There are three narrative elements to the short story, “On the Sidewalk, Bleeding.” The ones that will be discussed are conflict, theme and setting.

“On the Sidewalk Bleeding” has two different kinds of conflict. First, there is a man vs. man conflict. In the beginning of the story, Andy is stabbed by a rival gang called the Guardians who, during the stabbing, say “This is for you, Royal!” These two gangs stand for different things and hold different territory. Therefore, their confrontation is an example of a man vs. man conflict.

There is also a man vs. himself conflict in the story. This conflict can be seen on several occasions in the story. In the middle of the story, a young couple stumbles upon Andy, who is lying on the sidewalk, about 10 minutes after he was stabbed. The man in the couple walks up to Andy and considers helping him but then he sees his jacket, which is a jacket for the gang, the Royals.

The man fights with himself over the issue of whether to help Andy and get him to the hospital. In the end, he decides not to and says to his girlfriend, “I don’t want to get mixed up on this. If we find a cop, the Guardians will find out who.” In this man vs. himself conflict, fear won the battle. It is appalling to me that this man would not help Andy while he is dying in the rain. This man’s fear of being hunted down by a gang is the key moment in the story that led to Andy’s eventual death.

The other man vs. himself conflict is between Andy and himself. As Andy continues to wait for someone to help him, he begins to lose hope. He fights with himself over man issues. He fights with himself over whether or not he will live after being stabbed. He admits to himself that he is losing this battle, when he thinks to himself, “Laura, I’m dying!” This is one of the worst things Andy could have done.

When someone accepts that he is dying, that is when he finally starts dying because he has lost confidence. Andy also fights with himself over the decisions he has made in life. It turns out that, as Andy was dying, he began to regret the decision he made to become a Royal. He gives the reader the impression that it was one of the worst decisions he ever made. When he found out he had been accepted by the gang, he was on top of the world.

Now, as he lies on the sidewalk, bleeding, he wishes he had never been a part of the Royals in the first place. Andy is also in conflict with himself over his girlfriend, Laura. He is angry at himself that this had to happen because he was going to spend the rest of his life with her in the Bronx. He wonders to himself if Laura will be mad at him for being gone for so long.

The theme of the story “On the Sidewalk, Bleeding” is identity. Andy is angry at everyone for not giving him a chance because of how people identify him. All anyone sees him as is a member of the gang called the Royals. Andy wants to be known as Andy, the man who is going to marry Laura and move to the Bronx. Andy faces prejudice because of his identity at many points in the book. At the beginning of the story, Andy is stabbed by the Guardians.

If Andy had been walking around without a Royal jacket, he may not have been killed. Later, in the alley, Andy comes across the young couple who decide not to help him. They don’t help him because of the jacket he is wearing and everything that comes with it. Then, there is the most painful part of the story, when Andy is lying dead and Laura says, “His name is Andy”. 

The policeman at the scene responds that Andy is just “a royal”, giving the reader the impression that the policeman feels the death is justified because there is gang warfare involved. People often judge each other’s identities based on what they wear. If Andy walked around without that jacket, people would just see another man. Instead, Andy is judged instantly because of this jacket. In the end, this jacket cost him his life.

The third element of the story is setting. The setting of this story takes place on a sidewalk outside an alley, late at night. The setting of the story is very gloomy. It is also raining, which, coupled with the alley, makes the story very spooky.  In this story, the setting makes a huge difference to the power of the book. The author tries to create as horrific a setting as possible. The rain is the key to the story.

One can imagine Andy, lying on his side with blood spilling out and it being washed away by the rain, creating a murky red puddle. For example, if Andy was lying in a field with no clouds and the sun was shining brightly, the reader might not feel as frightened while reading the story.

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annie mank
annie mank
11 years ago

this is the best response i’ve ever seen for “on the sidewalk, bleeding”.
It helped me a lot, thank you

Ashoka
Ashoka
2 years ago

Why is Andy’s last living strength spent taking the jacket off?
How does Andy’s attitude toward the Royals change and why?

Mary Frank
Mary Frank
Reply to  Ashoka
2 years ago

Yes. Towards the end, Andy wonders whether joining the Royals was his best decsion. Before he had pride but at the end he did not. He wanted to be labeled as a person and not just another Royal. Hope that helps 🙂

Abraham
Abraham
3 years ago

What is the verbal?

sarah
sarah
2 years ago

Please do an analysis on Andy

Claudia
Claudia
6 years ago

What’s the climax?

Afrod D.
Afrod D.
Reply to  Claudia
3 years ago

when he takes off the jacket

Reb
Reb
2 years ago

What does the story teach the reader about stereotypes

wendy
wendy
2 years ago

what is the inciting incident

H.W
H.W
7 years ago

thanks this is going to help me a lot with my essay

elena
elena
6 years ago

Who is the protagonist in the story?

Derin M.
Derin M.
Reply to  elena
6 years ago

really?

Cesia M
Cesia M
Reply to  elena
5 years ago

It was Andy

Jony B.
Jony B.
2 years ago

What did other people think of Andy when he was on the ground bleeding in the alley? can someone give me an answer to this?

Mia
Mia
3 years ago

This reading really help me a lot because the reading that my teacher had given me was a little hard to understand but this analysis was a little easier to understand in a way. It gave me a good look of the book and helped me answer my questions in a easier way

Victoria Nellen
Victoria Nellen
11 years ago

Thank you SO much. This is going to help a lot with my final essay. <3

Anhas
Anhas
7 months ago

What literary devices where used?

William
William
Reply to  Anhas
7 months ago

who asked

will
will
7 years ago

this does not have a theme

Frank S.
Frank S.
Reply to  will
6 years ago

Yes it does self identity is the key theme that can be seen throughout the story in Andy.

Priscilla K
Priscilla K
7 years ago

This is the best! I haven’t seen an answer as perfect as this. Great job!

Cece
Cece
9 years ago

Thanks soo much it gave me some ideas

Cece E.
Cece E.
Reply to  Cece
3 years ago

Thanks so much. It gave me some ideas.

Percy jackson
Percy jackson
2 years ago

I need help with the summary

Francis
Francis
8 years ago

Thanks bud

Alan
Alan
10 years ago

Good response, although `identity` is a motif, not a theme. A theme is an entire sentence.

neofood6
neofood6
12 years ago

thansks so much! this definitely helped me.