One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts

By Shirley Jackson~1955

Tommy DeLuca, Hope Post, John McGrathC Block

About the Author❖ born in 1916, lived until 1965❖ born in San Francisco❖ won many awards, one for “One

Ordinary Day, with Peanuts”❖ film and TV adaptations❖ moved around a lot in her life ❖ died of a sudden heart attack :(

Other Works by Shirley Jackson❖ “The Lottery”❖ The Haunting of Hill House❖ We Have Always Lived in the Castle❖ “The Man in the Woods”❖ 9 Magic Wishes❖ The Summer People❖ The Tooth❖ The Road Through The Wall

Setting❖ The populated streets of New York City❖ The setting contributes to the plot because Mr. Johnson is able to walk

around with lots of strangers around him that he can share positivity and happiness with

❖ If the setting was placed somewhere else, Mr. Johnson’s kindness would come as less of a shock because in smaller towns people tend to be more friendly and in less of a rush to get places

Characters and CharacterizationThere are five characters in “One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts.”

❖ Mr. Johnson: major/dynamic/round… happy, materialistic, caring, generous, glass-half-full, Good Samaritan (his change is becoming a negative person)

❖ Mrs. Johnson: minor/dynamic/round… pessimistic (indirectly), angry, not a Good Samaritan (her change is becoming a positive person)

❖ mother and boy: minor(s)... thankful, happy❖ Mildred Kent: minor... reluctant (to take money)❖ Arthur Adams: minor❖ beggar: minor… thankful, surprised, happy [inferences]❖ the cab driver: minor, needy (to win a lottery)

SummaryI. Mr. John Philip Johnson walked out of his house on good morning feeling great with his peanuts in his pocket.

He was as happy as ever and smiled and greeted almost everyone he saw.II. He then saw a moving truck at an apartment. He sat down next to the boy sitting at the stoop and found out

the boy was moving from the apartment. He talked to the boy and gave him some peanuts. The boy’s mother thanked Mr. Johnson and he went on his way.

III. After that he walked down the street and bumped into a young lady who was late and paid her for the days worth for being late to work as well as a young man driving a cab. He then had them go off with his money to do something together for they were already late.

IV. Mr. Johnson continued on his way until he met another man and women looking for a home, and he helped them find a new place to live. He directed them to the boy and his mother’s old home.

V. After he he had walked further he gave a homeless man money to buy a veal cutlet, and took a cab and instructed the driver to bet on the horse “Tall Corn” with the money he gave the driver.

VI. Mr. Johnson got out of the cab and went up the stairs to his apartment to see Mrs. Johnson. He talked about his day and the people he encountered, when Mrs Johnson told him that veal cutlet was for dinner, he told her he had already bought it for lunch.

Plot Diagram

Inciting Incident: Mr. Johnson takes a random route in the streets of New York CIty

Setting: The populated streets of New York City during the 1950’s or around that time period.

Rising Action: Mr. Jo

hnson meets a mom and son who are moving

to Vermont and Mr. Johnson helps w

atch the boy while the mom

talks to the movers. M

r. Johnson also helps tw

o young adults,

Mildred Kent and Author Adams, by se

tting them up on a date. Mr.

Johnson continues to help people, su

ch as a homeless man, and a

taxi drive

r.

Climax: The climactic moment of this short story is when Mr. Johnson returns to his house and discusses his day with his wife. His wife and him exchange duties helping people versus hurting them.

Falling Action/ Resolution: Mrs. Johnson makes veal for dinner.

Point of ViewThe point of view of “One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts” is third-person limited. A third-person narration being limited entails:

- a narration of only one character’s actions or thoughts (only Mr. Johnson’s feelings are conveyed throughout the short story)

- less freedom than omniscient

A third-person narration entails:

- having a narrator that narrates a story or series of occurrences- uses pronouns like: he, she, it, they (not I or we unless dialogue is written)

TechniquesIn “One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts” the author uses irony as a technique. Irony is present because when the reader sees the title it says “One Ordinary Day…” this makes the reader assume that the story will be a very typical day. But throughout the story Mr. Johnson does some things that everyday people would not normally do, such as sit down to a random stranger and just have a normal conversation, or take two strangers and have them go off and do something together with his money and trust them to do so, and also give a taxi driver money to gamble with. This is because those are the things Mr. Johnson does on his normal day, and not what the reader would expect him to do as they would with anyone else.

SymbolismA symbol is a physical object that represents an idea.

A symbol used in One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts is the peanuts.

- Mr Johnson gives peanuts to various people that he helps along his day- The peanuts represent a gift- Because peanuts represent the idea of a giving, they are incorporated

throughout the story alongside the other gifts Mr. Johnson provides to the people he meets during his walk in New York City.

ThemeThe theme of a short story is the lesson or meaning revealed by a story…

The lesson conveyed in One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts is that you can make a contribution with materialistic approaches, despite what society says. You do not have to emotionally connect with a person to contribute to their day at all!

- Mr. Johnson gives a boy peanuts- Mr. Johnson pays for a date and the jobs Mildred and Arthur will miss- Mr. Johnson tips the waiter “largely” (with lots of money)- Mr. Johnson donates money for food to a beggar- Mr. Johnson gives waiting strangers his taxis- Mr. Johnson gives money to a cab driver to bet on a horse race- Mr. Johnson gives away all of his peanuts

The verbs that signify a materialistic gesture are boldface, and the direct objects are italicised.

TD

RatingOur group rated “One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts” three out of three stars. We rated this short story by Shirley Jackson three stars because of the compelling surprise ending, underlying theme, and use of only one apparent symbol to encourage thought. Despite the story not having a falling action or resolution, the surprise ending made up for it by interesting the reader deeply. This short story was a page-turner due to the ongoing events in the busy streets of New York city.

Works Cited- "The Big Idea." Prufrock Press Inc. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. <http://resources.prufrock.com/Portals/0/BlogImages/Big-Idea.gif>.

- "Gift." Dreamatico. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. <http://dreamatico.com/data_images/gift/gift-1.jpg>.

- An image that expresses the importance of point of view. GSTATIC. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. <https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.

com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRDY7WmGU92uKlOZS954NPbDBfg_9ySUTXyFWjZsCdfzLDVGa7b>.

- Jackson, Shirley. "One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts." Trans. Mrs. Flinner. Thought-full English. Weebly, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. <http:

//thought-full.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/1/3/18132581/one_ordinary_day_with_peanuts.pdf>.

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jpg>.

Works Cited (cont.)- "Shirley Jackson's Bio." Shirley Jackson. N.p., 2009. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. <http://shirleyjackson.org/>.

- "Taxi Cab." Taxi-Cab. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. <http://www.taxi-cab.me/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Taxi.Cab_.me_.png>.

- "Veal Marsala." Shrinking Single. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. <http://www.shrinkingsingle.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/veal-

marsala-2.jpg>.

- A view of New York City. NYC Parking Authority. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. <http://nycparkingauthority.com/wp-

content/uploads/2013/05/nyc-parking-authority-header-750x600.jpg>.

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svg/2000px-Yin_yang.svg.png>.