I think Aldridge James' short story "The Last Inch" is a story about how important it is for children and parents to understand and love each other.

The main characters of the story are father and son. Father's name is Ben. He was a pilot but lost his job. And most importantly, it seems to me that he lost his family. His wife left him because she couldn't live in Arabia where Ben worked. She left for her homeland. And his ten-year-old son stayed with him only because Joanna decided not to take him with her: she did not need him. “And so he was left with nothing, except for an indifferent wife who did not need him, and a ten-year-old son who was born too late and, as Ben understood in the depths of his soul, a stranger to both of them - a lonely, restless child who at ten years old felt that his mother was not interested in him, and his father was an outsider, sharp and laconic, not knowing what to talk about with him in those rare moments when they were together.

I feel very sorry for the boy. I think it's too hard for a child to feel and think from childhood that no one needs you, even your parents. Although Ben sometimes tried to get closer to his son, it usually didn't work. So, once he even wanted to teach Davy to fly: “Ben somehow tried to teach the boy how to fly an airplane, and although his son turned out to be very intelligent and quickly learned the basic rules, every shout of his father brought him to tears.”

I think Ben just didn't love his son. He always dreamed that he would earn money and go to Canada in search of work. And he will be sent to his mother in New England. It seems to me that when a child is loved, they do not seek to get rid of him as soon as the opportunity arises.

And when the old pilot was offered a job, he decided to take his son with him. Ben was supposed to film sharks underwater, in their natural element, for a TV company. It was necessary to shoot in Shark Bay, on the Red Sea. When they flew to the bay, they saw only the desert around for many kilometers: “Everything was motionless and dead. The sun burned out all life here, and in the spring, thousands of square miles of winds lifted masses of sand into the air and carried it to the other side of the Indian Ocean, where it remained forever at the bottom of the sea. Here in which dangerous place they had to land: if their plane suddenly broke down, they would die.

During the flight, Ben regretted taking his son with him: he no longer believed that they could love each other. When they landed, the father was still talking to his son in a harsh tone. "Ben knew he had a harsh tone and always wondered why he couldn't talk to a boy." I think this is because he has not been involved in raising a child since childhood: "When the child was born, began to walk, and then became a teenager, Ben was on flights almost constantly and did not see his son for a long time."

When Ben started diving down to shoot the sharks, everything went well at first. But the second time there was trouble. When he tied the bait, he was smeared with blood, and the shark attacked him. Ben fought back as best he could and eventually escaped, was able to get ashore. He was alive, but his arms and legs were wounded and he had lost a lot of blood.

Having got out, he lost consciousness, and when he came to his senses, he realized: “his affairs are very bad. But he immediately realized that something had to be done: if he died, the boy would be left alone. The only hope to save the boy was the plane, and Davy would have to fly it. There was no other hope, no other way out." I think what he did here is a real man. He, bleeding, did everything to save his son. Ben calmed the boy for a long time. At first he tried to yell at him, but then he realized that his son was already very frightened, and it was necessary to speak to him calmly and kindly.

Ben guided Davy as he bandaged him and dragged him to the plane. When they got to the car, his father said to cheer him up:

You can do anything in life, Davy.

So he prepared his son for the idea that he could fly a plane. When they climbed into the cab, the boy had already ceased to be afraid and, under the guidance of his father, lifted the car into the air. After takeoff, when his father lost consciousness, Davy was at a high altitude at the controls of the plane all alone. He was very scared, and there is nothing surprising in this: he was only ten years old. But he was similar in character to his father - strong in spirit and courageous: “Left alone at an altitude of three thousand meters, Davy decided that he would never be able to cry again. His tears have dried up for the rest of his life.” So the child became quite an adult.

Davy flew to Cairo on his own, and before landing, Ben, fortunately, woke up. A courageous man, he lost a lot of blood, but still did everything to help his son land the plane. After all, landing is the hardest part. “Ben was trembling and sweating, he felt that only his head remained alive from his entire body. There were no more arms and legs." So, suffering from wounds, he nevertheless helped his son land the plane and not crash.

