hello namaskar wam in this video today I'm going to explain the story called the elevator now what kind of a story is it it's a story which is rather spooky it's rather mysterious you really do not know what really happens at the end of the story so it leaves you uh let me say wondering what happened rather tantalizing kind of an ending it's a short story and there are basically three principal characters of which two occupy more space the son the father and a lady who is also who also seems to be an occupant of the building or maybe she's a visitor we do not really know and there are other kinds of characters and I'll will explain to you as we go along in this story so we will do a line by line word by word explanation I will also give you a thematic explanation at the end of the story so that it kind of rounds you rounds it up for you very well so that then you can use all that information that I'm providing to you in the form of notes Here in your answers when you're writing your long format answers okay so let's get started let's first understand a bit about the author and a bit about the story and then we will go into the text of the story so the elevator about the author now he is an American author author who was influenced by the psychological Thriller and the horror yandra now this is important that you need to keep in mind William leer he was anamed of the Thriller and the horror yandra so there is an element of mystery in this particular short story and his USP when I say USP is that his unique selling point was to take something which is very ordinary in this case an elevator a lift which all of us use on a day-to-day basis right and give them a different personality and that's what I said while there are three characters in this particular Story the elevator is like the fourth character in the story and the staircase which is used whenever the elevator is not used is like the fifth character at least that's the way I interpret this particular story I had a lot of fun interpreting this story because I thought it kind kind of you know let you think in different ways about what could possibly be the author thinking while he was writing this particular story so there are these three characters plus the elevator and the staircase which are like different personality because he infuses an element of suspense and fear in both the elevator and the staircase so those are the horror and the Mysterious elements as far as this particular story called The elevat is concerned so much of his fiction was aimed at young adults you know people of your age probably you should explore some more of his stories and his writing style if you realize if you notice and you would notice while we read it it's a lot of vivid detail it's rich in detail about something as normal because how much can you possibly write about an elevator but he actually does he gives it a life and a personality of its own and that's what makes the story so very fascinating U about the story the story has three characters as I said Martin his father and the lady now the inanimate objects as I said in the story the elevator and the stairs are also characters in a sense at least that's how I interpret it because they are also imbued they are also embellished they also given several characteristics and features that gives them a personality of sorts this story essentially revolves around Martin's fear of the elevator which is not in very good shape it's a rickety kind of an elevator it's an old and a rickety kind of an elevator in his apartment building where he lives and this fear of the elevator it disrupts his daily routine but it also symbolizes a larger lesson about conquering your anxieties he's so fearful so how does he kind of you know how should he overcome those fears and anxieties that's what the story is All About I was looking for some images to go with the story I couldn't get a very proper one this is one of the images that I got I'll just reduce the size so that it fits into the page yeah so this is one of the images like you know you get an idea the ladies described throughout I don't particularly like it because I don't like body shaming uh she's referred to as a fat lady throughout um if you notice I did not use that adjective throughout in in the introduction so far but that's how it is described in the story but as I said I mean probably those days it was not so much in work today it is not considered polite and proper to do body indulge in any form of body shaming so this is what you need to bear in mind while we are reading the story so now let's get into the story The text of the story okay the elevator by William sler it was an old building with an old elevator now you realize that right at the in the beginning of the story he has put the fact that it was an old building with an old elevator essentially talking about the fact that it is a very old and it has spent many years in service in that particular building so the building was old the elevator was also quite old so please mark this particular word this is important a very small elevator another description point it is a very tiny kind of an elevator which could carry only three people only three passengers could travel in that lift up and down at any given point in time Martin now we are introduced to the protagonist of this particular story he's a thin 12-year-old boy okay he's a 12-year-old boy he felt nervous in it from the first day he and his father moved into the apartment of course he was always uncomfortable in elevators so he has had that fear of elevators from a very young age afraid that they would fall in fact I remember when I was a child um one movie which was being screened on D those days since that was the only TV channel I remember a particular scene I mean you wouldn't know those actors uh there used to be a villain called I mean he's still alive Ranjit and there used to be a character actor called Dr SRAM lagu so I still remember a scene in a particular Hindi movie where Ranjit does something with an elevator and the elevator with SRAM lago's character it kind of crashes down and he dies and I also I mean in our Flats those days in Delhi we didn't have lifts and all that as was in any case