"The Fly" by Katherine mansfield, how to describe ??

Question

how to describe the boss and old Mr. Woodifield in the first part of the story. how are they different from each other??

Answer 1

Here's something I'd never realized: the "Boss" in the story is really Mansfield's father:

"For Mansfield, whose beloved younger brother, Leslie, was killed in the war, everything changed: ‘I feel in the profoundest sense that nothing can ever be the same—that as artists, we are traitors if we feel otherwise: we have to take it into account and find new expressions, new moulds for our new thoughts and feelings.’
The final months of Mansfield’s life produced little fiction, though she did complete ‘The Fly’, a portrait of her father and her classic statement on the futility of war."

"The short story The Fly by Katherine Mansfield takes place in an Office in England post WW1. In this story we see two different characters both dealing with problems. The boss lost his son and Woodifield lost his freedom in some ways. The theme of this story is the struggle with internal conflict can lead to difficult choices. Mr. Woodifield is an effective foil, some of his characteristics such as: his age, his economic status and his lack of control over is life help us understand the theme. These three things are what make Woodifield a very efficient foil. The main character in the story which is the boss is characterized as caring about the reputation of his business, not greedy and refined.
One of the things that make Woodifield an efficient foil is his age. He is five years younger than the boss. So they are not too distant apart in their age. This makes the boss listen to and be intrigued by the things that Woodifield has to say. They basically have all they can get in life and from then on it is pretty much clear what would happen. This is not a young man and an older man situation. In this case both are aged men that are talking. Also the friendship affects how they communica

. . .
He has, from Windsor Castle, a very expensive kind of whisky usually reserved for the Royal Family, and he is fat which at that time was only probable if you were very wealthy because the war had caused a shortage of foods.

Also another characteristic of Woodifield that makes him an efficient foil is his economic status. He can afford green-leather armchairs which first of all were leather and second were dyed so that would make them expensive. The ink is parallel to the son’s loss. The ink also symbolizes darkness so we see how the character feels, as if alone in the dark. He had a new carpet, new furniture, electric heating which is the most expensive kind of heating. He uses a paper knife to flip the pages implying that he does not want to get dirty which is a sign of refinement.

The Boss is an older and wealthier man. He has worked in the business for so long that he has adapted a business attitude and a good sense of how to run a business. The struggle with internal conflict can lead to difficult choices. All this sacrifice was for nothing in the end and the boss realizes that, which makes it so hard for him to decide whether to deal with his internal struggle or live with it and the idea that his son is still alive. ” He is in denial of the boy’s death and does not want to accept it. ” meaning that his wife and girls dress and brush him because they fear for his health. He does not feel self reliant (Paragraph 1) “On Tuesday he was dressed and brushed…."

Answer 2

The Fly By Katherine Mansfield