Summary and Analysis: Medicine for Melancholy The First Night of Lent””

Bradbury’s story contains an unexpected ending, one of his favorite techniques since he has often stated that he enjoys writing stories that contain a little twist on reality. Ironically, rather than when Nick is drunk, it is when he is sober that he seems somewhat demonically possessed. When sober, he seems to have been created by the Adversary in the depths of hell itself, and when Nick drives his car without the aid of whiskey, he drives at such rapid speeds that he seems to be in a hurry to return to hell and warm his hands at the blaze there. Consequently, the writer only feels secure when he is riding with Nick after he has had a number of drinks at Heber Finn’s pub.