on the first floor so U I always had that phobia of lift that you know something like that could be done so I can identify with what Martin feels here that he was always uncomfortable in elevators afraid that they would fall but this one was especially unpleasant so you know he's describing the elevator in great detail as if it were a person okay so so while he does not explain what is the reason why he is uh afraid of elevators right um we know that he was perhaps this was because of the poor lighting and the dirty walls now those are the elements that he is talking about why this particular elevator is rather unpleasant so this is another adjective keyword that you need to bear in mind please keep marking the keywords write it down in a notebook it will really help you when you're writing your answers because then you will be conscious of the fact that you need to use these keywords okay it had poor lighting so it was rather dim lighting the walls of the elevator the three walls were also dirty dirty walls poor lighting unpleasant okay and only three passengers which means that it was a rather cramped lift if three passengers got in at the same time perhaps it was because of the door of the lift which never stayed open long enough and slammed shut with a loud clanging noise so now he's talking about the sound imagery the fact that it made a rather loud which is unpleasant clanging means K kind of a very sharp kind of a sound it would create also the fact that it was always it it always seemed to put you at risk because it would shut very fast even before the person could get in properly or if two or three people have to get out at the same time it would start shutting even before the passengers got out which means that it is obviously not a very modern lift it is not something which can be termed as a very safe vehicle to move up and down perhaps it was the way the elevator shuddered each time now there are many elevators especially the old ones which behave like that the kind of sound they make when you're going down or going up right so uh and you kind of get it this thing is it going fine safe because the sometimes the cables have not been oiled well enough okay they not been serviced so sometimes the lifts make those kind of a sound or if there is some kind of a voltage fluctuation that also could result in something like that so it was the way the elevator shuddered shuddered each time it left a floor as if it was exhausted that's another important adjective that you need to use as if it was tired maybe it was simply too small it seemed crowded even with only two people in it even when there I mean though it's uh capable of carrying three passengers at the same time even with two people it would seem to kind of sound very tired so here you see it's like shuddered as if it were exhausted it's almost like you know he has personified he has personified the elevator he has kind of given lot of human characteristics you know as if you climbing up when you have to climb up and all that it is kind of looking very tired the stairs were no better now the stairs are the alternative when there is a park C we take the stairs right or if there is a fire in the building we take the stairs we're supposed to take the stairs but the stairs were no better Martin tried them one day after school there were no windows which means there was no ventilation no light coming in which means it was a dark dingy kind of a pathway and the lights were not working okay so that made it very dark Martin's footsteps echoed behind him on the cement as if there was another person walking behind him so you see how he's kind of creating this rather spooky kind of an atmosphere okay so each footstep which you would hear behind you adds to what it adds to the Fear Factor it adds to the Fear Factor as though there was another person climbing getting Clos by the time he reached his home on the 17th Floor now this is an important detail he's giving he was gasping for breath anyone would anyone would right Martin's father worked at home so he does the work from home even at that time he wanted to know why Martin was out of breath because he would assume that he should take the lift why why didn't you take the elevator the obvious question he asked frowning at Martin so you see the first indication of the relationship between Martin and his father is one of unpleasantness please make a note of it please make a note of it that he's the first indication is one of unpleasantness you're not only skinny and weak and bad at sports his face seemed to say but you are also a coward now this is what mark is imagining his father telling him while he doesn't say so in so many words right he seemed to say his face seemed to convey that you are a coward you are a skinny guy you are weak and you're bad at Sports and these are things perhaps Martin knows are true but he seems to think that this is what his father wants to convey to him at that point in time after that Martin always took the elevator he would have to get used to it he told himself like just like he got used to being bullied at school now this is important this is an important detail which means he was not someone who would stand up to the bullies he would accept being bullied at school which shows that he was the kind of student he was the kind of boy of 12 who was a little Meek and timid he was not someone who would stand up to the bullies and say how dare you bully me okay but he did not get used to he got used to being bullied but he could not get used to the elevator so you see even here the elevator seems to be a character which seems to be bullying him which seems to have the upper hand WEA we 12-year-old Martin please keep noting a lot of these points keep coming into my mind I'll keep saying it so please note it down as I just say because I mean it's not like I've written it down somewhere these things keep coming into my mind coming to my mind but he did not get used to it which one to the elevator he was always afraid that it would stop suddenly and he would be trapped inside it for hours by himself so there was that fear that while having two more people would make it very very uh crowded if he was alone he would always be