When Ben woke up, he was already in the hospital. One of his arms was amputated, but the main thing is that they survived. And most importantly, Ben finally realized that in his life there is nothing more precious than his son. He decided to devote the rest of his life to his child: “This is worth giving time to. He will get to the very heart of the boy! Sooner or later, he will get to him. The last inch that separates everyone and everything is not easy to overcome if you are not a master of your craft. But being a master of your craft is the duty of a pilot, and Ben was once a very good pilot.

With these words, the story "The Last Inch" ends. And I really want to believe that Ben and Davy will truly love each other and take care of each other for the rest of their lives. I think the most important thing in life is to take care of someone.

In the lesson, students will get acquainted with the plot and composition of Aldridge's story "The Last Inch", during the analysis they will characterize the main characters and draw a conclusion about the main idea and problems of the story.

Topic: Foreign literature of the twentieth century

Lesson: James Aldridge's short story "The Last Inch"

in my books main topic always

one and the same - choice, choice of path,

choice of action, choice of outlook.

Aldridge James

Rice. 1. Photo. J. Aldridge (1918) ()

Aldridge James(Fig. 1) - English writer and public figure. The work of a journalist and war correspondent, who visited many fronts of the Second World War 1939-45, became for Aldridge a school of life experience and skill. His feature reports, novels, short stories reflected the heroism of the people's Resistance and the changes that the world-historical victory over fascism entailed.

Aldridge responds vividly to the exciting problems of the time. The writer is attracted by the fate of a simple man who, in dramatic circumstances, triumphs over despair. A prime example of this was "The Last Inch" story.

Plot. The meaning of the name.

The main characters of the story- this is 43-year-old pilot Ben and his 10-year-old son Davy. The relationship between them is not easy. Ben worked all the time, so he devoted very little time to his child. His wife Joanna was dissatisfied with life in the deserts of Arabia and eventually left her husband and son and left for their homeland, New England. So Ben had to raise his son himself. In order to somehow get closer to him, Ben took Davy with him on a flight. They flew to Shark Bay on the Red Sea. Here, Ben had to shoot underwater for a TV company that paid good money for videos of the life of marine predators, sharks. During the shooting, the sharks attacked Ben, and he barely made it to the shore alive. A 10-year-old boy managed to provide first aid to his father, but the pilot could not fly the plane himself. This difficult task fell on Davy's shoulders. At first it seemed simply impossible. However, the boy not only managed to lift the plane into the air, but also fly to the airfield, and even land the plane. In this way, son saved father. At the end of the story, Odridge writes about how the relationship between father and son has changed.

In this way, The title of the story is symbolic: the main characters managed to overcome "the last inch, which ...", according to the author, "... separates everyone and everything."

Inch (from Dutch - thumb) - a unit of distance measurement in some European non-metric units. 1 English inch = 2.54 cm. Historically - width thumb adult male. The word "inch" was introduced into the Russian language by Peter I in the very early XVIII century.

Composition of the story "The Last Inch"

1. Exposition - the author's story about the events that preceded the flight to the bay;
2. Plot - Ben is forced to take his son with him;
3. Development of action - flight into the bay, preparation for shooting, descent under water;
4. The culmination is the injury of Ben; the incredible efforts of father and son to survive;
5. Interchange - successful landing at the Cairo airfield; the beginning of a new, truly related relationship.

Characteristics of heroes. Father and son.

Ben is 43 years old. He is a high class pilot. In the past, he had everything: a favorite job, a wife, a child. When Ben lost his job, he suddenly felt acutely that both he and his loved ones were deeply unhappy. And the reason for this is that there is no family in which there would be mutual understanding, love, support. “And so he was left with nothing, except for an indifferent wife who did not need him, and a ten-year-old son who was born too late and, as Ben knew in the depths of his soul, a stranger to both of them - a lonely, restless child who at ten years old felt that his mother was not interested in him, and his father was an outsider, sharp and laconic, not knowing what to talk about with him in those rare moments when they were together.

Everything changed when the wife left, leaving her 10-year-old son behind. It was probably only then that Ben finally realized that he was a father who had to raise his child, take care of him. However, it turned out that it was difficult, Ben was irritable, impatient, and it turned out that he did not know how to talk to his son at all. Maybe, in order to somehow get closer, the pilot decided to take his son with him.

