THE SIXTH SENSE

1) M. Night Shyamalan, THE SIXTH SENSE, U.S.A., SCHOLASTIC INC., March 2000, 171 pages

2) RESPONDING TO THE PLOT: c) Was there a character especially inspiring, depressing or even frightening? Explain why.
I inspired Dr. Malcolm very much. Because he was so hard for his job and he loved his wife so much. He was not anxious about himself, and he looked people around him. Therefore, however, he was killed by his patient he did not notice it and even he would try to treat another new child. Moreover, he came back the house (may be) every day and he watched his wife even if he felt she ignored him. And he loved only her forever. I thought it was not good that he focused on his work but he was an ideal person.

Setting: Philadelphia

Point of View: This story is told from the third person.

Conflict: Cole sees ghost, but he does not want to see them.

Climax: Cole told his secret that he sees dead people to Dr. Malcolm, at first Dr. Malcolm could not believe it, but gradually he became to believe Cole’s secret. And Dr. Malcolm advised Cole to help ghosts. Then, Cole and Dr. Malcolm helped a girl, who was dead, they became more and more close. So Cole hinted Dr. Malcolm his state and finally he understood he was dead.

Symbol: “Ghost” is the symbol of the story. Cole sees ghosts, and at first he only hates them. But Dr. Malcolm, who is also dead appeared and he tried to treat Cole (because Malcolm did not notice his death.), little by little Cole believes Dr. Malcolm (even though Cole knew Dr. Malcolm was dead.), and the last Cole would tell his secret to his mother because Dr. Malcolm advised. Dead people changed Cold life and feeling, so “ghost” is symbol in this book.

Irony: Cole sees ghost but he did not want to see them and did not know why they come out around Cole. Dr. Malcolm was dead, but he did not understand it and he tried to treat Cole. They are irony.

Theme: The theme of this book is “thought”. Everybody in this book had their thoughts, and the thoughts gave them for living and doing something. Therefore, this book conveys the importance of the feeling and the thought.

4) REFLECTING ON THE STORY: a) How does the character’s life compare to your own?
Cole’s life is terrible for me and I cannot imagine his life. He always sees dead people and he did not tell his ability to anybody. Therefore, I thought he did not like being alone and he could not feel easy. If I were Cole, I cannot live like now and like him. May be I want to tell it and want people to understand me. It was too big problem, so if people say the secret or not was important.