Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,3, Ruhr-University of Bochum, 7 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Why did I choose Mitchell′s story? Superficially because it′s very easy to get into the story and entertaining to go on, not only because of the colloquial style but also because of the exciting plot, which casts a spell over the reader - but in the final analysis, it was because there hides a complex story under the trivial appearing surface in David Mitchell′s ′The January Man′. In this assignment I release the view on the hidden characteristics and special qualities of this story by first interpreting it within the individual paragraphs, then by examining the aspects relevant for the whole story to categorize David Mitchell′s story on the basis of my insights and in relation to Modernist, Postmodernist and Contemporary Short Stories.