“The Elevator” is a horror story by William Sleator about a twelve-year-old boy named Martin, who has claustrophobia and a fear of elevators. In the beginning, when he moves into his new apartment, he is hesitant to even enter the elevator until he is forced to do so by his father. In addition, as Martin struggled with the elevator, a fat lady began to use it, which only added to his fear and exacerbated his discomfort. Furthermore, no matter which floor Martin entered or exited from, the lady followed Martin on the elevator, as he always saw her. The situation became so distressing to Martin that he tried running downstairs, but instead stumbled and injured himself. In the end, Martin gets trapped inside the elevator along with the fat lady and she pushes the stop button.
Mental health issues are still neglected or misunderstood by many people today. One being claustrophobia, a psychological issue in which a person has an extreme or irrational fear of confined places. A person suffering from claustrophobia will often avoid confined spaces at all costs. In this case, Martin’s claustrophobia caused him to have a fear of the small elevator and be extremely anxious about it. For example, coming home from school, he was even willing to take 17 flights of stairs to just go home. In spite of the fact that an elevator could easily have taken a few minutes, Martin was willing to sacrifice his time just to avoid the elevator. This illustrates how severe claustrophobia can be, and how it can affect someone with it greatly. Thus, it is important for people to be aware of other people's psychological needs. Many people are different with how they perceive things and think. With the elevator, others may not think much of the confined space, but people with claustrophobia may feel extremely uncomfortable. People cannot only rely on their own experiences; they must also understand others too.
Family is significant in most lives as it is the people someone grows up with and live with. They can be the people that offer support and understanding during times of difficulty. However, in the story, Martin lacked this love and care from his parents. Aside from not having a mother, his father didn't seem to care about any of his problems. In school, when Martin was bullied, his father just did not understand and ignored his feelings. How his father handles the bullying situation is also similar to how he helps Martin with claustrophobia. When Martin faced the situation of the elevator, his father didn’t even care about Martin’s claustrophobia and said he was a coward. As Martin mentioned to his father how strange the fat lady was in the elevator, his father questioned when he’ll ever “grow up” and accused him of being afraid. His father, knowing Martin's claustrophobia, should try to understand and support. Instead, he didn't help Martin get over it at all and even left Martin on the elevator alone. The attitude Martin’s father has to the problems show that parents need to be more understanding and not ignorant to their children. Many may not understand what their children are going through and just assume. As a family, parents should show support and care for their children.
Throughout the story, suspense is often prevalent and built upon. In literature, suspense is the reader’s anticipation about the plot or conflict. After the day Martin began to go on the elevator, the fat lady started to appear. At first Martin did not think much about the lady and was only uncomfortable with the lady in the elevator. However, Martin soon began noticing her on various floors and realized that she was following him constantly. Suspense is displayed here as readers do not actually know who the lady on the elevator was and also why she was always following Martin. The lady could be physically someone who was following Martin or someone who was only in Martin's head. The fears and anxiety on the elevator might have caused him to have greater psychological issues, resulting the mysterious fat lady. Furthermore, the lady reflects the horror and the dark side of one’s mind too. Similar to the lady, terror can always seem to be following and can also affect someone greatly. The suspense in the story is used to create a humorous and ironic tone to the darker side of the story and the problems of Martin.
The novel, The Elevator, despite being a horror story, demonstrates various significant themes. The importance of being aware of mental health issues are shown through Martin’s claustrophobia and his experience. When Martin faced the situation of the small elevator, he was willing to do anything to just avoid it. This displays how much his fear could affect him and the difficulty of anyone overcoming it. Furthermore, despite Martin trying to explain his fear to his father, his father made no understanding, even telling him he was a coward. It is important for parents to be more understanding of their children's problems, since sometimes, they may not even know what it is like to endure such problems. Moreover, suspense develops throughout the story as the reader does not know who the lady is. The lady could have been someone who was physically following Martin or someone who was only in his head. Overall, The Elevator is an entertaining horror story that sparks suspense and uncovers deeper into the darker side of minds.
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