very scared that it would stop somewhere and he would get trapped but it wasn't much better when there were other passengers he did not like to be close to them like I showed you in the photograph he also disliked the way people tried hard not to look at one another you see in in a lift that's what happens you know people keep looking up at the fan at the walls at the you know which says these many passengers can be carried this much weight the lift can be carried those are the normal things which are which you find inside a lift so people would not kind of talk to each other people would not converse with each other people will not even would not even look at each other and he did not seem to like it so he you the impression you get about Martin is that he would like people to be friendly to each other but that didn't seem to be the case either at home Visa his father or at school where he would get bullied or in the elevator when other passengers would get you get the triangle I have made home school elevator these are the three things these are the three places he seems to go this is part of his world the three spots in his world great good one morning the elevator stopped at the 14th floor and a fat lady got on which means she got inside she was wearing an old green coat that ballooned around her which means it kind of you know uh I mean it balloon means uh it's almost like a covering around her as she waddled into the elevator now wadle is um to walk with short steps with a clumsy swing motion and wadle is a word which is usually used for ducks okay and now he gives a very detailed description of the fat lady so he says as she Waddles so he's seeming to suggest that she's walking like a duck Martin was sure that he felt it sink under her weight that the lift could not take the weight of the fat lady she was so big that her coat brushed against him and he had to squeeze himself into a corner the there was no room for anybody else which means the third passenger could not have got inside there was no space the door closed quickly behind her and instead of facing it she turned around and stared at Martin so Martin is at the backside the RAR side of the lift and she did not look towards the door she turned her back towards the door and she was staring at little Martin he looked at her for a moment she had large fleshy cheeks and no Chin just a huge mass of neck her blue eyes were tiny but sharp please make a note of the description of the lady they seem to be boring into Martin's face so she seems to be staring small eyes big body but they seem to be staring into Almost Boring into Martin's face Almost Boring means almost like drilling into Martin's face Martin looked away but the woman did not turn around around you know when someone looks away you also would look the other side you know you would not keep on Staring at the other person that's not considered good manners was she still looking at him and now while he has turned away he's wondering whether she's still looking at him he glanced at her quickly then looked away again she was still watching him he wanted to close his eyes so he's now getting petrified he's getting scared he wanted to turn around and stare into the corner but how could he the El Creek down to 12 then 11 the piggy eyes now he refers to her eyes as piggy eyes like a pig's eyes was still looking at him she had to be crazy why else would she stare at him like this what was she going to do ni so he's again feeling scared he's used to being bullied he's got used to being bullied but he has not got used to the ways of the elevator and this particular journey in the elevator where that fat lady is constantly staring at him she did nothing she only watched him breathing loudly until the elevator reached the first floor at last Martin wanted to run past her to get out you know he just wanted to be out of her sight but there was no room only after she would get out can he get out of the lift he could only wait as she turned towards the door and moved slowly out into the lobby then he ran he did not care what she he thought you know he could not care he just wanted to be away fast he ran nearly all the way to school that particular day he thought about her all day did she live in the building because he had obviously never seen her before he had never seen her before and the building was not very big which is strange because it has 18 floors they lived on the 17th Floor maybe she was visiting somebody but 7:30 in the morning was too early to visit anyone right Martin felt nervous when he got back to the building after school this again gives an indication of his personality but why should he be afraid of an old lady he felt ashamed of himself he pressed the button and stepped into the elevator hoping that it would not stop but stopped on the third floor Martin watched the door slide open revealing a green coat a biggish face and blue eyes which were already staring at him as if she knew he would be there this time make a note of this the first time she got in from the 14th floor and got off on the first floor this time she gets in from the third floor strange we do not know whether she was an occupant of that building or she was a visitor he had seen her in the morning he was again seeing her in the afternoon after he got when he got back from school it wasn't possible it was like a nightmare but there she was going up said Martin you know he thought she would be going down said Martin his voice little more than a squeak you know how 12-year-old boys voice could be she nodded and stepped on the door slammed she watched her pudgy hand move towards the buttons one minute p means uh rather fat okay so he again emphasizing the fatness of the uh lady she watched her pgy hand move towards the buttons she pressed not 14 he pressed not 14 she pressed not 14 but 18 the top floor so that will at 18 floors he lived on the 17th Floor the elevator trembled and began to go up the fat lady watched him once again this morning she got on at the 14th floor so he's trying to recollect so why did she get on at the third floor today and go up to 18 the elevator seemed to be moving more slowly than usual Martin wanted to press seven so that he could get