The Rising Action in Why I Stopped Babysitting Essay Example

In Why I Stopped Babysitting by Eleni Vassiliadis, the protagonist babysits for a couple that gives her the wrong address so that no one knows where she is. In the story, the main character gets asked to babysit for a couple she does not know and almost immediately feels like something is off. After she is brought to the correct house by the husband, she is told not to check on the baby. Also, the house is sparsely furnished and all the doors are locked. Vassiliadis wants both kids and adults to be aware of their surroundings and think twice before doing certain things. In Why I Stopped Babysitting by Eleni Vassiliadis, the author inserts multiple pivotal incidents in the rising action to convey how easily manipulated we can be by unlikely manipulators. 

The rising action in Why I Stopped Babysitting is essential because it builds up to the climax and expresses how easily people can be manipulated when they least expect it. After the husband drives the protagonist to the correct house, she notices that it is not just an ordinary house. She describes the house as “the nicest house [she] had ever seen (super modern sort of angular architecture, amazing garden)” (Vassiliadis). The nice, new looking house makes the protagonist feel less worried. The couple would not want to bring her to a dark, scary house because she would be more likely to feel uneasy. In addition to having a nice house, the parents also ask her to not check on or wake up their baby. This seems odd to the girl because she would usually check on the child every twenty minutes or so. The parents are very clear and tell her “she’s a very light sleeper, you see, so we’ll be very upset if you wake her” (Vassiliadis). The parents explain to the protagonist why she is not supposed to check on the baby and even tell her that they will be mad if she wakes her up. The wife adds that she should stay downstairs unless the baby cries because it is unlikely that there even is a baby. The protagonist also notices that the couple had left out tons of food for her. She decides not to eat any of it because there were “Salt and vinegar chips instead of plain, and the chocolate biscuits had an off smell to them” (Vassiliadis). It is likely that the couple left the food out after doing something to it. She mentions that the biscuits had an off smell to them, suggesting that they had been modified to possibly poison her. This exhibits another effort that the couple makes to manipulate the main character. The author includes multiple manipulative actions that the parents make in the rising action to show how easily people can be tricked in unlikely situations like babysitting. 

In Why I Stopped Babysitting by Eleni Vassiliadis,  the author inserts significant events in the rising action that portray how easily people can be manipulated. The author demonstrates the theme that manipulators make it difficult for people to escape a situation and will do anything to make the person feel like they are safe when they are not.  She wants to drive forth the central message that anyone can be a manipulator, especially in circumstances where we least expect it. It is so common for people to be manipulated when the manipulators look nice or appear to have a lot of money. Whether it is babysitting or walking around the mall, manipulators will have explanations for everything that seems off. In life, it is important to pay close attention to people’s actions because anything can happen, especially in unlikely circumstances. By considering this story, people will be more aware of what can happen in their everyday lives.