James Aldridge, The Last Inch. Summary of the story

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

J. Aldridge wrote The Last Inch in his characteristic style. The author believed that the main thing for the creator of the work is to reveal how a person is formed, to catch the moment when children turn into girls and boys. And he succeeded. In his story, he not only caught the moment of the boy growing up, which coincided with a difficult test, but also showed how a twelve-year-old boy surprisingly adopted the strengths of his father's character.

J. Aldridge, "The Last Inch". Summary: First Lesson

Twelve-year-old boy Davy landed in a small plane with his father, who was once a pilot, on a deserted Egyptian coast. Ben was left without a job, but since his wife was used to a prosperous life, it was necessary to pay for an apartment in Cairo and many other services, he was forced to stop at a profitable one, howeverdangerous business - shooting sharks underwater. Landing the plane, the father at the same time gave his son the first lessons in this skill. He taught that when landing, the distance to the ground should be exactly six inches, no more, no less. In fact, Ben did not even imagine that this lesson would be very useful to his son soon.

J. Aldridge, "The Last Inch". Summary: father wounded

Ben was preparing a movie camera for filming and scuba gear. He was concerned about whether he could get a picture of a great bracken and a cat shark. Ben took horsemeat bait with him and tied the meat to a coral reef. The sharks, of course, attacked her, it turned out to be a successful shooting. It was only now that Ben noticed that he had stained his hands and chest with the blood from the meat. But it was too late: a cat shark was swimming right at him. She grabbed his right hand and walked over to his left. Miraculously, Ben managed to push the predator away with his feet and get out onto the sand. On the shore, he passed out.

J. Aldridge, "The Last Inch". Summary: the wheel in the hands of a child

Ben came to his senses and asked the boy to tear off his shirt and bandage his hands: the right one was dangling, and the left one looked like a piece of meat. The legs were also bleeding. The father's mind constantly sank into unconsciousness. He did his best to concentrate the rest of his forces on saving Davy. The boy followed his father's commands, not yet suspecting that he himself would have to sit at the helm. Ben asks his son on a towel to drag him to the plane, heap stones at the right door and drag him into the cockpit. It was only then that a suspicion crept into Davy’s soul: why didn’t his father sit downfrom the side of the pilot. Ben told the boy that he would have to fly the plane on his own only after they both climbed into it. He gives his son instructions on how to raise the plane. Strong winds made things difficult for them. The plane rocked, the father had to scream. The boy's eyes were wide open in horror, but the will of the father, his courage was transferred to the son: he did not let go of the helm.

J. Aldridge, "The Last Inch". Summary: Plane Landing

It was almost dark by the time they got to the flight path. The landing site was occupied, but they were lucky - the big plane took off immediately. Dodging him, Davy lost speed. It was very dangerous. The last inch separating death and life was approaching. At this moment, the father broke down and wept, losing his composure. But the boy managed to successfully land the plane. Ben calmed down and felt that he would live.

Summary: Aldridge, "The Last Inch". Father's recovery

Thanks to physical strength, the will to live and the skill of Egyptian doctors, Ben is on the mend. Davy came to visit his father, and he asked if it was great. The boy could only nod in response. In fact, he had not yet thought about it, he still had not left the horror of the experience. But Ben knew that when Davy got older, he would be proud of what he had done and feel more confident for the rest of his life.