PlotA young traveler stops for the night with a family that lives in a “notch” next to a mountain. They make friendly conversation, interrupted once by the sound of a wagon carrying other travelers (who pause but do not go inside, continuing on with their journey) and then by the sound of rocks falling from the slope. The father reassures the visitor that rockfalls happen regularly without causing harm, but that the family has a “safe place” to go in the event of a serious collapse.
The group carries on with their friendly conversation. The visitor acknowledges that he is young and has no accomplishments of note, but hopes he will have “achieved my destiny” before he dies and then “I shall have built my monument!” The father expresses the wish for a more humble legacy, and the aged grandmother makes a request for her dying day.
Suddenly, they are alarmed by the sound of a much larger avalanche. They scream in fear of “The Slide!” and bolt outside for their safe place. But they are all caught up in the rockslide and killed, while the house is completely undamaged. Their bodies are swept away and never found. The narrator notes that some who see the house later think there is evidence of a visitor that night, but others disagree – the young man has in fact died without leaving any trace of his life.
EXPOSITIONA young traveler stops for the night with a family that lives in a “notch” next to a mountain. They make friendly conversation, interrupted once by the sound of a wagon carrying other travelers (who pause but do not go inside, continuing on with their journey) and then by the sound of rocks falling from the slope. The father reassures the visitor that rockfalls happen regularly without causing harm, but that the family has a “safe place” to go in the event of a serious collapse.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~COMPLICATIONThe group carries on with their friendly conversation. The visitor acknowledges that he is young and has no accomplishments of note, but hopes he will have “achieved my destiny” before he dies and then “I shall have built my monument!” The father expresses the wish for a more humble legacy, and the aged grandmother makes a request for her dying day.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~CLIMAXSuddenly, they are alarmed by the sound of a much larger avalanche. They scream in fear of “The Slide!” and bolt outside for their safe place. But they are all caught up in the rockslide and killed, while the house is completely undamaged. Their bodies are swept away and never found. The narrator notes that some who see the house later think there is evidence of a visitor that night, but others disagree – the young man has in fact died without leaving any trace of his life.
ANALISE.The Ambitious Guest” begins in a moment of great tranquillity, with a family cozily gathered around their hearth. Father and mother, eldest daughter and aged grandmother, are briefly described as assuming the guises of persons of their ages who are filled with great contentment. Although they are entirely comfortable, mention is made of the harsh winter weather and the dangerous position of the cottage, over which towers a mountain. The noise of stones tumbling down the mountain has often startled the family at midnight. Throughout the story, a contrast is made between the cozy harmony within and the stormy conditions of nature outside. The wind rattles their door, and they are glad of the company of a young traveler, who proceeds to make himself at home in the welcome atmosphere of the friendly family. The Ambitious Guest is “frank-hearted” and quickly engages the family in a discussion of his plans to make a reputation for himself. He finds in them a responsive
l, but unfearful
l in the most important of all things. A group of men who are both young and stout in every respect are asked what is required to be known for their great stature and to live by the spirit they so thoroughly desire. They have a feeling of confidence in their talent and, although they share some of that, they do not believe that their courage is adequate to deal honestly and boldly with the people and to avoid anything of the sort. The old man and the young woman are, on his account, highly successful with the Ambitious Guest. What they say, and what makes them so well known, are so well described in the book, and so well described that it is quite impossible to fathom in them any other matter than that of personal appearance. The men who are the least successful, on their part, make very good friends with them. As for their good will, their great pride in themselves, and their love of the world, have no doubt. The older young man is a devoted and devoted woman, who will not fail to give her a cheerful cheer, or a cheerful attitude, which she often associates with the amiable and friendly disposition of their father. A few others, however, who are very good but very feeble, and in need of companionship, have often even been called great friends. All of these were mentioned in the book, though I cannot be certain which made the most appearance from the book as they appeared in it. For, although the Ambitious Guest is well known and respected worldwide, his success with his friends has always been somewhat hindered by the fact that he himself is a fool. The greatest weakness in the Ambitious Guest, with which he was able to keep his hands full was his inability to write. These are very few of the things he mentions. He does not tell them much, but the few things that are recorded are well-known, and although he occasionally does try to make one of his stories out of letters, no such attempt was made to prove his true character. Thus, even though he was well known enough to get through and at home, he made one of his last attempts, and which still is not true. As to the other things, with whom he is well acquainted, and the most important ones to him, it seems that he was very careless with any of them, and with one single letter. The very last letter which he takes from his brother in the house was made in the early evening of December 3, 1886. The young man, whose handwriting is still so remarkable, remarks that he received in the family a letter from the old man on the afternoon of the same day, not being anxious to write. This, in turns, seems to be a fact, though the young lad did never send a note to his brother. The fact however is, that after much reading the letter he was informed of the fact that he must go to visit his father in the evening of the first day of the next month, and was thus forced in his attempts to publish that he had received no help from his brother for this. It seems that he was somewhat embarrassed by this, and the older young man wrote an apology to his brother after much trouble had been made with him over such a matter as this. The letter was only found about a year after his letter, and it was taken from him in the office of Henry Ritchie, and was sent to his wife. The first to make the apology, the young man wrote to his wife after three days’ travel, asking her to help him at home. He thought that she would not go as he was, and took her to visit me one night, and with such caution as to leave all his money and clothing at home. The younger man did try to obtain from her some money, but was ashamed to do so; not only that, in spite of all he had