Short Fiction · Chapter
How It Started explained
A reporter visiting a small town is warned by an old resident about a potential shooting due to a long-standing feud between the editor and the Judkins family.
What happens
A reporter visiting a small town is warned by an old resident about a potential shooting due to a long-standing feud between the editor and the Judkins family. The feud began when a poem written to Miss Judkins was heavily and absurdly edited by various people at the newspaper office, resulting in a nonsensical and insulting version that angered the Judkinses.
Themes in this chapter
Humor and Irony
The poem's comical mutilation by various self-interested parties at the newspaper office illustrates the ironic consequences of editorial interference.
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
The edited poem distorts the original innocent tribute into an insult, showing how appearances can be manipulated.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The old resident who explains the origin of the feud to the reporter.
Key passages
“You had better move your chair a little further back. I saw one of the Judkinses go into the newspaper office just now with his gun, and there may be some shooting.”
The old resident warns the reporter to take cover because a member of the Judkins family has entered the newspaper office armed, and a violent confrontation is likely.
Sets the scene of an ongoing feud with potential violence.
“The poem was all right as it was written. The trouble originated in the newspaper office.”
The poem itself was harmless; the conflict arose from the alterations made by the newspaper staff.
Highlights the central irony of the feud's origin.