out and walk up the stairs so he's looking for an Escape Route he's looking for an Escape Route because he doesn't want to be in her company but he could not reach the buttons without touching her and he did not want to do that when the elevator stopped on his floor that is the 17th she hardly moved out of the way so it shows that she's not given to displaying civil courtesies he had to squeeze past her because normally if you are this thing you would either step out allow the person behind you to get out or make way in some way so that it's comfortable for the other person to get out without brushing against you but she did not do anything of the sort rubbing against her horrible scratchy coat okay yeah he was afraid the door would close before he could get out she turned and watched him as the door slam shut now she knows I live on 17 so he was a little scared that she has come to know that he lived on the 17th Floor he thought have you ever noticed a strange lady in the elevator he asked his father that evening can't say I have he replied not looking away from the television so the father is not really interested in the son or what the son has to say so he does not even look at him while he's speaking to him or asking a question he's focusing on the television said Martin knew he was probably making a mistake but he had to tell somebody about the woman she was in the elevator with me twice today she just kept staring at me she never stopped looking at me for a minute so he's wanting to kind of share it with his father what are you so worried about now his father said turning impatiently again note the word impatiently away from the television he's irritated that this guy is talking about something that is preventing him from seeing watching television in peace what am I going to do with you Martin honestly now you're afraid of some poor old lady I'm not afraid he says he doesn't like being told that he's afraid you are afraid said his father when are you going to grow up and act like a man are you going to be timid all your life Martin did not want to cry so obviously he's a soft-hearted boy and is almost in tears when he hears his father speaking so harshly to him so he waited until he got to his room he didn't want want to cry break down in front of his dad his father probably knew he was crying anyway he slept very little the father in the morning when the elevator door opened the fat lady was waiting for him Martin stood there unable to move them backed away as she saw him her expression changed she smiled as the door slammed now the door slammed he did not get in okay he did not get in and Martin started running down the stairs okay now why did she smile maybe she smiled because she knew what is going to happen now the doors the stairs were dark and Martin fell his father was silent on the way to hospital he subsequently taken to hospital disappointed and angry with him for being a coward and a fool that he's a scared timid type Martin had broken his leg and needed to walk on crutches so he has fallen down the stairs because they were dark no lights and he needed to and probably because of the fear he needed to walk on crutches he could not use the stairs now so it means that you know he will have to use the elevator every single time to go down or to come up was that why the fat lady had smiled that she he would fall down break his leg use scutches and therefore he will no longer be able to use the stairs he would have to come into the elevator even when she was there from the 18th floor downwards did she know what would happen so he's now his imagination is running wild he's so scared and petrified of that fat lady that his imagination is running wild that maybe that's the reason she had smiled because she knew precisely what would happen to 12-year-old Martin at least his father was with him in the elevator on the way back from the hospital so now he's scared he doesn't want to get into the elevator all by himself there was no room for the fat lady to get in and if she did his father would see her and maybe he would understand he wants his father to believe him not to think that he's a coward and a timid boy he wants that trust which his father is not willing to give him when he got home he could stay in the apartment for a few days because he had broken his leg the doctor said that he had to rest as much as possible Martin felt safe from the fat lady now home away from the elevator he felt safe oh I almost forgot his father reached out and pressed number nine what are you doing asked Martin trying not to sound afraid when they were going up his father pressed number nine floor number nine I promis to visit Mrs wman said his father looking at his watch as he stepped out of the elevator so he's not bothered about his son that he needs to take him to home safely Etc he says I need to go and visit Mrs ulman let me go with you I want to visit her too pleaded struggling to move on his clutches but the door was already closing afraid to be in the elevator alone again he's taunting him his father you realize is all the time putting him down and taunting he is always taunting him and putting him down walking him grow up Martin the door slam shut Martin hobbled so while he saw the blessing I mean accident as a blessing in disguise now he realizes that once again he's uh in the lift by himself so the uh Martin hobbled to the buttons that is slowly and uh yeah and press nine but it did not do any good the elevator stopped at 10: this time where the fat lady was waiting for him why was she at 10 nobody knows she moved in quickly and he was too slow to get past her in time to get out the door closed and the elevator began to move and for the first time the fat lady spoke she said hello Martin she said and laughed and stop and pushed the stop button they the elevator came to a stop to a halt now the story hangs in midair what could have happened happened after this we have no idea no idea it's open to interpretation what did what could she have done to him why did she laugh okay uh and what would have possibly happened so if you were I mean one of the obvious questions that could be asked is to explain the rather abrupt ending so frankly there's no