Introduction The following is an analysis of the story of O’Connor A stroke of good fortune. This essay will have a description or a short synopsis of the story. There are characters used by the writer and the reason she used them as well as the themes, which the writer of Stroke of good fortune tries to bring out in the book. This analysis will discuss the symbolism or imageries used by the writer and the reason why the writer used the symbols. The Synopsis. This story is about Ruby Hill a young woman in her thirties who is on her way home from the Grocer where she was buying groceries. She feels that her body is unwell and therefore decides to climb the stairs slowly as she lets her mind linger over the issues of life. First, she thinks of her younger brother who is in his early twenties and fought in the world war two. The brother lives with them in their apartment and it is evident from Ruby’s that she is unhappy with him. Her unhappiness is because of the fact that her brother is simply not an enterprising person and only seems to enjoy getting by in life. Rufus is not ambitious and this irks her sister who herself is full of ambition and the author tells us that she is looking forward to stay in an uptown one floor apartment. She also reflects on her husband Bill, a salesperson. We learn from the story that he is very excited about life and that his opinion concerning children is very positive unlike that of Ruby who sees children as a burden. Her opinion bases itself on her mother who she says that she delivered child after child and that in her thirties she looked like an old apple. She feels that the modern woman needs redemption from childrearing. To her the children that her mother bore were the major cause of her misery. The author however does not allow us to know the reasons why Ruby’s mother was having many children and what she felt about it. As she climbs the stairs, she feels too exhausted and sits down on the stairs to take a breath. As she sits down, she sits on a toy gun of a neighbor’s child who stays on the first floor. The toy belongs to Hartley a child who in Ruby’s opinion is unruly. She amuses herself at the thought that the kid’s mother who is a widow sees the boy as her savior and the only evidence of her short-lived marriage. She subconsciously picks the toy and climbs with it to the second floor where she meets the seventy eight year old called Mr. Jerger. This man is a retiree who prides him in having lots of knowledge on issues and matters of life. Ruby does not esteem him highly and rather sees him as a loser in life because he has no major achievement. However, the man is always happy unlike Ruby who is too concerned about life that she feels sick. From there on, she proceeds to the third floor where she meets Laverne Watts a friend who lives in third floor. Laverne is excited at Ruby’s condition. She is the one who truthfully tells Ruby that she is pregnant and Ruby does not want to hear any of that. It also dawns on her that the Stroke of fortune that the poalmist talked of could be the child. The author tells us of Laverne’s interest in Rufus but Ruby cannot allow it to happen as she thinks that Laverne is too old for her brother. She continues to climb the stairs and as she gets to the fourth floor, it is there when the awareness of