having the same exact reaction as Ian when he opens the door. The readers can identify themselves, and understands Ian’s feelings, why he does the things he does. And it is all because of the start of this story. Mistakes happen but the important part of mistakes is learning from them. Like Eleanor Roosevelt once said “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself” Ian learns from Michael, who one day knocks on his door, drunk and lost. Our protagonist Ian Harder who is a father and a husband seems loving and caring about his daughter “Go back in, Corry. (He looked at her knowingly, hoping no to frighten her….)” And he also thinks about what his wife Karen would have thought about letting a stranger in the house who also leaved a dark print on the bright yellow wall, but she was staying at her mothers house. They had things to sort out. When Michael Phelps knocks on the door Ian invites him in to the house even though he is drunk. He could have easily closed the door, but he chooses to go after his instinct and helps the man. As Ian is trying to help Michael, he finds out that he has...
Words: 721 - Pages: 3
...Vi er lige stædige, og vi kæmper alle om den samme plads i hierarkiet. For at komme frem i verden må man til tider ofre sine sociale relationer og den nuværende tilværelse. At to kvinder kan hade hinanden så meget ligger ikke fjernt fra vores tid. August Strindberg har skrevet dramaet, som for første gang havde premiere i Danmark i 1889. Det var netop også i slutningen af 1800 tallet af Det moderne gennembrud fik set dagens lys, og det var her, en del forfattere gjorde op med den bundne kønsrollefordeling mellem kvinde og mand. Dramaet tager udgangspunkt i en samtale mellem Frk. Y og Fru. X, hvis man kan kalde det en samtale. Det er nemlig gennem hele forløbet, Fru. X der fører ordet, og Frk. Y, også kaldet Amalie, nikker blot. Dramaet finder sted på en lille café. De to forhenværende veninder møder tilfældigvis hinanden juleaften på caféen, hvor Fru. Y sidder alene ved et bord, med en flaske øl, halvt drukket. Her træder Frk. X så ind, og allerede ved første indtryk får læseren en særdeles klar overbevisning om, at hun lever et overklasse liv, med hus, mand og børn; ”Hun er vinterklædt i hat og frakke og har en smuk japansk kurv over armen”.(Den stærkeste, s. 1). Dette er modsat Fru. Y, som tilbringer juleaften helt alene på den lille café. Fru X er meget snaksagelig, og fører hele tiden ordet. Hun virker til at have det perfekte liv. Hun viser julegaverne frem til børnene og hendes mand, hun er stolt, og holder sig ikke tilbage. Dette ændrer sig hurtigt, da man finder...
Words: 1044 - Pages: 5
...Essay Sorry for Disturbing You A: We are several billions of people on Earth. We are born to this planet with abilities of an enormous scale. Our vocabulary enables us to express our feelings as well as our body language disclose them. As a result, we are very lucky human beings! We are like gregarious animals: Even though we are all different, we cannot live alone. We know for a fact that we are currently seven billion people on Earth, so why are many of them living in loneliness? Studies have shown that one of the primary sources to human happiness is the close and confident relation we can have to our fellow men. Therefore, the ability to communicate is crucial for how we will evolve in the future. Such issues are being handled in Richard Knight’s short story “Sorry for Disturbing You”, from 2008. In the short story, Michael Phelps is described as an old man, who one evening is knocking on Ian’s front door. He wants to borrow the phone so he can call a taxi. Phelps is intoxicated by alcohol and claims that he used to know the previous owners of Ian’s house, Edie and George Higham. Ian invites him in and tries to help him. To find what connection the drunken man has to this couple; he calls them, but without success. They will not help him at all: “Look, if he’s bothering you I suggest you call the police. I’m sorry he’s disturbing your evening but… I really must go. Sorry.” George Higham seems frustrated and dismissive towards Ian. This reaction is due to the...
Words: 1050 - Pages: 5
...Loneliness is a big part of life for some people; maybe their wife or husband has left them. Or they do not have any friends or family to rely on. James Diegan has painted a painting that shows a man sitting all alone on a bench with his head buried in his hands, like he is crying. The painting is called “Loneliness” and is made in 2006. Today almost everyone is getting divorced, it is more common that people are divorced or have been than they have stayed with the same person their whole life. The short story:”Sorry for Disturbing You” is written by Richard Knight. The story is from 2008. The story is about a man, Ian, who lives alone with his daughter, Corinne, because his wife, Karen, has moved back home with her mother while they are fixing their problems. And one night a man stands outside Ian’s house and he is ill or drunk so Ian lets him in so he can help him with getting home. In the story’s beginning we are introduced to Ian, the strange man outside the house, and Corinne. The man has been crying, or it is the rain that is running down his face. He looks ill, or maybe he is drunk, nonetheless Ian let him inside to borrow the phone, so the man can call for a taxi. In the story’s presentation we get to that Ian and Karen have some problems so she has moved back in with her mother. We are told that he actually has a cell phone with him, which he calls a cab from. And that his name is Michael Phelps, and he cannot even walk without any help. The cab driver knows him and...