resolution to the fear that he has of the elevator and the fat lady and it is a cliffhanger is a the story ending is a cliffhanger because there is no clear ending so he's in in a way the author is inviting the reader to participate in the story and make your own endings as to what could possibly happen because the ambiguity opens you know allows you to have multiple interpretations right so uh that is something which you need to be aware of now let's go through the now that you have understood the entire story let's go through the themes of this particular story The First theme is that of fear and clustr phobia because the story kind of explodes the fear of being trapped physically and psychologically physically inside the elevator but even at a psychological level didn't you get the feeling that Martin feels trapped he feels trapped in that world where he's not he doesn't seem to be loved his father is a single parent there is no mother in the story who works from home so he feels devoid of any kind of you know he's not getting any kind of love and affection from his father who is his parent so psychologically also he feels trapped in the kind of world he deals with at school he's bullied so he's got used to the bullying at school he has got used to his father treating him in that rather impersonal kind of manner and now there is that feeling and he always feels trapped inside the elevator so you see Martin is a boy who is all the time dealing with these anxieties and fears so the elevator becomes a symbol of confinement as there is no space to move physically speaking and since he's always you know in a state of panic that kind of amplifies increases the sense of claustrophobia and overcoming his fear of the elevator that's the only way he could become more independent and more mature does he do that we don't know at the end of the story whether he's in a position to overcome his fear and phobia of the elevator the other important theme is that of isolation and loneliness the protagonist isolation within the elevator that emphasizes the overall theme of loneliness as I said school he doesn't seem to have any friends he's bullied at home he has no one else to talk to and then there is this elevator where the fat lady comes seems to come and Bully him okay so as he struggles to communicate with the outside world beat his father father or at school he he kind of you know deals unsuccessfully grapples with the feelings of being abandoned and feeling very helpless the third theme is that of power and control and this is a very important theme because the elevator is a malfunctioning kind of an elevator it shutters it's not a very clean kind of an elevator so there is a sense of powerlessness and loss of control the protagonist is at the mercy of the external forces in this case the elevator and he's not able to do anything with it because if he takes a stairs he kind of opens himself to exposes himself to other kinds of risks and fears he feels as if someone is walking behind him so he all the time he's feeling rather vulnerable despite using a piece of technology which is the elevator then there is the theme of perception that he perceives the elevator as some kind of a danger but it is also an exaggerated sense you know it may not be true but he seems to imagine it to be a danger more than what it actually is possibly is so you know it kind of highlights you know we feel what we think what we allow our mind to imagine and think if we move in the darkness and we think oh somebody's walking behind me or somebody could attack me from here or some animal could come that fear of the mind is what leads you on to these kind of feelings so it's all about the mind how you train your mind to be either scared or to be Fearless that's what it's all about so it's a theme of perception then there's of course suspense and tension because the author leer William leer he builds up the tension and suspense he keeps the reader on edge we don't know what happened at the end whether he kind of was out of the lift safe or whether the lady did something to him we have no idea the Parenthood theme of Parenthood I've already mentioned that he seems to be a single parent and he's largely uninterested in the struggles of his son and he's always very dismissive about his son uh he's rather impatient with his son and he does not help him cope with his fears and he's rather uh you know emotionally distant from his son and is bothered about himself his work or the watching the television then there is a theme of non-confrontation that he's all he doesn't want to take the he takes the stairs so he's looking at a plan B he's not he's not confronting his fears he's running away from them okay so that is something which is a very integral part of Martin's personality and that is again something which could be asked as a question then survival instincts that we see that he's getting very desperate what does he do now he can't take the stairs because he has to be now on touches if he takes the elevator there is a threat in the form of the old fat lady so what does do now you know is he resilient enough to be able to face her we don't know because the story ends just like that my own analysis at the end is that it's a psychological Thriller I feel that this story is a psychological Thriller it explores the emotional depths of Martin while it also deals with the themes of fear isolation and the human capacity for survival in the facee of adversity that there is a sense of you know the elements going against you will he be able to cope with it he's not able to cope he's kind of made peace with the bullying at school he has made peace he cries in order and that's the only way he deals with the very uncomfortable relationship that he has with his father how would he deal with the elevator and the fat lady that's what we don't know whether he will be resilient enough to be able to face that that's what we don't know the author leaves it open-ended I hope you enjoyed this particular story explanation I've explained it in great detail and I would hope you would be able to do justice to it to whatever questions that are asked of you in the examination da bye-bye thank you very much God bless you