5.1 About the story
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| author | William Sleator, American writer of science fiction and horror for young readers |
| main character | Martin, a thin, nervous twelve-year-old |
| setting | an old apartment building; its tiny elevator |
| Martin's floor | the seventeenth |
| elevator's capacity | three people at most |
| first meeting | the lady gets in at the fourteenth floor (morning) |
| second meeting | the elevator stops at the third floor (after school); she presses eighteen, the top floor |
| the lady's coat | an old green coat |
| how Martin is hurt | runs down the dark stairs, falls, breaks his leg |
| where the father gets off at the end | the ninth floor |
| where the lady gets in at the end | the tenth floor |
| the lady's only words | "Hello, Martin." |
| type of ending | open ending, cliff-hanger |
5.2 Key events in order
- Martin and his father move to the seventeenth floor of an old building.
- Martin fears the tiny, dim, shaking elevator.
- He climbs the dark stairs once; his father scorns him as a coward.
- Morning: the fat lady in the green coat gets in at the fourteenth floor and stares.
- After school: the elevator stops at the third floor; she gets in, presses eighteen, watches him get out at seventeen.
- At dinner the father dismisses Martin's question.
- Next morning: she smiles; Martin panics.
- He runs down the dark stairs, falls and breaks his leg.
- His father, angry, takes him to hospital without speaking; Martin gets a cast and crutches.
- Coming home, the father gets off at the ninth floor: "Grow up, Martin."
- At the tenth floor the lady gets in; the door closes; she presses STOP.
- She smiles and says, "Hello, Martin." The story ends.
5.3 The build-up of fear
| Encounter | What the lady does | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (14th floor, morning) | gets in, stares silently | Martin learns she exists |
| 2 (3rd floor, after school) | presses 18, blocks the buttons, watches him leave at 17 | she now knows his floor |
| 3 (next morning) | smiles | she shows feeling; Martin panics and falls |
| 4 (10th floor, the end) | gets in, presses STOP, says "Hello, Martin" | she knows his name; he is trapped |