Sonata for Harp

and Bicycle

By Joan Aiken in August

1958

About the Author

Joan Delano Aiken

● Born in England in 1924

● Daughter of Conrad Aiken

● Lived in eerie house

● Worked for London magazine, an advertising agency, and the United

Nations

● Died January 4, 2004 in Petworth, United Kingdom

Additional Works

● Wrote the Wolves Chronicles including The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Nightbirds in

Nantucket

○ These stories are about two cousins who live in England and come upon

tough situations during their parent’s leave to the canary islands

● Wrote many singular books like The Scream and The Girl From Paris

Setting

Halloween Night, around 1950

Grimes Building- office building located in London (Clerkenwell District)

Room 492- The room full of music that Daisy plays the harp- located on the Eighth Story of Grimes Building

The Fire Escape- an emergency escape located on each floor of the Grimes Building

The setting adds a realistic and recognizable aspect to the story. The empty building also adds to the mysterious mood

Mood - a mysterious and suspenseful mood is most prominent

- underlying romantic mood

Primary CharactersJason Ashgrove● Stubborn ● Curious ● Round ● Dynamic

Indirect characterization(dialogue, effect

on others, actions, thoughts)

Berenice Golden● Caring● Helpful ● Flat● Static

Indirect Characterization(dialogue, effect on others, action)

William Heron ● Persistent ● Vengeful ● Round ● Dynamic

Indirect Characterization (actions, other’s

opinions, effect on others)

Summary● Jason Ashgrove wonders why no one is allowed in the building after 5 pm

● He asks Miss. Golden why they have to leave

● He asks to take her out to coffee so she will tell him why

● She states it has to do with the fire escape, a bicycle and a harp

● After she leaves, he continues to the Grimes Building to investigate

● He hears a voice calling for Daisy, and is pushed against the wall by William Heron for trespassing

● Jason escapes by climbing down the fire escape

● Berenice tells Jason he is cursed, and she explains the back story

● Jason decides to try and break the curse

● Berenice and Jason execute their plan and cause William and Daisy to meet up

● They see a bicycle ride by with the roses and wine they left them

● Berenice and Jason parachute off of the building

Freytag’s

Pyramid

ExpositionSetting: London, England- Clerkenwell District Time: set in the 1950s Social Milieu: working class Mood: Mysterious, romantic

Inciting Incident Jason wonders why the workers have to leave the building at 5PM everyday .

Rising

Acti

on

Jaso

n ask

s Bern

ice w

hy, a

nd sh

e give

s a

vagu

e ans

wer, so

he go

es to

the b

uildin

g

to in

vesti

gate.

He e

ncou

nters

Will

iam

and i

s cur

sed. B

erenic

e tell

s Jas

on th

e

back

story

of W

illiam

and D

aisy,

Berenic

e and

Jaso

n reu

nite W

illiam

and

Dais

y the

nigh

t afte

r

ClimaxBerenice and Jason parachute off of the fire escape

Resolution Berenice realizes she is lucky to be kissed in midair at midnight on halloween night

Point of View

● Third person omniscient

● Used to show how Jason felt as well as other characters

● Builds in more detail the opinions of the characters and sharpens the reader’s awareness of the situations

Technique

Suspense

The fire escape exit

Foreshadowing

The 5:00 rule of the office workers

Imagery

The offices in the Grimes building

The proposal falling in midair

Symbols

The Grimes Building

The dark and empty building at night symbolizes the emptiness and loneliness of the building after dark

The Hand Washing

Before leaving the building the cleansing of the hands show the washing away of the curse

Theme

● The theme expressed in the short story is people should not give up on love by fighting for what they want.

● Jason doesn’t give up on his relationship with Miss. Golden because he is cursed

● William still haunts the building in search of Daisy

Rating

● We rate this story 4 out of 5 stars

● It has a well developed plot and very exciting events such as starting the reader off wondering

why the workers all have to leave at 5 PM

● Some sections lacked detail and were hard to follow such as the story of William and Daisy

Sources

● https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCPXn3Oq0sMgCFQtYPgodGOYPsw&url=http%3A%2F%2Funtappedcities.com%2F2013%2F08%2F28%2Fcities-101-what-the-rules-to-fire-escapes-in-nyc%2F&psig=AFQjCNE0y-YBj3NO0cRMfIfKaTKeRCa47w&ust=1444309105164311

● https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCM7wovS0sMgCFYTYPgodMn4Kng&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.more.com%2Fentertainment%2Ffood-travel%2Fget-more-out-every-bottle-wine&psig=AFQjCNHJfvfbCbO2Be2POmxjhLMxcRYQ5A&ust=1444309123811703

● https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCOT7qPy0sMgCFYZbPgodw2MCtA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclipgid.com%2Frose-bouquet-clip-art.html&psig=AFQjCNGmlHP7hGNPCdPdBo6ynQOya8TUwQ&ust=1444309142022644

● http://static1.squarespace.com/static/51f24eb6e4b0d06478a83b19/t/530bd6c5e4b0ee38396f2b89/1393284805856/london+silhouette.png?format=1000w ● https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCOC6nra1sMgCFYdWPgod1kgI4w&url=http%3A%2F%

2Fwww.museumoflondon.org.uk%2Fexplore-online%2Fmuseum-london-apps%2Fstreetmuseum%2F&bvm=bv.104615367,d.cWw&psig=AFQjCNGq8o3pxo8aZW1-ch1XMInAY9e5Ug&ust=1444309259821358

● https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCIqN78-1sMgCFQZ0Pgod1cMGYg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.123rf.com%2Fphoto_17588890_man-and-woman-kissing-silhouette-vector.html&psig=AFQjCNHQy17aAnirHfWM6BkSTcf9jBelnQ&ust=1444309311057560

● https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCJ-nyOu1sMgCFYpxPgodsCcDWA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cokertire.com%2F20x1-3-8-general-bike-whitewall-tire.html&psig=AFQjCNFbyqhpsuHXgRLwZP-RQbLujAmOuA&ust=1444309360871260

● https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCOK2zef7xcgCFcZVPgodeygOPQ&url=http%3A%2F%

2Fwww.youropi.com%2Fen%2Flondon%2Flocations%2Fclerkenwell-1646&bvm=bv.105039540,d.

cWw&psig=AFQjCNHNyH5ahNRKVKr05N01DBzMtVQlrg&ust=1445049687055121

● http://quoteko.com/black-and-white-and-book-image.html● http://www.examiner.com/article/about-the-author-joan-aiken