Harlan Ellison more or less uses the structure of a fairy tale to discuss the modern society issue having to deal with nervous breakdowns in the short story Shatterday. A fairy tale is a narrative about either fortunes or misfortunes of a character that is going through various experiences that never the less ends with the character living happily ever after. This is exactly what I believe occurs in Shatterday. Peter Novins goes through many life experiences that cause him to have a nervous breakdown but in the end makes it through and restarts his life with new light in the right direction.
The story starts out with the main character Novins, or who you think is the main character, until he by accident calls his own apartment only to find himself answer the phone on the other end. At first Novins was shocked and thought that his buddies were playing a joke on him until he finally realized that it was himself on the other side and decided to call him Jay, his middle name that he never used. After trying to figure out whether both of them were exactly the same and liked the same things, immediately it turned into the question of who was going and who was staying because there simply couldn't be two of them. Since Jay was in the apartment it was only natural for Novins to stay in a hotel room then. However Jay seemed to be continuing life while Novins was stuck in a hotel room and where he became sick. Shortly after Novins becomes sick, Jay paid Novins a visit in the hotel and practically asked for any last requests because Novins was obviously on his way out. When the maid entered the room the next morning is was cold and empty. .
Although this story can be interpreted in many ways I think it is sending a strong message about the overwhelming amount of people who have nervous breakdowns. It is clear that throughout the story Peter Novins has done many things that he isn't pleased with and he is more then likely under a lot of stress from this.
