Katherine Mansfield's 'The Fly' (1922): exploring character foils and symbolism | English

Starter quiz

Here are the characters from Katherine Mansfield's short story, 'The Fly'. Match each character to what we know about them.
- Mr. Woodifield
  
  ⇔
  
  a retired gentleman whose son died in World War One ✓
- the boss
  
  ⇔
  
  a working man whose son died in World War One ✓
- Reggie
  
  ⇔
  
  a young man who was killed in the war ✓
- Woodifield's wife and children
  
  ⇔
  
  visited Belgium recently ✓
- Macey
  
  ⇔
  
  an office messenger ✓
Starting with the first, put these plot points from Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’ in chronological order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  Mr. Woodifield admires the boss's office.
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  Mr. Woodifield mentions seeing the boss’s son's grave.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  The reference to his son plunges the boss into despair.
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  The boss notices a fly which has fallen into his inkpot.
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  The boss purposefully drops ink on the fly three times.
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  The fly dies; the boss is upset.
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  The boss can't remember what he was thinking about before he killed the fly.
Starting with the first, put these plot points detailing the incident with the fly from Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’ in chronological order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  The boss notices the fly trying to clamber out of his ink pot.
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  The boss helps the fly out of the ink pot.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  The boss is impressed by the fly’s ability to clean itself.
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  The boss decides to drop ink on the fly.
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  The fly manages to clean itself once more.
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  The boss drops ink on the fly two more times.
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  The fly dies; the boss can’t remember what he was thinking about previously.
In ‘The Fly’ by Katherine Mansfield, how is the boss presented at the beginning of the short story?
- caring
- smug ✓
- superior ✓
- retired
- condescending ✓
In ‘The Fly’ by Katherine Mansfield, the boss says that when he heard of his son’s death, he felt like the future he had planned came “______ about his head”.
- 'crashing' ✓
In ‘The Fly’ by Katherine Mansfield, Mr. Woodifield admires the boss’s ability to be “still at the ______” of his company.
- 'helm' ✓

Exit quiz

All of these words are important to ‘The Fly’ by Katherine Mansfield. Match the words to their definitions.
- foil
  
  ⇔
  
  in literature, a character who contrasts with another character ✓
- intangible
  
  ⇔
  
  something that can’t be touched, that doesn’t have a physical presence ✓
- symbolism
  
  ⇔
  
  when writers use something to represent intangible ideas ✓
- methods
  
  ⇔
  
  the tools a writer uses to create their work ✓
In ‘The Fly’ by Katherine Mansfield, how does the boss treat Mr. Woodifield?
- The boss infantilises him. ✓
- The boss is condescending towards him. ✓
- The boss is patronising towards him. ✓
- The boss is angry towards him.
- The boss orders him about.
In ‘The Fly’ by Katherine Mansfield, what are some of the differences between Mr. Woodifield and the boss?
- Mr. Woodifield is much older than the boss.
- Mr. Woodifield can talk about his son’s death. ✓
- The boss fought in the war; Mr. Woodifield did not.
- Mr. Woodifield’s son is alive; the boss’s son is dead.
- The boss cries when his son is mentioned; Mr. Woodifield does not.
Starting with the first, put this sequence of plot points about what the boss does after Mr. Woodifield leaves from Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’ in chronological order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  He stares at nothing.
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  He tells Macey that he mustn’t be disturbed for at least 30 minutes.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  He tries to cry, but finds he can’t.
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  He looks at his son’s photo but still doesn’t cry.
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  He remembers when he heard of his son’s death.
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  He reflects that life is meaningless without his son.
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  He sees a fly in his inkpot.
In ‘The Fly’ by Katherine Mansfield, the boss believes that "other men might ______" from the loss of their son(s) in WW1, "but not he".
- 'recover' ✓
In ‘The Fly’ by Katherine Mansfield, Mansfield describes the fly as "______, and afraid to move" after the boss drops ink for the first time.
- 'stunned' ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

Mr. Woodifield and the boss are foils to one another.
Symbolism is when writers use something to represent intangible ideas.
The fly is a powerful symbol in ‘The Fly’.
The fly could symbolise the boss’s son and the idea that his life was short, and perhaps even needlessly wasted.
The fly could also symbolise the boss’s feelings of powerlessness and despair over his son’s death.

Common misconception

Every character is a foil to another because all characters are different.

Whilst characters, like humans, are unique, not every character serves as a foil. Strangely, character foils often have similarities in terms of who they are, and what has happened to them, but their reactions to these things are different.

Keywords

Foil - in literature, a character who contrasts with another character
Intangible - something that can’t be touched, that doesn’t have a physical presence
Symbolism - when writers use something to represent intangible ideas; the fly in this story is an example of a symbol
Methods - the tools a writer uses to create their work; character foils and use of symbolism are both examples of methods
Infantilise - to treat someone like a child