No.35 When It Happens (Cambridge International IGCSE English Literature)
No.35 When It Happens: When It Happens analysis
When It Happens analysis
In the exam, you will be asked to answer one question from two options. Both questions will be on a different text from the selection of ten texts in Stories of Ourselves Volume 2.
Because there are so many text options, make sure you read through the exam instructions carefully, and look for the questions on Stories of Ourselves.
The following guide to When It Happens by Margaret Atwood contains:
- Plot summary
- Themes, ideas and perspectives
- Writer’s methods
- Key quotations
No.35 When It Happens: Plot summary
Plot summary of When It Happens
Margaret Atwood’s short story When It Happens was written in 1977. Atwood is best known for dystopian fiction, such as her influential novel A Handmaid’s Tale. Her story When It Happens blends the past and the present with ideas about a bleak futuristic world.
The story begins describing the middle-aged Mrs Burridge, the protagonist, who is pickling tomatoes in preparation for a cold chill. She and her husband live on a farm. Although their life is comfortable enough, even mundane in its routine, Mrs Burridge has a worrying concern which she cannot shift. When she stares outside, she imagines seeing smoke. When she pickles tomatoes, she cannot help but wonder if she is prepared for when “it happens”.
The omniscient narrator does not explicitly say what “it” is, but Mrs Burridge’s thoughts reflect on the rising prices, food shortages, and news of “strikes” and “lay offs". She remembers what happened during the Great Depression and the war, and how the media went silent, how the oil and gas stopped coming, and so she knows what to expect. She cannot speak of her worries though; her neighbours and husband appear to want to ignore it and carry on as usual (she says her husband likes things to go as expected).
As Mrs Burridge writes a shopping list, she goes through the details of her escape plan. Despite all the food she has stored, she knows this will not help. She knows her husband will go towards the “smoke” and never return, so she must look after herself. She must prepare for when her house and farm is taken over and ransacked. She will need to free the chickens and dogs. She must take only as much as she can carry. She must have a gun and be prepared to use it.
The story ends with Mrs Burridge returning to her shopping list, and going back to the door.
Exam Hint In order to answer the question in Section B of the CIE Literature in English Poetry and Prose Paper 1, it is best to have a thorough knowledge of the story’s plot. You will need to be able to support your points with references from the story, and consider how themes and characters develop (or not).
No.35 When It Happens: Themes, ideas and perspectives
Themes, ideas and perspectives in When It Happens
For top marks, you need to form a critical understanding of the text’s themes and ideas. This is best when it includes personal judgements and evaluations of the themes, ideas, and perspectives of the text. Here are some of the key ideas you will need to understand in Margaret Atwood’s When It Happens.
What are the key themes in When It Happens?
| Theme | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Fear and isolation | - Atwood conveys Mrs Burridge’s constant fear about the future as she carries out domestic tasks - Her fear is informed and heightened by her experiences during the Great Depression and the “war”: - This helps Atwood present her story as a warning - The nervous Mrs Burridge is “practical”, not paranoid - Mrs Burridge is isolated in her concerns: - Neither her husband nor friends will “talk about it” - The people in town have an “air of helplessness” - This isolation leads her to lie to her husband as she cannot share her worries |
| Utopia and dystopia | - The story represents the idea of a utopia as an abundance of food, a home, and memories of family - The idea of dystopia is represented by the ideas of food insecurity, a lack of warmth and light, and criminal behaviour - Atwood contrasts the Burridges’ abundant and comfortable life with an inevitably bleak future - The farm is thriving and they always have too much: - There were “three bushels” of green tomatoes picked from the garden - Contrastingly, the future is described with something “burning, smoke coming up from the horizon”: - There will be insecurity and destruction - Telephone wires “are blown down in a storm” |
| The past and the future | - Atwood’s narrator reflects Mrs Burridge’s meandering thoughts which alternate between her chores and an imminent crisis: - She plans to make a “lemon meringue“, and “When the pickles are cool she labels them” - She remembers the “war”, and prepares herself for a future in which the media will become "non-committal" - Mrs Burridge’s certainty about the future is reflected in the references to “when” (not “if”) it happens |
No.35 When It Happens: Writer's methods
Writer's methods in When It Happens
How does Margaret Atwood present her ideas and perspectives?
In Atwood’s short story When It Happens, an imagined apocalyptic event is told from the unlikely perspective of a middle-aged wife and mother.