Reading the story, you understand how irresponsible Ben acted. Having gone to a remote, deserted area, he did not even tell anyone about the route, and in case of an accident, the plane would have been searched for a long time and would hardly have been found. In addition, taking the boy with him, the father did not even stock up on drinking water, and took only beer from drinks. These details do not paint the father, we condemn him for indifference, heartlessness. We pity the boy. Watching him, we note his silence, isolation, gloom. What does he think about, gradually watching his father? What does it feel? Hatred? Love? Resentment? The writer does not reveal this riddle to us. Until tragic events happen.

“I’ll tell you, son, and you try to understand. Do you hear? Ben could barely hear himself and for a second he even forgot about the pain. “You, poor fellow, will have to do everything yourself, it just so happened. Don't be upset if I yell at you. There's no offense here. You don't have to pay attention to it, you understand?

- Yes. Davy was bandaging his left hand and did not listen to him.

- Youth! Ben wanted to cheer up the kid, but he wasn't very good at it. He did not yet know how to find an approach to the boy, but he understood that it was necessary. A ten-year-old child had to perform a task of inhuman difficulty. If he wants to survive. But everything must go in order ... "

note- for the first time Ben turned to the boy SON, for the first time he is seriously concerned about his fate. Ben thinks not about his life, his task is to save his son.

“The only hope to save the boy was the plane, and Davy would have to fly it. There was no other hope, no other way out. But first you need to think about everything properly. The boy must not be scared. If you tell Davy that he will have to fly the plane, he will be horrified. It is necessary to think carefully about how to tell the boy about this, how to inspire him with this idea and convince him to do everything, even if unconsciously. We had to grope our way to the fear-ridden, immature mind of the child.”

It is at this moment that fracture in the relationship between father and son. At the moment of danger, they realized how dear to each other. Both make incredible efforts to save. The father is trying to overcome the terrible pain from injuries, the boy overcomes fear and lifts the plane into the air. The heroism of the boy strikes his father, the thought comes to him that he made an irreparable mistake in the past: “ Is it really possible to live with your son for years and not see his face?' Ben thinks.

Quotes, which show how Ben saw his son:

He seems to be an advanced guy, Ben thought, surprised at the strange way he thought. This boy with a serious face was somewhat similar to himself: behind the childish features, perhaps, a tough and even unbridled character was hidden.

"Good guy! He will fly. He'll do it! Ben saw Davy's sharply defined profile, his pale face with dark eyes in which it was so difficult for him to read anything. The father looked at that face again. “No one even bothered to take him to the dentist,” Ben told himself, noticing Davy’s slightly protruding teeth, who grinned painfully, straining from tension. But he can do it, Ben thought tiredly and conciliatory.

Boy's feelings:

“He was afraid of his father. True, not now. Now he simply could not look at him: he was sleeping with his mouth open, half-naked, covered in blood. He didn't want his father to die; he didn't want his mother to die, but there's nothing to be done: it happens. People are always dying."

Reading the story, you think: is it really necessary for something terrible, tragic to happen in life for a person to understand how dear to him the closest, dearest people to him? This is exactly what happened to the characters in the story. It's good that they have an opportunity ahead of them to fix everything:

“He, Ben, will now need all his life, all the life that the boy gave him. But looking into those dark eyes, those slightly protruding teeth, that face, so unusual for an American, Ben decided that the game was worth the candle. It's worth taking the time. He will get to the very heart of the boy! Sooner or later, but he will get to him. The last inch that separates everyone and everything is not easy to overcome if you are not a master of your craft. But being a master of your craft is the duty of a pilot, and Ben was once a very good pilot.

In these words lies main idea of ​​Aldridge's story.

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1. Write a quotation plan for Aldridge's story "The Last Inch".
2. Write an essay-reasoning on the topic: "The last inch is not easy to overcome."

The idea for the novel The Last Inch came from the eminent English writer James Aldridge when he visited Shark Bay in Egypt.

Nevertheless, inspired by this exotic location and risky underwater shooting, Aldridge dedicated his work to valuable human qualities - courage, courage and inner strength that pushes people forward.

