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The Elevator (Sleator): Martin, Father, Ending | ICSE 10

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English LiteratureICSE Class 10 · The Elevator

The Elevator (William Sleator): Martin's Fear, His Father and the Open Ending

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In The Elevator, Martin fears a small, dim, shuddering elevator and a fat lady in a green overcoat who keeps appearing in it. His father dismisses his fear and calls him cowardly. Fleeing the lady by the dark stairs, Martin breaks his leg; at the end, trapped on crutches, he hears her say 'Hello Martin', and the story stops.

Three pressures feed Martin's fear, which drives him to the stairs and a broken leg; the story stops on the lady's 'Hello Martin'.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Martin's Fear, His Father and the Open Ending (The Elevator)

Exam pattern. CISCE has used this story heavily. In 2025 and the 2027 specimen a Section A MCQ asked what Martin's father does NOT do ('encourage him to use the stairs'); the 2025 examiners noted that many overlooked the word NOT. The story also supplied a full 16-mark extract in both papers, beginning with Martin riding up after school. This page follows the CISCE marking schemes; the story is in copyright and is not reproduced.

Genre. A psychological horror story by the American writer William Sleator in Treasure Chest. It is told from Martin's point of view and builds suspense through his fear.

The elevator. Small, poorly lit and dirty; the doors close quickly and it shudders as it moves, so Martin feels trapped and fears it will fall.

The fat lady. She wears a green overcoat and has a piggish face, tiny sharp blue eyes, large fleshy cheeks, no chin and a mass of neck. She keeps appearing in the elevator and Martin feels threatened by her without being able to explain why. He is ashamed: why should he be afraid of an old lady?

Martin's father. He dismisses the fear, thinks Martin weak, timid and cowardly, and expects him to grow up and behave like a man. He gives no sympathy. He does not encourage Martin to use the stairs.

Key events, in order.
1. Martin hates the elevator; his father mocks the fear.
2. The fat lady begins to appear.
3. Coming home from school, Martin steps in hoping it will not stop, but it stops on the third floor and the door slides open.
4. Finding the lady waiting, Martin runs down the dark stairs, misses his footing and breaks his leg.
5. On crutches he can no longer use the stairs and must take the elevator.
6. At the end he rides up with his father, who gets out on the ninth floor.
7. The lady is with him; the door closes, she pushes the stop button, smiles and says 'Hello Martin', though they have never met.

Ending. Open and chilling: the reader must imagine what happens next. Two precise words: open-ended and sinister.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

  • He felt ashamed of himself.

    Narrator: Martin returning from school.

    His father's view of him has become Martin's own shame.

  • But why should he be afraid of an old lady?

    Narrator (Martin's thought): Martin returning from school.

    Martin argues with his own fear.

  • Hello Martin

    The fat lady: The last moment of the story.

    She knows his name though they have never met, which makes the ending chilling.

Martin's Fear, His Father and the Open Ending (The Elevator): key facts

The fat lady's details
  • green overcoat
  • piggish face
  • tiny sharp blue eyes
  • large fleshy cheeks
  • no chin
  • mass of neck
Any three details earn the marks in a description question.
Why Martin fears the elevator
  • small
  • poorly lit
  • dirty
  • doors close quickly
  • shudders
  • fear it will fall
Two reasons for a 'give two reasons' part.
Sequence of the last scenes
  • elevator stops on the third floor
  • lady waiting
  • runs down the stairs
  • breaks his leg
  • crutches
  • father leaves on the ninth floor
  • stop button
  • Hello Martin
Use this for sequence MCQs.

How to answer Martin's Fear, His Father and the Open Ending (The Elevator) questions

Use this for an extract question on the story.

  1. 1Circle NOT, EXCEPT and similar words before reading MCQ options.
  2. 2For description parts, quote exact details: green overcoat, piggish face, tiny sharp blue eyes.
  3. 3For 'this' or 'he' parts, answer about the specific moment in the extract, not the whole character.
  4. 4For the father, give a trait and an action.
  5. 5For the ending, choose precise words and justify each from the story.

