Muriel spark - "you should have seen the mess"

Lengua y Cultura I
Coaching lessons 2011
Task Nº 1
“You should have seen the mess” by Muriel Spark
Attempt (s):
getting stds to develop an initial argumentative stance on the grounds of a shortstory.
getting stds to develop a dialogic stance.

Would you recommend students interested in English culture read this short story? Account for your answer.
Read what we ,from 4th year, wouldsay.

To begin with, we have found the plot simple but deep. The main character Lorna is quite obsessed with cleanliness. She even quits jobs because the places where she goes to work are dirty.However, she seems to cope with a ‘dirty’ environment when she is with her friends. Her friends , the Darbys are a large and easy –going family who live in a mess, which makes Lorna quite uneasy. Still,they have lots of friends and are interested in Lorna’s meeting young men. They would like Lorna to get engaged, but they cannot succeed. Lorna likes none of the young men she has been introduced to. She does not want to sink low; apparently, the men are not good enough for her.
We think Lorna’s profile can be clearly seen through the plot. She cannot adjust to the outside world because shejust wants to remain at home with her father and mother. Her ‘clean’ parents and her ‘spotless’ house keep her away from the mysteries of the outside world. Mysteries she herself, finds ‘dirty’.Second, the characters in the story are down to earth. Lorna is the main character and we can see everything through her ‘clean’ eyes. Her parents overprotect her from the outside world and the Darbysare quite different form her . Mr Darby is a doctor. He is quite careless and untidy, so is his pregnant wife. She gives birth to their fourth child at home!!! A place which seems to be far fromhygienic. We also learn that Mr Darby ‘s mother lives in a tumble-down cottage, which Dr Darby seems not to care. Dr Darby uses fowl language when he is with his children ; he lives in an untidy place...