The story "The Last Inch" is a story about the formation of a personality and about overcoming fear for the sake of life, for the sake of love for oneself, one's loved ones and for the world around.

"The Last Inch" is about how professional pilot Ben and his son go to Shark Bay to film a documentary. One of the sharks attacks Ben and injures him, now he cannot move.

But Ben is tormented not only by the pain he experiences, but by the realization that his ten-year-old son Davy may be all alone and will not be able to find his way back if something happens to his father.

The next problem is the difficult relationship between son and father. They've always been hard to find mutual language, and the main reason for this was that his father never looked for him

But now father and son need to cooperate in such difficult and life-defining circumstances. Ben has to overcome pain and anguish, and cheer up Davy, because he understands that the only way to save them is a plane. And the plane will have to be driven by a ten-year-old boy.

Overcoming the hero's own fear and impotence

Ben understands that the most important thing now is not to lose heart and believe that everything will work out. These thoughts help him gain strength, get up and, with the help of his son, get to the plane and tell him what to do.

Aldridge creates a picture of a decisive moment in a person's life - when everything depends on courage and fearlessness. The protagonist of the short story "The Last Inch" does not remember how scared he is, does not think about all the dangers that await him and his son, does not allow physical pain to control him.

Despite the fact that it will be very difficult for little Davy to fly the plane physically and mentally, Ben believes in him and believes in his own strength. He is driven forward by a boundless love for life, his own and the life of a ten-year-old son who can save them both.

Davy managed to do everything that was necessary - he brought the plane to Cairo and managed to land it on the ground. He accomplished a real feat and gave life to his father and himself.

But Ben himself did the feat, he overcame his fears and depressing impotence, managed to start moving and charged his frightened son with his life energy. It was thanks to him that Dani managed to give birth to fearlessness and courage, which are hardly born in adult men.

Human strength and fearlessness

The novel by James Aldridge is a manifesto dedicated to human strength and fearless courage, which at a decisive moment can change or save a life.

The self-control of pilot Ben and the tremendous courage of his son are vivid examples of the fact that a person is always stronger than circumstances. The writer shows that the most important thing is not to give up and believe in yourself and the strength of your personality.

My relationship with the characters. James Aldridge's short story "The Last Inch" made a deep impression on me. From the first to the last line you are in suspense. Holding your breath, you follow the fate of the heroes.

What is this story about? I think about overcoming the tension between father and son, overcoming my own weaknesses, self-doubt, overcoming the inhuman overload that befell a ten-year-old boy ...

The heroes of the story - Ben and Davy - did not even imagine what trials await them in Shark Bay! What happened to them there changed a lot in their relationship.

At the beginning of the story, we see that there is no understanding between father and son. This, unfortunately, happens. But why is Ben so harsh? We find the answer in the text.

He is a military pilot who has devoted twenty years to his beloved but extremely dangerous profession. Circumstances develop in such a way that Ben is left without a job. Now he is forced to look for an opportunity to earn money, because he has a family. In search of money, he must travel a lot, not see his wife and son for a long time. Accustomed to constant risk, he agrees to dangerous underwater shooting, as they promised to pay well for it. If Ben had shared his problems with his son, maybe there would not have been such alienation in their relationship?! But Devi does not understand why his father is so harsh with him. He thinks he doesn't love him. Davy feels uncomfortable around his father. He is scared and tense. In the bay, this tension grows. Now he is afraid for his father, for himself ... His sensitivity helps to better understand the situation, to be the first to feel the danger. As we already know, Davy was not worried in vain ...

The accident forced Ben to change his attitude towards his son. He is worried that the boy may be left alone and is unlikely to be found. Overcoming the pain, he tries to look calm and reasonable in the eyes of his son. He is afraid to scare Davy, so he doesn't talk about his rescue plan right away. He sees how hard it is now for his son, now he finds those words that Devi wanted to hear from him for a long time, and is grateful to him for this. Devi understands that his father is worried about him. The author shows how Devi overcomes his own weakness, realizing that it is worth taking risks to save a person...

In the life of each of us, decisive minutes come and the last inches remain. The author teaches us that, "overcoming this last inch", we must remember those who are next to us.