Martin's Fear, His Father and the Open Ending (The Elevator) in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Dismissing a child's fear

Suppose a boy tells his uncle that he is afraid to walk past a dark corridor in his new school and the uncle laughs and tells him to stop being a baby.

How does this match Martin's situation, and what may the boy feel as a result?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. The adult dismisses the fear instead of listening.
  2. The child feels ashamed as well as afraid.
  3. He may not tell anyone next time.

Answer: It matches Martin's father, who thinks Martin is weak and does not take his fear seriously. Like Martin, the boy would feel ashamed and alone, and the fear may grow.

Memory hook: Fear dismissed becomes fear doubled.

Tricks to remember Martin's Fear, His Father and the Open Ending (The Elevator)

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

  • NOT-trap

    Circle NOT before reading the options.

    Use it when: The father MCQ.

  • G-P-T-C-N

    Green coat, Piggish face, Tiny eyes, Cheeks, No chin.

    Use it when: The lady's description.

Martin's Fear, His Father and the Open Ending (The Elevator): solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: What the father does not do · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Which of the following does Martin's father NOT do?
(a) Dismiss Martin's fear (b) Call him a coward (c) Encourage him to use the stairs (d) Expect him to behave like a man

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Options (a), (b) and (d) are what he does (0.5).
  2. He does not encourage the stairs (0.5).

Answer: (c) Encourage him to use the stairs.

Example 2: Describing the lady (3 marks) · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

Martin's terror centres on a stranger who waits in the elevator. Pick out three details of her face and clothing as Martin sees her.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Identity: the fat lady from the elevator (1).
  2. Three details (2).

Answer: She is the strange fat lady whom Martin has seen several times in the elevator. She wears a green overcoat and has a piggish face with tiny, sharp blue eyes and large fleshy cheeks, with almost no chin.

Example 3: The father's attitude (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

How does Martin's father respond to his fear of the elevator? How does this attitude affect Martin?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Father's attitude (2).
  2. Effect: shame and loneliness (1).
  3. Link to the accident (1).

Answer: Martin's father has no patience with his son's fear. He thinks Martin is weak, timid and cowardly, dismisses his worries and expects him to grow up and behave like a man. As a result Martin feels ashamed of being afraid, even of an old lady, and has nobody to turn to. His fear and shame grow and he continues to use the elevator. The father's attitude indirectly leads to the accident, since Martin has no help when he runs from the lady down the dark stairs.

Example 4: Creating suspense (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Explain how the writer builds suspense in the scene where Martin returns from school.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Hope that the elevator will not stop (1).
  2. It stops on the third floor (1).
  3. The door slides open slowly (1).
  4. The lady waiting; the stairs (1).

Answer: Martin steps into the elevator hoping that it will not stop, but it stops on the third floor, so the reader's hope is defeated. The door begins to slide open, and the moment of waiting is stretched to heighten tension. Martin has already learned to dread the fat lady, so the reader fears who will be inside. When he finds her waiting, panic drives him to the stairs, and the dark stairs add a new danger. The pace of the events and the narrator's close focus on Martin's feelings build suspense.

Example 5: Real or imagined? (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Some readers feel that the horror of the story lies in what is left unexplained about the lady. Judge this view and support it with two points from the story.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. A clear view (1).
  2. Reasons (2).
  3. Acknowledging the other side or the writer's purpose (1).

Answer: I think the lady is deliberately left unexplained, but I lean towards her being a real, sinister presence. First, she appears repeatedly and, at the end, speaks, pushing the stop button and greeting Martin by name though they have never met, which a fear alone would not do. Second, Martin's father leaves him alone at the ninth floor, so the final scene has no witness who could confirm or deny her. Yet the writer never explains her, so the reader can also take her as the shape of Martin's fear. This uncertainty is the source of the horror.

Where students lose marks in Martin's Fear, His Father and the Open Ending (The Elevator)

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

  • Mistake: Missing the word NOT in the MCQ

    The examiners reported that many candidates overlooked the word NOT.

    Wrong working

    Choosing 'dismiss his fear' because it is true of the father.

    Right working

    Choosing 'encourage him to use the stairs', which the father does NOT do.

    Do this: Circle NOT before reading the options.

