A very brief summary of the last inch. Analysis of the novel "The Last Inch" by James Aldridge

In the lesson, students will get acquainted with the plot and composition of Aldridge's story "The Last Inch", during the analysis they will characterize the main characters and draw a conclusion about the main idea and problems of the story.

Topic: Foreign literature of the twentieth century

Lesson: James Aldridge's short story "The Last Inch"

In my books the main theme is always

one and the same - choice, choice of path,

choice of action, choice of outlook.

Aldridge James

Rice. 1. Photo. J. Aldridge (1918) ()

Aldridge James(Fig. 1) - English writer and public figure. The work of a journalist and war correspondent, who visited many fronts of the Second World War 1939-45, became for Aldridge a school of life experience and skill. His feature reports, novels, short stories reflected the heroism of the people's Resistance and the changes that the world-historical victory over fascism entailed.

Aldridge responds vividly to the exciting problems of the time. The writer is attracted by the fate of a simple man who, in dramatic circumstances, triumphs over despair. A prime example of this was "The Last Inch" story.

Plot. The meaning of the name.

The main characters of the story- this is 43-year-old pilot Ben and his 10-year-old son Davy. The relationship between them is not easy. Ben worked all the time, so he devoted very little time to his child. His wife Joanna was dissatisfied with life in the deserts of Arabia and eventually left her husband and son and left for their homeland, New England. So Ben had to raise his son himself. In order to somehow get closer to him, Ben took Davy with him on a flight. They flew to Shark Bay on the Red Sea. Here, Ben had to shoot underwater for a TV company that paid good money for videos of the life of marine predators, sharks. During the shooting, the sharks attacked Ben, and he barely made it to the shore alive. A 10-year-old boy managed to provide first aid to his father, but the pilot could not fly the plane himself. This difficult task fell on Davy's shoulders. At first it seemed simply impossible. However, the boy not only managed to lift the plane into the air, but also fly to the airfield, and even land the plane. In this way, son saved father. At the end of the story, Odridge writes about how the relationship between father and son has changed.

In this way, The title of the story is symbolic: the main characters managed to overcome "the last inch, which ...", according to the author, "... separates everyone and everything."

Inch (from Dutch - thumb) - a unit of distance measurement in some European non-metric units. 1 English inch = 2.54 cm. Historically, the width of the thumb of an adult male. The word "inch" was introduced into Russian by Peter I at the very beginning of the 18th century.

Composition of the story "The Last Inch"

1. Exposition - the author's story about the events that preceded the flight to the bay;
2. Plot - Ben is forced to take his son with him;
3. Development of action - flight into the bay, preparation for shooting, descent under water;
4. The culmination is the injury of Ben; the incredible efforts of father and son to survive;
5. Interchange - successful landing at the Cairo airfield; the beginning of a new, truly related relationship.

Characteristics of heroes. Father and son.

Ben is 43 years old. He is a high class pilot. In the past, he had everything: a favorite job, a wife, a child. When Ben lost his job, he suddenly felt acutely that both he and his loved ones were deeply unhappy. And the reason for this is that there is no family in which there would be mutual understanding, love, support. “And so he was left with nothing, except for an indifferent wife who did not need him, and a ten-year-old son who was born too late and, as Ben knew in the depths of his soul, a stranger to both of them - a lonely, restless child who, at ten years old, felt that his mother was not interested in him, and his father was an outsider, sharp and laconic, not knowing what to talk about with him in those rare moments when they were together.

Everything changed when the wife left, leaving her 10-year-old son behind. It was probably only then that Ben finally realized that he was a father who had to raise his child, take care of him. However, it turned out that it was difficult, Ben was irritable, impatient, and it turned out that he did not know how to talk to his son at all. Maybe, in order to somehow get closer, the pilot decided to take his son with him.

Reading the story, you understand how irresponsible Ben acted. Having gone to a remote, deserted area, he did not even tell anyone about the route, and in case of an accident, the plane would have been searched for a long time and would hardly have been found. In addition, taking the boy with him, the father did not even stock up on drinking water, and took only beer from drinks. These details do not paint the father, we condemn him for indifference, heartlessness. We pity the boy. Watching him, we note his silence, isolation, gloom. What does he think about, gradually watching his father? What does it feel? Hatred? Love? Resentment? The writer does not reveal this riddle to us. Until tragic events happen.