| **Technique ** | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Symbolism | - Atwood’s story presents the idea of peace as a life of safety and routine: - Even seemingly negative things like Frank’s “pig-headedness”, her “nagging”, his complaints, and her teasing reflects the constancy and reliability of their lives - Atwood uses the symbol of “smoke” to represent a future crisis: - Mrs Burridge imagines seeing something burning on the “horizon” - Mrs Burridge’s comfortable life of abundance is** juxtaposed with a future that leaves her without her home, food security, or support: - Atwood presents a dystopian **future with the idea of uncertainty - Mrs Burridge’s fear of the unknown is conveyed in questions - She asks herself, “What if she is wrong and Frank comes back after all, what if nothing, really, is the matter?” - She is unsure about her husband: “Maybe you’ll go off somewhere when it happens” |
| Omniscient narrator**** | - The third-person narrator tracks Mrs Burridge’s thoughts and feelings: - The effect is that the reader knows her inner thoughts better than her husband and children, which creates pathos despite the detached perspective - Readers are not told Mrs Burridge’s first name, which reflects Mrs Burridge’s reserved, practical nature: - Not naming Mrs Burridge emphasises her anonymity and ordinariness, allowing her to represent many women of her generation |
| Tenses | - Atwood blends tenses to show connections between the past and the present, and how it informs the future: - Present tense verbs are used to describe current events: “Mrs. Burridge is putting up green tomato pickles” - But this is used in visions of the future as well: “It is about this time too that she takes one of the guns” - Simultaneously, Mrs Burridge slips into memories: “She remembers it especially because her daughter Sarah was on the way” - Atwood may be implying that for Mrs Burridge, her imagined future is just as real as her present activities |
Exam Hint Examiners reward essay responses that examine the ways in which writers use language, structure and form to explore deeper ideas, and present certain attitudes. Because of this, it is better to focus your analysis on techniques rather than quotes.
In other words, you could write, for instance: “Margaret Atwood uses a third-person omniscient narrator in her story When It Happens to create a detached mood, which reflects her protagonist’s sense of isolation.
No.35 When It Happens: Key quotations
When It Happens key quotations
The mark scheme for Section B of Literature in English Paper 1 asks you to showcase your knowledge of the story in the question. To do this, you should refer to the text through references and quotations. You will not be required to remember direct quotations, though. Summarising, paraphrasing, referencing single words, and referring to plot events are all considered valid supporting evidence for your points.
The best way to revise quotations is in connection to a theme. Below you will find explanations and analysis of some key quotations from Margaret Atwood’s When It Happens, arranged by the following themes:
- Fear and isolation
- Utopia and dystopia
- The past and the future
Fear and isolation
Margaret Atwood’s chilling short story When It Happens depicts a middle-aged wife’s silent anxiety about a dangerous future which she is certain she will face alone.
blockquote “It doesn’t make her feel safe any more” — Narrator
Meaning and context
- The narrator says that Mrs Burridge does not feel safe having all the stored food in the cellar, although it used to make her feel prepared for a crisis or being “cut off”
Analysis
- Although Atwood uses an omniscient narrator, short sentences reflect tension in Mrs Burridge’s voice, or inner thoughts
- The present tense verb “doesn’t” creates immediacy, which heightens tension
- Atwood may be suggesting an urgent need to think about an unsafe future
blockquote “She feels beleaguered, isolated, like someone shut up inside a fortress” — Narrator
Meaning and context
- When Mrs Burridge imagines the future, she sees her house as a prison
- She knows that because she has plenty of food and the promise of warmth her home will be attacked, and this makes her feel blockaded in and trapped
Analysis
-
Atwood illustrates how powerlessness leads to fear:
- Mrs Burridge has done all she can to prepare, but she believes it is in vain
-
A simile compares her home to a “fortress”:
- This both reflects its ability to offer security and also its potential to be a prison that isolates her and leaves her vulnerable
Utopia and dystopia
blockquote “She is gazing around the kitchen, looking at all the things she will have to leave behind when she goes” — Narrator
Meaning and context
- As Mrs Burridge looks around her kitchen at all the things she will miss, she feels sad she will have to leave the comfortable home she has with her husband
Analysis
-
Atwood implies that Mrs Burridge’s simple kitchen represents a happy, simple life:
- She suggests that the time and memories invested in making a comfortable home bring a sense of peace, even representing a utopia
-
This is juxtaposed with her certainty that she will lose it all
blockquote “They have spotted her gun, their eyes have fastened on it, they want it" — Narrator
Meaning and context
- In Mrs Burridge’s imagined future, she is alone in a forest
- Some men see her gun and they stare at it as they plan how to take it from her
Analysis
-
Atwood describes an anarchic future in which survival comes by any means possible:
- Pauses in a list of the men’s every action reflect Mrs Burridge’s vulnerable position and fearful alertness
-
Atwood describes a dystopian future that is rife with crime and violence
The past and the future
blockquote “She thinks of her girls now and hopes they will not have babies; it is no longer the right time for it” — Narrator
Meaning and context
- Mrs Burridge reflects on her daughters, and hopes they do not decide to have children because the world has changed, and a crisis is imminent
Analysis
- Atwood’s blunt narration emphasises Mrs Burridge’s pragmatism* and practicality
- Through her protagonist, Atwood implies individuals find it necessary to prepare for the future realistically and without emotion or nostalgia
blockquote “It used to annoy Mrs. Burridge, especially the crumbs, but now she watches him with a kind of sadness; she once thought their life together would go on forever but she has come to realize this is not the case” — Narrator
Meaning and context
- Mrs Burridge reflects on her changing attitude towards her husband
- There was a time she found his little habits annoying, but now that she knows she will face the future alone, she feels a sense of “sadness”
Analysis
- Atwood poignantly depicts the growing barrier between Mrs Burridge and her husband because of her silent concern for the future
- Through Mrs Burridge’s morbid thoughts and certainty that her husband will not survive, Atwood shows how thoughts about the future impact the present
Sources
Wilmer, M (ed.), 2018, Stories of Ourselves: Cambridge Assessment International Education Anthology of Stories in English Volume 2, Cambridge University Press.
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