Short story analysis
“Young Man on 6th Avenue” by Mark Halliday and “ has an interesting story line with its character having a peaceful life in the beginning and later developing concerns and worries regarding expectations. The story effectively employs a defined plot supported by symbols. Setting and characters to express the idea that the happenings in life are beyond outward attributes and always hold something deep defining situations. There is a reliable order used in arranging the occurrences in the story as it develops from a life full of perfection and leads to show progressions and development in their lives containing certain complications. The young man does not recognize the significance of his young ages as he things that he is in charge of all the shots because of his attributes. In life, he realizes the essence of reckoning each moment in life as he recalls the years gone by when he had all opportunities. He learns that life is beyond the moment faced presently as there are a lot of changes that appreciation of present opportunities may help in conquering.
The major character in the “Young Man on 6th Avenue” realizes that as he ages, his life faces some dramatic changes and that makes hem to keep referring to “those years”. The story follows a defined form in telling the manner in, which time moves and creates changes in the lives of people. The author tells a story of over fifty years in a single paragraph and goes as far as explaining a lifetime in a single sentence. It gives vivid and clear summaries of events, symbolizing the reality of situations passing in life so fast that people even fail to realize their occurrences. This is a form that the author uses to reinforce the meaning of his story showing how life can be so good in one moment and faces an immediate and drastic change. It is in line with the title of the story as the young man feels comfortable in his life and changes occur without his realization since he only realizes the differences after he becomes old. People always leave in a pseudo existence and that consumes personal obscurity like the young man living in the sixth avenue.
This obscurity does not come in reality. The same way, the young man we find in the story is a vibrant individual, good looking and confident in the years when he enjoys his youth. With the passing of time, he scrutinizes his life and does not find it as a appealing as it was years back. He can no longer see his life shining and all the brightness, which he enjoyed in his youth fade and he realizes that his youthful years were better than the advancement he faces. In his younger years, he could count in his physical qualities such as his dark blue eyes to charm women. He seemed to be in control of situations and got whatever he needed in life as much as he never realized it as a significant aspect then. When he was twenty-five, such advantages were normal occurrences to him but as the years advanced, he realizes how worthy the days were. He realizes that his life is gone and he has no option but to wish he enjoyed each moment of his youth. The interpretive part of this story comes with the reflections of the circumstances, which floods the characters thought about his life creating a constant reminder of the symbolism of the circumstances.
The symbolism present in the story comes through the youthful man without keen regard for his life. He ignores the happiest moments of his youth only to realize their significance when time is over. In his life, the man expects the best things and that is the driving force for his existence since for him, “Everything was–the whole lunch was good “. He enjoys the drooling of women over his attractiveness as he enjoys the Manhattan streets in New York. In fact, he stays in the best places as confirmed by the story, “most overwhelming city – and he is not overwhelmed.” However, he does not realize that opportunity and nothing seems to impress him. He walks in the streets full of pride probably with the feeling that he owns the moment. This is symbolic of his living style as it shows that he has no concern in life and does not consider the worries of the world as anything significant.
His little regard for the world makes him a noticeable person not only by women but also by the people he meets on the streets, office buildings and restaurants. For example after having lunch with one of his old friends, he sets of for an interview to one of the offices. The expression he has on the manager strikes on immediate entrance into the office and the manager sees ‘sincerity’ and power in the young man. Apparently, he is the kind of person who could get whatever he wanted during his young days. Having a conversation with the boss for just five minutes gets him the chance and that is blessing he should reckon. The symbolism of this situation only enhances the fact that he was the kind of person who got whatever he needed and he did not have to struggle. It was in his nature, and that was an aspect worth reckoning though it takes him a lifetime to realize how blessed he was as a young person. His attitude and appearance presented him as a confident individual with power and that opened multiple avenues for him to enjoy while in his youth.
However, with the attitude, the young man has and his feeling that he is on top of the world, he cannot reckon with the moments in his life and he uses the moments to command his faculties and all that interests him is achieving what he wants. He controls his achievements and that is all that interested him as “…He walked with fistfuls of futures that could happen in all his pockets”. He failed to enjoy the moments in his life while he was young because he never realized that the moment would be gone and by the time he grows old, he recalls the old days and realizes how much he had wasted. The whole idea of the story of the young man on Sixth Avenue holds the need for recognizing the hip and young moments in life because it does not last. It may be a moment when there is so much at close disposal, though all that may just fly with the years leaving life meaningless and devoid of the vibrancy, it offered in past years.