“I’ll tell you, son, and you try to understand. Do you hear? Ben could barely hear himself and for a second he even forgot about the pain. “You, poor fellow, will have to do everything yourself, it just so happened. Don't be upset if I yell at you. There's no offense here. You don't have to pay attention to it, you understand?

- Yes. — Davy bandaged left hand and did not listen to him.

- Youth! Ben wanted to cheer up the kid, but he wasn't very good at it. He did not yet know how to find an approach to the boy, but he understood that it was necessary. A ten-year-old child had to perform a task of inhuman difficulty. If he wants to survive. But everything must go in order ... "

note- for the first time Ben turned to the boy SON, for the first time he is seriously concerned about his fate. Ben thinks not about his life, his task is to save his son.

“The only hope to save the boy was the plane, and Davy would have to fly it. There was no other hope, no other way out. But first you need to think about everything properly. The boy must not be scared. If you tell Davy that he will have to fly the plane, he will be horrified. It is necessary to think carefully about how to tell the boy about this, how to inspire him with this thought and convince him to do everything, even if unconsciously. We had to grope our way to the fear-ridden, immature mind of the child.”

It is at this moment that fracture in the relationship between father and son. At the moment of danger, they realized how dear to each other. Both make incredible efforts to save. The father tries to overcome the terrible pain from injuries, the boy overcomes fear and lifts the plane into the air. The heroism of the boy strikes his father, the thought comes to him that he made an irreparable mistake in the past: “ Is it really possible to live with your son for years and not see his face?' Ben thinks.

Quotes, which show how Ben saw his son:

He seems to be an advanced guy, Ben thought, surprised at the strange way he thought. This boy with a serious face was somewhat similar to himself: behind the childish features, perhaps, a tough and even unbridled character was hidden.

"Good guy! He will fly. He'll do it! Ben saw Davy's sharply defined profile, his pale face with dark eyes that were so hard for him to read. The father looked at that face again. “No one even bothered to take him to the dentist,” Ben told himself, noticing Davy’s slightly protruding teeth, who grinned painfully, straining from tension. But he can do it, Ben thought tiredly and conciliatory.

Boy's feelings:

“He was afraid of his father. True, not now. Now he simply could not look at him: he was sleeping with his mouth open, half-naked, covered in blood. He didn't want his father to die; he didn't want his mother to die, but there's nothing to be done: it happens. People are always dying."

Reading the story, you think: is it really necessary for something terrible, tragic to happen in life for a person to understand how dear to him the closest, dearest people to him? This is exactly what happened to the characters in the story. It's good that they have an opportunity ahead of them to fix everything:

“He, Ben, will now need all his life, all the life that the boy gave him. But, looking into those dark eyes, those slightly protruding teeth, that face, so unusual for an American, Ben decided that the game was worth the candle. It's worth taking the time. He will get to the very heart of the boy! Sooner or later, but he will get to him. The last inch that separates everyone and everything is not easy to overcome if you are not a master of your craft. But being a master of your craft is the duty of a pilot, and Ben was once a very good pilot.

In these words lies main idea of ​​Aldridge's story.

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1. Write a quotation plan for Aldridge's story "The Last Inch".
2. Write an essay-reasoning on the topic: "The last inch is not easy to overcome."

James Aldridge's The Last Inch is often compared to Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. There are many related moments in the work of writers. These are, first of all, the topics that occupied the writers, a similar system of values, problems and the central characters of the works. However, it is impossible to put an equal sign between the famous Australian and American.

Aldridge rethinks the theme of courage in a new way. Abolishing romance and mysticism, the author depicts heroism in an everyday way. His prose is devoid of prettiness and artistic delights. The author's writing style is capacious, precise, somewhere a bit dry, but by no means primitive. Due to the deep psychologism and drama Aldridge's "male" prose leaves no one indifferent. Her reticence is very eloquent.

Starting his writing career as a war correspondent, James Aldridge succeeds in both journalism and literature. From 1944 to 1945 he was on the territory of the USSR. An ardent anti-fascist, Aldridge admires the fortitude and courage of the Soviet people. In Russia, a talented European was loved and even awarded the Lenin Prize "For the strengthening of peace between peoples." But in the West, the friend of the Land of the Soviets was not particularly favored. Aldridge was never a media writer like, say, Hemingway.

