The Fly

Although the story “The Fly” never overtly mentions World War I, make a list of details which indicate that the story is related to WW I and takes place shortly thereafter.

The first detail we read that indicates the story is related to WWI is when old Woodfield is sitting with the boss in his office, and the boss is talking about all of his new things, “But he did not draw old Woodfield’s attention to the photograph over the table of a grave looking boy in uniform standing in one of those spectral photographers’ parks with photographers’ storm clouds behind him,” (1). When we read that there is a boy in uniform, we can immediately guess that this boy was part of some formal and important organization. The story goes on to mention the gravesite of the boss’s son and the description of the graveyard, “There’s miles of it, and it’s all neat as a garden. Flowers growing on all the graves. Nice broad paths,” (2). This description highlights that this must be a graveyard for fallen veterans because of the way it is arranged (in uniform rows). After old Woodfield mentions the grave of the boss’s son, the boss begins to think very hard. He mentions that he still thinks of the boy lying unchanged in his uniform. This also indicates that this was during wartime because he was buried in his uniform. A final detail that indicates that this was WWI is how he received the news of his son’s death, “The day had come when Macey had handed him the telegram that brought the whole place crashing about his head. ‘Deeply regret to inform you…’” (3). Because this was a telegram, it shows the reader that this was before phones were widely used, indicating that this was in the early 1900’s, thus WWI.