Analysis- "Saturday Afternoon at the Drive-In"

Saturday Afternoon at the Drive-In

By – Al Lyons

“It started as a barely discernible murmur in the early morning with an occasional yelled retort and the slamming of a door.”

•This is the Article’s INTRO, the beginning of the story, to start the entire storyline, and the story starts telling from here.
•This sentence describes the changing of the beginning situation very well by using a contrast in the sentence, such as “barely discernible murmur” and “an occasional yelled retort and the slamming of a door.”


“By mid afternoon, the murmuring at Nicholson place had become an intermittent rumble that rose to an occasional crescendo accented with assorted bangs and crashes.”
•The writer describes the situation over at the Nicholson’s very well in this sentence, by using rose’s appearance to describe the “bangs, crashes and intermittent rumble” came out from the Nicholson’s.
•This is the content of the story and also a turning point to lead the story to the climax.


“He stood up off the stoop and opened the screen door, but then ducked suddenly as an guitar sailed over his head. It arced in a grand trajectory and landed on the other side of the walk.”
•This sentence is the content of the story and also another turning point to Mrs. Nicholson’s crazy reaction.
•The writer used very proper words to describe Mrs. Nicholson’s action and how the guitar had been thrown, such as “as an guitar SAILED over his head” “It ARCED in a GRAND TRAJECTORY.”


“She achieved a higher arc with the suitcase than she did earlier with the guitar. On the third bounce it exploded open, disgorging its contents onto the lawn.”
•This sentence is a turning point in the article to the climax, that Mrs. Nicholson starts causing the biggest rumble in the story.
•The writer used a very good and proper verb to describe what happened to the suitcase – “DISGORGING its contents onto the lawn.”
•The phrase “higher arc” leads the story to a higher climax.


“The Nicholson boys were sitting on the stoop with jars of lightning bugs. ‘Where was mama going?’ the younger one asked his brother. ‘She was going to widow Keene’s drive-in.’ ‘widow Keene don’t have no drive-in.’ ‘She does now.’ ”
•This is the end of the story as an outro in the entire article, it is a very good and humorous ending in the entire story by using the Nicholson boys’ conversation.
•This ending reflects the title of the article to finally make the readers understand the title and the entire story and joke.

Article link below: http://www.deadmule.com/fiction/saturday-afternoon-at-the-drive-in-by-al-lyons/