As the years passed, political ambitions remained in the past, only art is immortal - the brilliant novels written by Aldridge in the 50s and 40s (A Matter of Honor, Sea Eagle, Diplomat, Hunter, Hero of the Desert Horizons ”), journalism and masterpieces of short prose (stories and novels “Shark Cage”, “Russian Finn”, “The Last Inch” and others).

The story "The Last Inch" is a gem of small prose by James Aldridge. It is invariably included in the collected works of the writer. And world cinema immortalized the plot of the work on the screen. The domestic audience is well aware of the cult film from directors Nikita Kurikhin and Teodor Vulfovich. It was released on Soviet screens in 1958. The main roles were played by Slava Muratov (Davey) and Nikolai Kryukov (Ben).

James Aldridge believed that literary fiction should be based on real life experience. The Last Inch is no exception. Main character story - a professional pilot. The writer was well acquainted with flying business - in his youth he attended London pilot courses.

The events of the work develop in Egypt. Aldridge knew about this exotic country not from books. For a long time he lived in Cairo and even dedicated the book “Cairo. Biography of the city. The idea for The Last Inch was born after visiting Shark Bay in Egypt. Later, Aldridge transferred his literary heroes there - pilot Ben and his ten-year-old son Davey.

Let's remember how the events of the story "The Last Inch" developed.

Flying is the main passion in Ben's life. Even after twenty years at the controls of an airplane, he takes great pleasure in soaring above the clouds, and in a youthful way he rejoices at another virtuoso landing. Heaven is the only place where Ben is truly happy. He has a wife and a ten-year-old son, Davey. However, family members are strangers to each other. The wife, who was always burdened by moving and the languid heat of Egypt, finally returned to her native Massachusetts. Davey, who was "born too late", turned out to be of no use to his parents. The lonely restless child grew up closed and, for sure, suffered from the indifference of his mother and the indifference of his father.

But Ben didn't care. He was worried about only one thing - the prospect of an early retirement. The life of a pilot is short. At forty-three, Ben was already considered an old man. Finding a job was getting harder and harder. He took on any task, the main thing was to pay a lot. Having earned money, you can send Davey to his mother, and rush to Canada himself. There, perhaps, it will be possible to hide the age and continue to fly.

Now Ben works for a television company. Flies to Shark Bay, which can only be reached by air, and takes underwater pictures. The job is dangerous, but highly paid. That day, Ben flew to Shark Bay for the last time.

In an outburst of fatherly feelings, which manifested themselves quite rarely, Ben took Davey on a flight. Already at the beginning of the journey, he mentally cursed himself for his rash act. He did not know his son at all, the presence of the boy weighed on him. Ben got irritated every now and then and could not understand what this silent, dark-eyed boy was thinking.

In order to somehow defuse the situation, the father teaches his son: “When you level the plane, you need to have a distance of six inches. Not a foot or three, but exactly six inches! If you take it higher, you will hit during landing and damage the plane. Too low - you will fall on a bump and roll over. It's all about the last inch."

Arriving at the bay, Ben notes with annoyance what a useless father he is - he took only beer and not a drop of water, forgetting that a ten-year-old boy does not drink alcohol. You have to pour a little beer for a child to quench their thirst in the desert heat.

The first dive under water goes well. Ben takes a lot of great shots. After taking a short nap on the shore, he again puts on his scuba gear - he needs to shoot a cat shark. To attract the predator, Ben takes a specially brought horse leg. Sitting in the ledge of the reef, he captures how the sharks, one by one, fly up to the bait and bite into the fresh meat with their powerful jaws. But the "cat" does not swim to the foot, it rushed straight at Ben. Only now does he notice a fatal mistake - the blood from the horse's leg has stained his hands and chest - he is doomed.

In the next moment, the thought of Davey burns Ben. The bay can only be reached by sky. No one knows that the boy and his father flew here. By the time they start looking for Davey, he will probably die of thirst and hunger. Ben is absolutely not allowed to die here, underwater. With superhuman efforts, he fights off the predator and swims ashore.

Waking up after a short faint, Ben realizes that he is still alive. However, the shark severely crippled him - his legs were completely cut, one arm was covered in blood, the second was practically torn off. Ben gives himself one single installation - to live this day, to bring his son to the city. Between fainting spells, he asks Davey to bandage his wounds, drag him to the plane, prepare for takeoff. The main thing is that the boy does not get scared, does not panic. Poor fellow, he does not yet suspect that he will have to drive the car alone! And he, Ben, does not know his son at all. It is necessary to unravel the psychology of this native and such a strange boy.

