Shady Plot Notes

Shady Plot Notes
Grade 10
theme of the story, ‘The Shady Plot’ is the unique blending of intelligent humour with
horror to create a story for the entertainment of the readers. The supernatural elements
in the story don’t scare the readers; they rather augment the humour. In the cover of the
horror element, he lampoons the behavioural flaws of womankind, especially his wife.
He makes clever allusions to her extravagance, suspicious and jealous nature. The story
appears to be more humorous than a horror one. His description about his description
about his own ‘idiotic grin’ is quite funny. The plot and the various scenes are quite
comical. The author succeeds in entertaining the readers.
Message:
A Shady Plot shows us how the supernatural, ghostly elements can backfire. Also, one
should exercise caution in invoking powers over which they do not have any control. A
shady plot is a story about the writer John Hallock’s who writes stories about the ghost.
He was dependent on his creativity on the ghost, Helen.
Title Suitability
The name of the story is ‘A Shady Plot’. The word ‘shady’ here means ‘quiet, dark, or
concealed; hidden’. The word ‘plot’ here means ‘storyline- the plan, scheme, or main
story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story’. The story deals about
author’s unintentional involvement with the ghost ‘Helen’, who was the source behind
all the plots of his spooky stories. Since the plot of the story is about author’s secret
involvement with the ghost, Helen, which his wife comes to know about a little at the
end. The entire plot of the story has a ghostly (shady) element. So the title ’A Shady
(ghostly) Plot (story) is aptly justified.
The Atmosphere and Theme of the Story Another way to justify the title “Shady Plot” :
is to look at the overall atmosphere and themes of the story. Throughout the story, there
is a sense of darkness and mystery. The setting of the story, a dark and stormy night,
adds to this atmosphere. The theme of the story is also “shady” in a sense. John is a
struggling writer who is willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. He is willing to
plagiarize other writers, and he even considers using Mr. Jenkins’ story without giving
him credit. This shady behavior is contrasted with Mr. Jenkins’ honesty and integrity.
Character Sketches:
John Hallock
He is a ghost story writer. Whenever his publisher asks him for a new story, he is able to
write one. Usually, he has no idea where the plot will come from; he suddenly gets
inspiration and is able to produce a new story. This made him cocky and overconfident.
He has a wilful and whimsical wife who seems to enjoy spending money on every new
fad or fashion. In order to meet her demands, Hallock has to work as a bookkeeper in a
warehouse. His encounter with the ghost of Helen is a new and shocking thing as he is
told that ghosts inspire him and give him all the ideas for his stories. He is witty, creative,
caring and in moral dread of his wife Lavinia
Lavinia
She is John’s wife and seems to be a domineering person. At the same time she is
Shady Plot Notes
Grade 10
interested in fashions and fads. She has an alarming tendency to spend money. Her
latest craze is Ouija board. She buys one and calls her friends for an Ouija party. John
describes his wife as a very sensitive little lady. Lavinia also gets easily influenced by
people. She may come across as a vacuous wife, but finally displays genuine love and
affection for her husband.
Helen
She is a ghost who helps struggling writers in writing ghost stories. While she was alive,
she was a writer too, but failed miserably. Now, along with her fellow ghosts, she
founded ‘Writers’ Inspiration Bureau’ which give extended help to those writers who
have no ideas. She is angry because the ghosts have to be at the beck and call of the
Ouija board fanatics to answer their questions. This does not leave them with any time
for their amusement or haunting others. So, she orders John to stop these things in his
house.

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