Words: 828 - Pages: 4
...short pause before opening her mouth. Everyone stops talking and stare up like I do. “Freshmen, transferees, welcome!” she says it with a wink of excitement, waves her right hand as to show formal welcome to us. “First of all I’d like to thank each and every one for choosing this school. It’s an honour for us to be your guidance as you study and discover more of your precious talents. We assure you our available facilities will help you practice your skills. As for your researches, internet is available inside the campus but still we encourage you to read books at our grand library.” I heard someone woohoo-ed. Orientations, I really hate attending one. They all talk and talk about their state-of-the-art facilities; a bunch of show-offs flashing their fake smiles. An honour to be their guidance? Not. We all know that most schools especially the ones that are owned by companies, including this one *coughs*, only want our money. They don’t care about how difficult exams are. They don’t care about how some professors are evil to the core. It’s just plain business. Believe me. After all, this is not my first school. “Again, thank you and welcome to International School of Arts. Feel free to visit our different school organizations to their booths.” she claps her hands and then points us to a huge door. I didn’t hear telling her name because I was too busy playing flappy bird at my phone, stupid bird. Sometimes I question myself if this flappy bird is a cartoon bird...
Words: 2287 - Pages: 10
...Marx as a Racist Born on May 5, 1818, Karl Marx was the first son in the family to not die early. While his other older brothers had died of illness, Karl lived on and was thought of by his mother as a Gluckskind, or “child of fortune.” The Marx family was a middl3eclass family in the city of Trier. Karl, much like his father, had mental gifts. When he came of age his family shipped him to the University of Bonn for schooling. His father, a self-made attorney, implored Karl to study hard and attain knowledge for reaching steady employment. Instead of listening to his father, Karl squandered his father’s money and became engulfed in debt. Along with debt, Karl also indulged in drunkenness and even engaged in a duel. Karl chose to use his years at college learning Greek and Roman mythology. To add to his selfishness, after schooling Karl married much to his families’ consternation. Karl also refused to support his mother and sisters after his father had died. Karl grew disgusted at his mother and wanted her to die so he could gain her inheritance. There are many things Karl Marx did growing up that God’s Word speaks against. I believe Karl Marx proved early on just how selfish he was. In Ephesians 6:2 the Lord wishes us to honor our parents. There are also countless warnings about drunkenness and being in debt. But we must heed these warnings and not ignore them. Karl Marx was Jewish and raised a Lutheran so I believe he was taught proper morals. Often the choices...
Words: 1164 - Pages: 5
...“The Perils of Obedience” Response Rochelle Jarmer Composed 2 Karsten Piper Due: 06-23-15 “The Perils of Obedience” by Stanley Milgram is a disturbing and thought-provoking article that details the author’s experimentation in human obedience. The article describes an experiment in which the “teacher”, is put in a position to administer a shock to the “learner” when a wrong answer is given during a test. The teacher is left unaware that the learner is an actor and not being shocked and, in fact, the focus of the experiment is the teacher himself. I think this article is particularly disturbing because people tend to believe that evil only lurks in the shadows. It is terrifying to realize that any ordinary person can commit cruel and horrible...
Words: 606 - Pages: 3
...It is so hard to hear him suffering and I was starting to get very scared for him. My husband and I have been continually praying for Michael and that he stays safe, but we haven't heard from him in a while. So, I was starting to get very anxious. I remember walking out towards our mailbox one day and seeing something sticking out. I letter a little more formal than usual. My heart sunk, and I started sobbing before I even opened the letter. As I walked inside I handed the letter to Michael. Not being able to come to words he read the disturbing letter. Dear Mr and Mrs Bergin. I am sorry to inform you that Michael Bergin has passed away. He was very sick already, but he died when a heavy shell exploded near the aid post where he was currently standing. This event happened at the 3rd Australian field ambulance, Belgium. I am also a chaplain who was friends with Michael. When he died, so did so many people's hearts. He was such a lovely person to be around and a great friend. He was always very committed and brave. He has been awarded the military cross posthumously. Michael is someone that we will never forget and has made a very big hole in our hearts now he has gone. We will remember...
Words: 1023 - Pages: 5