Davey bears the test stoically. Let him be ten, but today his father's life depends on him. He understands maps and knows how to fly to Cairo. “Alone at 3,000 feet, Davey decided he could never cry again. His tears have dried forever. However, the most crucial moment is still ahead - landing and the last inch. Almost crashing into a plane taking off, a ten-year-old pilot and his bleeding father make a landing. There is silence. Ben closes his eyes. Now you can die.

However, fate played another joke - pilot Ben did not die. Egyptian doctors called him lucky - numerous wounds healed before our eyes. True, the victim lost one arm, as well as his pilot's career.

But Ben didn't care. He was worried about only one thing - how to get to the heart of his son. After the tragedy, it suddenly became of paramount importance. The planes, the money, even the lost arm—it all seemed trifling now. Ben knows he has a long, hard job ahead of him. But he is ready to devote his whole life to her. The life that the boy gave him. The game, the father is convinced, is worth the candle.

Due to its versatility, the story "The Last Inch" is interesting to a wide range of people. An intriguing plot, tension that does not weaken until the very end, attracts the mass reader. The psychological line, which develops in parallel with the adventurous one, is a vast field for literary research.

The problem of survival and relationships

Two problems are stated in the story: human behavior in extreme conditions (the theme of courage in the face of death) and the relationship between father and son. Both problems are closely related.

The main characters (Ben and Davey) perform feats not for the sake of the people or the whole of humanity, each of them just saves his life. But the scale of the "battle" does not in the least detract from the value of the feat. Ben has no right to die, because his cowardly death will destroy his son. Ten-year-old Davey does not allow himself to cry and be frightened like a child, he is forced to save himself, because this is the only way to help out his dad.

The father, who never had the time or desire to take care of his son, and the son, who was afraid of the irritable, irascible parent, find themselves in the same harness in the face of death. This terrible flight over the Red Sea changed something in both of them. The author does not paint an idyllic final picture of the reunion of father and son. The human soul is much more complex - it cannot simply be switched into the "love", "friendship", "affection" mode. Aldridge leaves the ending open. The further fate of Ben and Davey is as vague for him as it is for the reader. It only sends a tiny ray of light into the distance of the future. This is the desire of the characters to go towards each other.

Very briefly: A pilot who has lost his job is trying to raise money by filming sharks. On the set, he takes a ten-year-old son, with whom he does not get along well. The shark attacks the pilot, and the son saves the wounded father.

The titles of the chapters are conditional and do not correspond to the original.

Ben's life story

Ben was a good pilot. He gained the necessary experience while flying in Canada on an old DC-3 aircraft. In recent years he has flown on Fairchild seeking oil for the non-export company Texegypto. To land the geologists, Ben could land the plane anywhere: “on the sand, on the bush, on the rocky bottom of the dry streams and on the long white shallows of the Red Sea”, each time winning the last inch above the ground.

But now this work is over. The company's management gave up trying to find a large oil field and decided that they did not need a reconnaissance aircraft. Ben is 43 years old. The wife, unable to bear life in the hot Egyptian desert, left for her native Massachusetts. Ben promised to come to her, but he understood that he would not be able to hire a pilot in his old age, and “decent and decent” work did not attract him.

Now Ben has only ten-year-old son Davy, whom his wife did not consider it necessary to take with her. It was a closed child, lonely and restless. His mother was not interested in him, and the boy was afraid of his father, who was sharp and laconic. For Ben, the son was a strange and incomprehensible person, with whom he did not even try to find a common language.

shark attack

And now he regretted that he had taken his son with him - the plane "Auster", rented by Ben, was very shaken, and the boy was sick. Taking Davy to the Red Sea was another generous move by Ben that rarely ended well. During one of these impulses, he taught the boy how to fly an airplane. Although Davy was a quick-witted child, his father's rude shouts eventually brought him to tears.

On a secluded shore of the Red Sea, Ben was brought by another job: he had to shoot sharks. The television company paid well for a meter of film with such a film. By landing the plane on a long sandbank, Ben forced his son to watch and learn, although the boy was very ill.