"The Last Inch" helped me take a fresh look at many problems that seemed difficult to me, helped me sort out my difficult relationship with my parents. It seems to me that I have overcome my "last inch". Thanks for that to Ben, Davy and the wonderful writer James Aldridge.

Year: 1957 Genre: story

Main characters: pilot Ben, son of Davy.

The story has 2 titles: "The Last Inch" and "Father and Son". The story teaches self-confidence

Plot

Ben was a good pilot and, having flown many thousands of miles in his life, he still enjoyed flying. For a long time he worked in Canada, then in Saudi Arabia in an oil export company that explored for oil along the coast of Egypt. Ben flew geologists and could land the plane anywhere to within an inch. But then the company abandoned the search for oil and, at 43, Ben was left without a job. All that he managed to accumulate in his life, he gave to his wife. That should have been enough for her. normal life and she, without hesitation, went to her homeland in Massachusetts, leaving their son Davy, who was barely ten years old, with Ben.

Davy grew up as a rather withdrawn child. The mother was indifferent and did not show any interest in her son, and the boy was completely afraid of his father's rude and harsh statements. And Ben never knew how to behave with his son either.

Now Davy and his father were flying in a small rental plane to a secluded bay in the Red Sea. Ben wanted to make money by filming sharks underwater for a TV company. He was not happy that he had to take Davy, the boy did not tolerate the flight well. After landing the plane in the bay, and after giving his son some orders, Ben left to shoot the sharks. One of the predators too persistently showed interest in the pilot, and he had to return to the shore.

When father and son sat down to dinner, Ben suddenly discovered that he had taken only beer for himself and again did not think about Davy. The man was annoyed, looking at his too obedient son, and angry with himself, realizing that he was a worthless father. Davy wondered if anyone knew that they were in this bay, and if anyone could find them here. Ben did not immediately guess that the child was afraid to be alone when he went to sea with the sharks. Ben himself was afraid of sharks, but he wanted to earn money to send his son to his mother.

When Ben went under the water for the second time and had almost finished filming, one of the sharks attacked him. Gathering the last of his strength, losing consciousness, he climbed ashore. Davy ran up to his father and saw a bloody body - the limbs were cut by shark teeth. Either losing consciousness or regaining consciousness, Ben tries to cheer up his son, giving careful advice on what to do. The father understands that now their lives are in the hands of the boy. For the sake of saving his son, he has no right to die. Only once did Ben try to teach his son how to fly a plane, and now he was happy to notice that Davy turned out to be a very smart guy.

Davy saved his father's life and his own, and now Ben understands that, finally, the time has come to improve relations with his son, to enter into his confidence.

Summary of Aldridge Father and Son (The Last Inch) Option 2

The story really tells about a father and son - about difficult relationship. The characters themselves have complex characters, and the situation in which they find themselves is not ordinary.

Father Ben is a brave dreamer. He has a family - a wife and a son, but because of his work in the empty, where he is looking for oil, they are forced to survive in an almost wild village. Ben is harsh and even rude. Here he also loses his job, as the company decides to close his fruitless project. Now Ben does not want to get a regular job, because he cannot stand the routine, but he can no longer be a pilot by age. The wife is tired of all this, she decides to return home. And so it does! But she leaves Ben with their son... It's hard to blame her, because the son went to the complexity of his father's character. A boy of about twelve Devi is very reserved, gloomy. He is afraid of his impulsive father, he is not happy that he has to stay with him. For a father, a child is a hindrance. Ben dreams of making money and sending his son home.

And now he is offered a job - almost secret. A TV company needs underwater footage of sharks. Nobody should know about it. Ben has to take his son with him, even though he is sick of the plane. While the father shoots predators, the boy is forced to be bored alone.

This story is also called symbolically "The Last Inch". On the set, one of the sharks attacked the operator himself. Ben barely got out of the water - all his limbs were badly damaged, he was bleeding. And then the boy has to drag his father to the plane. To save Ben's life, Dani must fly the plane. He knows a little, but is very afraid. Ben himself is constantly losing consciousness, unable to help him. And yet they flew to the city, but the most difficult last inch, on which you need to land the plane well so that all efforts are not in vain.

The story teaches faith in yourself, ends well.

Picture or drawing Last inch

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