The Night the Bed Fell

"The Night the Bed Fell" is a short story written by American author, James Thurber. The story is a brief account of an event that took place at his house in Columbus, Ohio.

tructure

The story is a memoir written in the first person. It has a subjective angle, and is ordered chronologically. There are seven main characters, including James and several other family members such as Briggs, his mother, Herman, Roy, the father, and the narrator.

Plot introduction

James's father decided to sleep in the attic that night, so that he could be where he could think. His wife opposed the idea, because he would be sleeping on an old bed with a wobbly headboard that could crash down on top of him. That night, a cousin named Briggs Bealls would be bunking with him in his room. Briggs thought that if he was not woken up every hour of the night that he would suddenly stop breathing, but James persuaded his cousin to believe that he would immediately wake up if he heard Briggs's breathing stop. James proceeds by describing several of his family's crotchets, which proves that he has an interesting family.