The shallows formed Shark Bay, so named because of the toothy inhabitants. After giving his son a few sharp orders, Ben disappeared into the water. Davy sat on the shore until dinner, looking at the deserted sea, and thinking what would happen to him if his father did not return. The predators were not very active today, and Ben decided to lure them with a horse leg, which he took with him. He had already shot several meters of film when a cat shark became interested in him.

The fish was four feet long, and God knows how much it weighed; she looked at him from her hiding place, as she had last time - a week ago. She lived here for at least a hundred years.

She swam too close, and Ben hurried to get ashore.

During dinner, he discovered that he had taken only beer with him - he again did not think about his son, who does not drink beer. The boy asked if anyone knew about this trip. Ben said that this bay can only be reached by air, he did not understand that the boy was not afraid of intruders, but of loneliness.

Ben hated and was afraid of sharks, but after dinner he dived again, this time with bait. With the money he received from the film, he hoped to send Davy to live with his mother.

Predators gathered around the meat, but the cat shark rushed at the man. Ben climbed onto the sand, covered in blood. When Davy ran up to him, it turned out that the shark had almost torn off Ben's right arm and severely injured his left. The legs, too, were all cut and chewed.

Ben realized that he was doing very badly, but he could not die. He had to fight for Davy. Only now he tried to find an approach to the boy and persuade him to sit at the helm of the aircraft.

Father and son

Constantly losing consciousness, Ben lay down on a towel and kicked off the sand with his feet while his son dragged him to the plane. So that his father could climb into the passenger seat, Davy piled stones and pieces of coral in front of the plane and dragged his father along this ramp.

You can do anything in life, Davy, - he said in a weak voice, - if you don't overstrain. Don't get overwhelmed...

Only now Davy realized that the role of the pilot goes to him. Meanwhile, a strong wind picked up and it began to get dark. Ben sincerely regretted that he did not bother to get to know this gloomy boy, and now he cannot find the right words to cheer him up.

Following his father's instructions, Davy barely lifted the plane into the air. The boy remembered the map, knew how to use the compass, and knew that he had to fly along the Suez Canal and then turn towards Cairo. Ben was unconscious most of the way. He woke up just before landing. Raising himself in his chair with difficulty, Ben helped his son into the car. At the same time, they miraculously missed each other with a huge four-engine aircraft.

To the surprise of Egyptian doctors, Ben survived, although he lost his left arm along with the ability to fly planes. Now he had one concern: to find a way to his son's heart, to overcome the last inch separating them.

The idea for the novel The Last Inch came from the eminent English writer James Aldridge when he visited Shark Bay in Egypt.

Nevertheless, inspired by this exotic place and risky underwater shooting, Aldridge dedicated his work to valuable human qualities - courage, courage and inner strength that pushes people forward.

The story "The Last Inch" is a story about the formation of a personality and about overcoming fear for the sake of life, for the sake of love for oneself, one's loved ones and for the world around.

"The Last Inch" is about how professional pilot Ben and his son go to Shark Bay to film a documentary. One of the sharks attacks Ben and injures him, now he cannot move.

But Ben is tormented not only by the pain he experiences, but by the realization that his ten-year-old son Davy may be all alone and will not be able to find his way back if something happens to his father.

The next problem is the difficult relationship between son and father. It was always difficult for them to find a common language, and the main reason for this was that the father never looked for him.

But now father and son need to cooperate in such difficult and life-defining circumstances. Ben has to overcome the pain and torment, and cheer up Davy, because he understands that the only way to save them is a plane. And the plane will have to be driven by a ten-year-old boy.

Overcoming the hero's own fear and impotence

Ben understands that the most important thing now is not to lose heart and believe that everything will work out. These thoughts help him gain strength, get up and, with the help of his son, get to the plane and tell him what to do.

Aldridge creates a picture of a decisive moment in a person's life - when everything depends on courage and fearlessness. The protagonist of the short story "The Last Inch" does not remember how scared he is, does not think about all the dangers that await him and his son, does not allow physical pain to control him.

Despite the fact that it will be very difficult for little Davy to fly the plane physically and mentally, Ben believes in him and believes in his own strength. He is driven forward by a boundless love for life, his own and the life of a ten-year-old son who can save them both.

Davy managed to do everything that was necessary - he brought the plane to Cairo and managed to land it on the ground. He accomplished a real feat and gave life to his father and himself.

But Ben himself did the feat, he overcame his fears and depressing impotence, managed to start moving and charged his frightened son with his life energy. It was thanks to him that Dani managed to give birth to fearlessness and courage, which are hardly born in adult men.

