David Fischer Analytical Essay 4/11-2019

“A Wasted Hour” by Jeffrey Archer

In this essay, there will be an analysis focusing on the narration, point of view, characterization,
themes, and message in the short story "A Wasted Hour" by Jeffrey Archer. In closing, there will be
a conclusion.
"A Wasted Hour", tells the story of a young aspiring female writer named Kelley that studies at
Stanford University. During the last three years, she has thumbed a lift back to campus from the
station her father drops her off at. Not only to save money but also to meet different people with
exciting stories to tell. In this story, she encounters the most fascinating person yet, with a unique
story to tell, on the ride back to College.
The short story is told through an unknown third-person objective narrator that does not share
feelings or thoughts with the reader but acts as an observer with limited knowledge and point of
view. This can be told as the narrator only observes and offers insight into Kelly's life and
background along with her thoughts and feelings–but does not have access to John's perspective.
This can be noticed right at the beginning of the two main characters' interaction: "'Thanks for
stopping', she said. 'My name's Kelley.' 'John', he replied, taking one hand off the wheel to shake
hands with her. The rough hands of a farm labourer, was her first thought."- (p.2 l 49-51). Through
this meeting, we get a quick look at Kelley's thoughts, but we do not get any insight on John's
speculations or feelings. These the reader can only see through Kelley's perspective.
The two main characters are Kelley and John. There are also secondary characters as Kelley's
parents, and other people, whom Kelley has drinniven with, for a ride back to Stanford University.
Kelley is the leading character in this short story. Her full name is Kelley Ragland (p.4 l 143) and
studies Modern American literature at Stanford University (p.2 l 52). As a reader, we do not get
any outer description of Kelley, and have to imagine her through her inner characteristics,
language, and actions. One of the first things we get to know about Kelley is that she likes to
hitchhike to college without her parent's knowledge. Although she does not tell them about her
secret hobby, it seems like she has a good relationship with her parents. We learn that another
reason she hitchhikes is that she feels like her parents have sacrificed enough for her to attend
college: "In any case, he and Ma had already made quite enough sacrifices to ensure she could
attend college…" (p.1 l 8-9). She does not want to burden her family financially, on account that
her father had just been fired. (p. 1 l 8). That she recognizes this, shows the gratitude she
perceives for her parents and shows how much she is willing to repay them, in any way she can.
We also learn that Kelley is an aspiring writer and is willing to cross her boundaries to become a
better writer. Although she will cross her boundaries, she has still set some golden rules about
who she would not accept a ride from when hitchhiking: "Truck drivers were top of the list as they
only ever had one thing on their mind. The next were vehicles with two or three young men on
board. In fact, she avoided most drivers under the age of sixty, especially those behind the wheel
David Fischer Analytical Essay 4/11-2019

of a sports car." (p 1. L 18-21). This shows that Kelly were eager to become a better writer, but
without it resulting in accidents.
The other main character is John. His outer qualities inform us he is an "elderly gentleman" (p. 1, l.
33), "over sixty, wearing a wedding ring" (p. 32, l. 38-39) and with " (…) mouse grey hair, a sallow,
lined complexion, like well-worn leather (…) He wore an open-neck checked shirt, and a corduroy
jacket with leather patches on the elbows."- (p. 2, l. 42-44).
We do not get any inside of what John thinks or sense. His inner character is therefore described
through Kelley with the addition of his language and behavior.
John seems to be well-spoken and polite (p.2 l 39), which he continues to be throughout the story,
as he shows friendliness and respect. For example, when Kelley tells him about her life and
interests: "'Do you have a favourite?", he asked (…) 'Yes I do. I read The Grapes of Wrath when I
was twelve years old and I consider it to be one of the great novels of the twentieth century (…)
'I'm impressed', he said. 'Although my favourite will always be Of Mice and Men'"–(p. 2, l. 65-69).
We learn that John is a man who has experienced much in his life. He has for example been a tour
guide at Lake Tahoe (p. 2, l 76), been collecting biological specimen with his friend Ed (p. 3, l 79),
working as a war correspond (p. 3, l 83), and also been working for the CIA during the war in
Vietnam (p. 3, l 102-105). John also has meet Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy during
his working years as a writer about the Civil Rights Movement, where he was almost labeled as a
communist by J. Edgar Hoover, after refusing to cooperate with the FBI. (p. 4, l 129-131).
Kelley is mind blown by John's life story, and at the end of the story, we learn that John is actually
the author of her favorite book "The Grapes of Wrath"–John Steinbeck.
The main themes in "A Wasted Hour" is being impartial and have a curiosity towards life. Kelley is
an example of her being exactly this, which leads her to accomplish this story's message–to
become successful in life you must understand the importance of expanding your horizon, and get
as much experience in life, you can get, and at the same time, an insight into other people's lives.
We learn that to be a good writer, John says to Kelley that she needs to "Get as much experience
of the world and people as you can before you sit down and put pen to paper" (p. 4, l 45-46)
In conclusion, you can learn a lot from another person's actions and words. However, to do that
you have to stop being judgmental and biased and be more broad-minded and curious. At first,
Kelley did not think much of the old man she asked for a ride, but she remained broad-minded,
which lead her to an astonishing and educational experience.

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