    Usually costs: 1 mark

  • Mistake: Giving only general details of the lady

    Description questions want exact details.

    Wrong working

    She was an ugly fat woman.

    Right working

    She wore a green overcoat and had a piggish face, tiny sharp blue eyes and large fleshy cheeks.

    Do this: Learn three exact details.

    Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks

  • Mistake: Answering about the whole story instead of the moment

    'This' or 'he' questions refer to the extract.

    Wrong working

    Martin was always afraid of everything.

    Right working

    At this moment Martin hopes the elevator will not stop and dreads meeting the lady.

    Do this: Quote the extract's action first.

    Usually costs: 1 mark

Exam tips

  • Circle NOT, EXCEPT and similar words in MCQs.
  • Learn exact details of the lady and the elevator.
  • In ending questions, choose precise words such as open-ended and sinister, and justify each.
  • Do not reproduce long passages; use short phrases from the story.

Practice questions on Martin's Fear, His Father and the Open Ending (The Elevator)

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

  1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

    What happens when Martin runs down the stairs to escape the lady?
    (a) He reaches the ground floor safely (b) He misses his footing, falls and breaks his leg (c) He meets his father (d) He locks himself in his room

    Hint

    The stairs are dark.

    Answer

    (b) He misses his footing, falls and breaks his leg.

  2. Q2 · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

    Name two features of the elevator itself that feed Martin's fear and say what each makes him imagine. (3 marks)

    Hint

    Size, light, doors, movement.

    Answer

    The elevator is small and cramped and poorly lit and dirty, so Martin feels trapped in it. Its doors close quickly and it shudders as it moves, so he fears it will fall. These feelings show that he is timid and anxious.

  3. Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

    After Martin breaks his leg, why does the elevator become impossible to avoid? What does this add to the story? (3 marks)

    Hint

    Crutches.

    Answer

    On crutches Martin can no longer escape by the stairs, so he must use the elevator. This removes his only way of avoiding the lady and makes the ending inevitable, adding to the feeling of being trapped that runs through the story.

  4. Q4 · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

    Describe the ending of the story. Why is it effective? (4 marks)

    Hint

    Ninth floor, stop button, name.

    Answer

    Martin rides the elevator with his father, who gets out on the ninth floor, leaving Martin alone. The fat lady is with him; the door closes, she pushes the stop button, smiles and says 'Hello Martin', though they have never met. The story ends there. The ending is effective because Martin is trapped and helpless on crutches, the lady's knowledge of his name adds a chilling mystery, and the open ending leaves the reader to imagine the horror, which is often more frightening than any description.

  5. Q5 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

    Do you think Martin's father is entirely responsible for Martin's fear? Argue for or against with two reasons. (4 marks)

    Hint

    Fear existed before; father makes it worse.

    Answer

    I do not think the father is entirely responsible. Martin's fear of the elevator existed before the father's mockery: it is small, dim and shudders, and Martin is already a timid and imaginative boy. However, the father makes the problem worse. He dismisses the fear and calls his son a coward, so Martin is ashamed and cannot ask for help, and the fear grows into terror of the lady. The father is therefore not the cause but a serious contributor, since a kinder response might have kept Martin from the accident.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

  1. 1.Who wrote The Elevator?Show answer

    William Sleator.

  2. 2.What colour is the lady's overcoat?Show answer

    Green.

  3. 3.On which floor does the elevator stop in the extract?Show answer

    The third floor.

  4. 4.Where does Martin's father get out at the end?Show answer

    On the ninth floor.

  5. 5.What does the lady say at the end?Show answer

    'Hello Martin'.

  6. 6.What does Martin injure?Show answer

    His leg, which he breaks falling down the stairs.

Martin's Fear, His Father and the Open Ending (The Elevator): frequently asked questions

Is The Elevator a ghost story?

It is a psychological horror story; the lady is never explained, so the reader decides.

What was set from this story in 2025 and the 2027 specimen?

A Section A MCQ about what the father does NOT do and a full 16-mark extract.

Why can the story not be quoted at length?

It is in copyright, so only short phrases are quoted; read the prescribed text for the full story.