Human strength and fearlessness

The novel by James Aldridge is a manifesto dedicated to human strength and fearless courage, which at a decisive moment can change or save a life.

The self-control of pilot Ben and the tremendous courage of his son are vivid examples of the fact that a person is always stronger than circumstances. The writer shows that the most important thing is not to give up and believe in yourself and the strength of your personality.

Working in Canada on an old DC-3 aircraft gave Ben a "good temper", which in recent years has led him to fly a Fairchild over the Egyptian deserts, looking for oil for an oil export company. To land the geologists, Ben could land the plane anywhere: "on the sand, on the bush, on the rocky bottom of the dry streams and on the long white shallows of the Red Sea", each time "reclaiming the last inch above the ground."

But now this work is over: the company's management has abandoned attempts to find a large oil field. Ben is 43 years old. The wife, unable to bear life in the "foreign village of Arabia", left for her native Massachusetts. Ben promised to come to her, but he understood that in his old age he would not be able to get hired as a pilot, and “decent and decent” work did not attract him.

Now Ben has only ten-year-old son Davy, whom his wife did not consider it necessary to take with her. It was a closed child, lonely and restless. His mother was not interested in him, and the boy was afraid of his father, sharp and laconic. For Ben, the son was a strange and incomprehensible person, with whom he did not even try to find a common language.

And now he regretted that he had taken his son with him: the rental plane was “sharp” and it was shaking a lot, and the boy was sick. Taking Davy to the Red Sea was another generous move by Ben that rarely ended well. During one of these impulses, he tried to teach the boy how to fly an airplane. Although Davy was a quick-witted child, his father's rude shouts eventually brought him to tears.

On the secluded coast of the Red Sea, Ben was driven by a desire to earn money: he had to shoot sharks. The television company paid well for a meter of film with such a film. By landing the plane on a long sandbank, Ben forced his son to watch and learn, although the boy was very ill. “It's all about the last inch,” the pilot instructed.

The shallows formed Shark Bay, so named because of the toothy inhabitants. After giving his son a few sharp orders, Ben disappeared into the water. Davy sat on the shore until dinner, looking at the deserted sea and thinking what would happen to him if his father did not return.

Predators were not very active today. He had already shot several meters of film when a cat shark became interested in him. She swam too close, and Ben hurried to get ashore.

During dinner, he discovered that he had taken only beer with him - he again did not think about his son, who does not drink beer. The boy asked if anyone knew about this trip. Ben said that this bay can only be reached by air, he did not understand that the boy was not afraid of uninvited guests, but to be left alone.

Ben hated and was afraid of sharks, but after dinner he dived again, this time with the bait - a horse's foot. With the money he received from the film, he hoped to send Davy to live with his mother. Predators gathered around the meat, but the cat shark rushed at the man...

Bleeding, Ben climbed onto the sand. When Davy ran up to him, it turned out that the shark had almost torn off Ben's right arm and severely injured his left. The legs, too, were all cut and chewed. The pilot realized that his affairs were very bad, but Ben could not die: he had to fight for Davy.

Only now the father tried to find an approach to the boy in order to calm him down and prepare him for an independent flight. Constantly losing consciousness, Ben lay down on a towel and kicked off the sand with his feet, while his son dragged him to the "Oster". So that his father could climb into the passenger seat, Davy piled stones and pieces of coral in front of the plane door and dragged his father along this ramp. Meanwhile, a strong wind picked up and it began to get dark. Ben sincerely regretted that he did not bother to get to know this gloomy boy and now he cannot find the right words to cheer him up.

Following his father's instructions, Davy barely lifted the plane into the air. The boy remembered the map, knew how to use the compass, and knew that he had to fly along the seashore to the Suez Canal, and then turn towards Cairo. Ben was unconscious most of the way. He woke up when they flew up to the airfield. "Ben knew the last inch was coming and the boy was in control." Raising himself in his chair with incredible effort, the father helped his son into the car. At the same time, they miraculously missed each other with a huge four-engine aircraft.

To the surprise of Egyptian doctors, Ben survived, although he lost his left arm along with the ability to fly planes. Now he had one concern - to find a way to the heart of his son, to overcome the last inch separating them.

You read summary short stories The Last Inch. We would be glad if you take the time to read it in its entirety.