Book Anatomy · A Princess of Mars
A Princess of Mars: Openings and endings
13 lenses on openings and endings for A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 F13
F1. First line and first paragraph: what each does. Both
The first full paragraph runs to 143 words and 5 sentences.
I am a very old man; how old I do not know. (Ch 1, para 2)
First line establishes Carter as an old man of unknown age. First paragraph sets Arizona location and hints at mysterious death. Both create intrigue about his past.
Chapters: Ch 1
I am a very old man; how old I do not know. Possibly I am a hundred, possibly more (Ch 1, para 2)
F2. What the first page sets up: voice, world, question. AI
First page establishes first person voice, Arizona setting, and the mystery of Carter's ten year disappearance. It poses the question of what happened to him.
Chapters: Ch 1
I am a very old man; how old I do not know. Possibly I am a hundred, possibly more (Ch 1, para 2)
the strange events that befell me during the ten years that my dead body lay undiscovered in an Arizona cave (Ch 1, para 3)
F3. How many words before the lead appears? Count
First dialogue after 8,480 words. See the full lens on the book page.
F4. How many words before the first line of dialogue? Count
First dialogue after 8,480 words. See the full lens on the book page.
F5. The hook of chapter one. AI
Chapter 1 hook is Carter's discovery of a mysterious cave while pursuing Apache raiders. He becomes paralysed by strange gas, creating cliffhanger that pulls reader forward.
Chapters: Ch 1
from there slip prone upon the floor (Ch 1, para 39)
F6. Prologue: its job and its length. Both
No prologue: the book starts in its first chapter.
No prologue. The book opens directly with chapter 1 and Carter's first person narration of his past.
F7. How fast is the main story question posed? AI
The main story question emerges slowly. Chapter 1 to 2 establish the mystery of the cave. Chapter 3 poses the question of survival on Mars. Chapter 8 introduces the romantic question with Dejah Thoris.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 8
I knew that I was on Mars; not once did I question either my sanity or my wakefulness (Ch 3, para 2)
a slender, girlish figure, similar in every detail to the earthly women of my past life (Ch 8, para 22)
F8. Final chapter: which beats resolve what. AI
Chapter 28 resolves the romantic plot by confirming Dejah Thoris waits on Mars. It leaves unresolved whether Carter will return. The final line expresses hope and uncertainty.
Chapters: Ch 28
I believe that they are waiting there for me, and something tells me that I shall soon know. (Ch 28, para 16)
F9. Last line: what it leaves in the mind. Both
The last full paragraph runs to 18 words.
I believe that they are waiting there for me, and something tells me that I shall soon know. (Ch 28, para 16)
Last line expresses Carter's belief that Dejah Thoris and their son wait for him and that he will soon know his fate. It leaves the ending open and hopeful.
Chapters: Ch 28
I believe that they are waiting there for me, and something tells me that I shall soon know. (Ch 28, para 16)
F10. Loose ends tied and left open. AI
The book ties the romance and the defeat of Zodanga. It leaves open whether Carter will return to Mars and whether Dejah Thoris survived the atmosphere crisis.
Chapters: Ch 27, Ch 28
Was my Dejah Thoris alive, or did her beautiful body lie cold in death beside the tiny golden incubator (Ch 28, para 11)
I believe that they are waiting there for me, and something tells me that I shall soon know. (Ch 28, para 16)
F11. Epilogue: its job. Both
No chapter called an epilogue. The last chapter is 672 words.
Chapter 28 serves as epilogue, showing Carter back on Earth and reflecting on his time on Mars. It is brief and focuses on his emotional state and hope.
Chapters: Ch 28
I was looking upon Arizona from the same ledge from which ten years before I had gazed with longing upon Mars (Ch 28, para 8)
I believe that they are waiting there for me, and something tells me that I shall soon know. (Ch 28, para 16)
F12. Echoes between the opening and the ending. AI
Opening shows Carter in Arizona cave gazing at Mars with longing. Ending shows him back in the same cave, still longing for Mars. Both frame the story as a journey between worlds.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 28
it seemed to call across the unthinkable void, to lure me to it, to draw me as the lodestone attracts a particle of iron (Ch 2, para 19)
I was looking upon Arizona from the same ledge from which ten years before I had gazed with longing upon Mars (Ch 28, para 8)
F13. Length of the wind down after the climax. Count
After the climax (chapter 25, our reading) the book runs 4,751 more words, 7.2% of the whole.
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